Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2004. / Vita. "May 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).

M.A. / Spousal abuse has been a practiced for decades across many cultures. According to the Domestic Violence Act, 1998 of S.A. spousal abuse consists of physical, sexual, emotional verbal psychological and economic abuse as well as various forms of intimidation by a spouse. Abuse against women and children seems to be entrenched in gender power equalities and hierarchical gender relations prevalent in society. The advent of feminism, that deals with issues of inequality between the genders, in the nineteenth century highlighted the problem of spousal abuse and challenged cultural and patriarchal notions of women. In South Africa spousal abuse is alarmingly prevalent and deeply ingrained within our society and is often viewed as a normative rather than a deviant practice. The legacy of political repression, a declining economy and diminishing job opportunities, insufficient educational opportunities and racial and ethnic divisions, has for decades generated deep rooted divisions in our society. Women in particular are the historically the victims of political and economic exclusion and have suffered the ravages of patriarchy, sexism and discriminatory practices that have kept them outside of social, political and economic power structures. In this process, abuse against women has been subtly sanctioned by society. This reflects the extent to which exploitation and abuse, in varying forms, have come to pervade the very foundations of our society and have become a socially sanctioned instrument for resolving conflict and promoting change. Because of the continued cultural sanctioning of spousal abuse it is often underreported, making statistics on the subject extremely difficult to obtain. The present study explored the women’s endogenous factors that contributed to the maintenance of their abusive spousal relationship. In essence these factors refer to the thoughts, feelings and beliefs which are significant in the experience of being in an abusive relationship. The study further looked at how these endogenous factors entrap women in abusive relationships. In order to contextualise the experience of being in an abusive spousal relationship the literature review (which makes up the first four chapters 2 of this study) concentrated on several different areas. The first chapter addresses the aims and motivations of the present study. The second chapter deals with established theories and thoughts about the existence of spousal abuse in relationships. Theoretical explanations highlighting some of the endogenous maintaining factors in an abusive spousal relationship are presented. These include psychodynamic theories, systems theory, feminism, eco-systemic approach, social constructionism and postmodernism. The third chapter deals with women’s responses to spousal abuse. The fourth chapter deals with the interaction between women’s socialisation and their response to spousal abuse. It would seem that abused woman find themselves in varying contradictory interactional contexts. Their spouse represents the person who loves them the most, yet he hurts them the most too. Their calls for support by informing others are seen as dishonouring their families yet when they decide to keep the abuse quiet they are condemned. These paradoxes confront abused women when they are in need of help, support and understanding. These cultural and societal norms are confusing and inconsistent, together with various emotions, serve to paralyse the abused women and limit their choices.

Spousal abuse is a global phenomenon that occurs in many cultures and affects most of the world’s population of women. Over the past 30 years, spousal abuse has become increasingly recognized as a problem, and women in many countries have organized to advocate for change. The issue of wife abuse has been taken up by the public as an issue of general concern more than once since the latter part of the nineteenth century. It came into the limelight again in the early 1970’s in the United States, its progress towards public awareness corresponding with the growth of the women’s movement. In broad terms, the women’s movement may be divided into two major feminist perspectives. First wave feminism is principally concerned with equalities between the genders whereas second wave feminism uses women’s differences to oppose the ‘legalities’ of a patriarchal world. The phenomenon of women being abused in intimate relationships has been referred to as “the problem that had no name.” Indeed, one of the most important contributions of second wave feminism was the labels it provided to previously unnamed, largely unspoken, taboo problems that women confronted. Without a label to refer to a phenomenon, that phenomenon is extremely difficult to describe, to discuss, to count, and analyse. In South Africa concern about wife abuse, started in the early 1980’s. Inspired by the action of overseas movements, South African feminists began to mobilize around violence against women. In the South African context, violence against women must be viewed against the socio-political background of apartheid, race, class, and gender relations. In an historic context of overwhelming oppression and state-sanctioned violence, a culture of violence developed. Over time this situation is accepted as a norm and becomes a primary means of conflict resolution- including between domestic partners. Accurate statistics on the problem of spousal abuse in South Africa are unavailable since national prevalence studies have not been conducted. Difficulties in obtaining prevalence to date have been exacerbated by fragmentation created by the former apartheid bureaucracy; the lack of resources to confront the problem of spousal abuse; and the fact that the problem is often unrecognized and under reported. However, preliminary findings from available research indicate that spousal abuse in South Africa is a serious and extensive problem. The abuse reported in these studies ranged from verbal insults, threats, physical injury and even death. Numerous studies found that spousal abuse is seen as a private matter, so that the abused woman does not have the support of friends, family or the authority to help her stop the abuse or to leave the relationship. Spousal abuse is sequential, developmental and dynamic. The situation of the abused woman is unlike many other crisis in that it is transcrisis; that is, it is cyclical, reaching many peak levels over extended periods of time. For a variety of reasons it is rare for women to leave an abusive spousal relationship for good after the first abusive incident. Continued and increased abuse over a period of years is the typical pattern of abusive spousal relationships. Research has indicated that abusive spousal relationships typically include a life-threatening history of injuries and psychosocial problems that entrap the women in the relationships. Limited research has been undertaken on the experience of women who do manage to leave abusive spousal relationships despite the debilitating physical and emotional sequelae of the abuse and a lack of family and societal support. This investigation aims to address and explore the experience “Coloured” women who managed to leave abusive spousal relationships. As the literature review will indicate, the social-cultural context of “Coloured” is one that not only makes them susceptible to experiencing spousal abuse but it also predisposes them to remain in these relationships. The investigation seeks those themes, emotions and thoughts which are central and significant in the women’s experience. It explores the manner in which leaving comes about and is incorporated into the women’s sense of self and understanding of the world. Essentially, the research aims to provide some understanding of what the experience of leaving an abusive relationship entails and the personal meaning it holds for the women. In order to ensure that the women's own subjective experiences, and their own interpretations and understanding of those experiences will be the focal point, as opposed to that of the researcher, the existential-phenomenological system of inquiry is employed. The existential-phenomenological approach is not only utilized as a specific research methodology but is also adopted as an overall attitude towards doing research. The participants in the study are viewed as beings-in-the-world, thereby acknowledging that the experience of leaving occurs in a context in which the participants act on and are simultaneously acted upon by their lived-worlds. Qualitative access to the subjective realm of the women is attempted through a qualitative design through which rich data is collected through in-depth, open-ended interviews which facilitates unique and personal descriptions. A pilot interview with a woman who left an abusive spousal relationship indicated that the research question (How did you experience leaving the abusive relationship?) together with broad open-ended questions, facilitated the attainment of rich, vital, substantive descriptions of the experience of leaving. Three “Coloured” women, who left their abusive spousal relationships at least two years ago, were then sourced from previously “Coloured” designated communities and interviewed for the purpose of this study. The qualification in terms of time is important since this study is interested in the experience of women who left their abusive relationships permanently and research has shown that many women leave abusive spousal relationships only to return after some time. / Dr. I. Van der Merwe Prof. W. Schoeman

No description available.

Purpose. This study examined the link between sex-role stereotyping and male violence to provide an empirical base for the development of an appropriate predictive model of marital violence and to improve treatment provided to this population. Method. The sample of study included 44 men participating in programs for batterers and 71 men in programs for substance abusers. Subjects were compared according to approval and severity of use of physical violence, childhood history of violence, level of alcohol use, and sex-role attitudes. Results. Results of the study indicated that level of sex-role egalitarianism was not significantly related to use of marital violence. However, level of violence in childhood, level of alcohol abuse and level of approval of marital violence were related to the use of violence by men in a family context. Statistical analysis of the data revealed no significant differences between the batterers and substance abusers on the level of sex-role egalitarianism, the level of violence in childhood, nor on the level of approval of marital violence. Significant differences were revealed between the groups on their level of the use of alcohol. Similarities between the two groups suggest joint treatment potential. / Master of Science

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Also available in print.

The aim of this study was to explore the self-concept of battered South African women. The ecosystemic approach was used to ground the battering experience. This qualitative framework was exploratory and also included an in-depth analysis of the battering experiences as narrated by abused women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data obtained were analysed through the use of the hermeneutic method. The following were the themes that emerged out of the narratives: dominance, control versus loss of control, connection versus disconnection, security versus insecurity, and feelings of degradation. The study provides a holistic understanding of battering and its impact on women’s selfconcept. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy