M.Litt. et Phil. (Anthropology) / On the far eastern border of the Mhala district of Gazankulu there is a village called Dixie. The residents of this village and their conditions of living formed the setting for my research. The research was strictly ethnographic, and so is this thesis, given the dire shortage of in-depth ethnographic information particularly on the experiences of teenage girls. The research revealed various facets of the lives of these people. Whilst the research included all the teenage girls of the village, and most of the teenage boys, information on only four girls was singled out for the thesis, because of the diversity in their experiences and to demonstrate the impact of unique circumstances on the experience of violence. To the case material of these four girls, was added that of a teenage boy to highlight the contrast between the lives of girls and boys in this social setting. The events that formed a significant part in the daily lives of the girls and the boy were diarised in detail so as not to tamper with the information as far as possible. It emerged that girls were consistently subjected to violence by those persons with whom they were closely involved. Poverty contributes largely to the amount and intensity of violence on female persons, and it is thus violence which dominates social life in the village for these people. The result is a chain of events that is shocking and deeply disturbing. The information reveals very clearly the extent of male domination which is still prevalent in our society and it exposes the continual subjugation women experience daily in the struggle against men and poverty. This thesis wishes to challenge social scientists of our time to focus their attention on violence in much more detail than has been the case until now.

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

M.Sc. / The present study describes the experiences of participants on an Adventure Therapy project at the Ekupholeni Mental Health Clinic in Katlehong. It details an account of the violence, both political and everyday, that face South Africans, particularly children and youth. It also attempts to detail the reconstructive challenges facing a democratic South Africa on the road towards healing. The implicit values underlying the research process are the values of Community Psychology and the Action Research method. Themes were drawn from four taped interview (two group and two individual) sessions. These themes suggest that participants have had positive experiences of pride, dignity, control, responsibility and unity through involvement with the project. These experiences are however not without their contradictions. An attempt has also been made to report on this dialectic. The study makes recommendations regarding the improved functioning of this project and also more widely applicable lessons for working with communities. The recreation of community is a struggle better expressed as a process rather than an event. Further documentation of this project is recommended to build on this baseline data.

The research objective of this diploma theses is to deeply understand the proces of policy change in the field of prevention and fight against domestic violence in the Czech republic. The aim of the research part of the theses is to identify the main resources and factors of the policy and belief change, which determine the policies in the field of prevention and fight against the domestic violence. This means the orientation among key policy change actors and identification of advocacy coalitions that enforced policy changes. The research design was case study based on the semistructured interviews with experts and key actors. The Advocacy Coalition Framework has proved to be useful in drawing attention to the notion of changing values and belies systems as key source of policy change. It also highlighted the need to take into account factors external to the policy subsystem under investigation. Potential usefulness of the Framework can be found in further application to the field of human rights issues in the Czech republic.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Advocacy, in the form of direct service, is a critical type of intervention to help intimate partner or domestic violence survivors. Little is known the best practices for social workers and other helping professionals to assist survivors of domestic violence who present for services at shelters, non-residential outreach, and legal settings. This dissertation reviews relevant research related to domestic violence direct services, which is also called advocacy. The study also outlines a brief overview of the history, theory, and paradigms of thought related to the movement to end intimate partner violence. The research project used the grounded theory method to conduct and analyze semi-structured, in-depth interviews with advocates at domestic violence agency to answer the research question: What constructs and practices inform the delivery of direct services to survivors of domestic violence from shelter and non-residential service advocates? A total of 22 women working primarily with domestic violence survivors in shelters and non-residential agencies participated in the dissertation study. Participants came from one Midwestern and one Southwestern state. The interviewees had a range 1-20 years of experience in the field of domestic violence advocacy. Eighteen of 22 participants had experienced some sort of intimate violence in their lifetime. Several important findings emerged. Advocates typically enter the field because of personal motivations. The empowerment and strengths-based perspective are important to the delivery of advocacy services, as is belief in hope. Advocates typically endorse a survivor centered approach to their work. Data analysis revealed a concurrent process of advocacy that occurs within advocates and between advocates and survivors. This parallel process is marked in the earlier state of assessing and grounding; in the middle stage of establishing and affirming; and the ending stages of hoping and reflecting. These findings suggest the importance of personal experiences, hope, and reflection in the delivery of advocacy services. Community collaboration and support are essential to maintaining services that are aimed at the individual needs of survivors. More research is needed about the perceptions of services among survivors of domestic violence.