J. M. Coetzee's brutal novel Disgrace questions popular understandings of criminality and victimhood by establishing parallels between its various characters and their actions. Through close reading of Coetzee's descriptions of protagonist David Lurie's behaviors and attitudes towards women, non-human animals, and people of color compared with descriptions of the mysterious trio of men who rape Lurie's daughter and coldly kill the dogs in her kennels, I argue that the line Disgrace draws between Lurie and these men is deliberately flimsy, ultimately all but disappearing if we look closely enough at their behaviors and descriptions rather than their justifications. I also argue that the novel's perpetrators rely upon archetypical "rapist" and "criminal" constructs, resulting in an inability for them to ever accurately address their own crimes, despite Coetzee's descriptive parallels. Ultimately, I read Disgrace as suggesting that there can be no resolution for violence so long as these mythical archetypes persist. / by Ashley B. Harrintgon. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

AIM: This study endeavoured to explore and understand countertransference reactions that occur when the therapist is exposed to clients‘ stories of violent crime. The study focused on the therapist‘s experiential responses resulting from exposure to traumatic stories and the subsequent consequences thereof. This was contextualized from the particular perspective of South African therapists and their above average exposure to crime related trauma. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative research design was used with Smith‘s Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the methodology of choice. This included a double hermeneutic approach of analysing firstly the perceptions and secondly the meaning of such perceptions within the context of current literature. Nine South African psychologists were purposively selected and interviewed to provide the required data. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that both concordant and complementary countertransference play a large role in the therapist‘s experience of 'identification with suffering‘ and feelings of avoidance whilst listening to stories of violent crime. Such concordant identification with the client, if not mediated through awareness of one‘s internal dynamics, can result in the therapist‘s over-identification with the client which may be associated with features of vicarious trauma. One way in which such vicarious trauma states may be resolved by the therapist is through the concordant mimicking of the client‘s need to purge and be contained. Experiences linked to vicarious trauma, however, are not a certainty when working with trauma but rather an outcome that depends greatly on a therapist‘s level of experience, self-awareness and ability to implement coping strategies. Through these mediating factors, what may usually be experienced as vicariously traumatic may be transformed into resilience and self-growth. It appears that the implementation of coping strategies (such as normalization and reframing) are also what allow South African therapists to manage in the context of high crime rates and caseloads. Despite the barriers that the public sector poses, the tenacity and hopefulness demonstrated by some of the participants allowed them to overcome some of the difficulties linked to working with trauma. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / PhD / unrestricted

Murder, rape, corruption and gang wars, sounds like something out of a bad movie but for many it is their way of life and not a movie they can stop. Many people today live with the constant threat of attack and the threat is often not by some stranger but someone they know, their neighbour, their uncle, their father, their domestic worker and on occasion even their own mother. As crime escalates more people are asking the question,"Why this rapid increase in crime and why is there such an increase in the number of violent crimes?" South Africa is well known, unfortunately, for its high crime rate and in particular it's exceptionally high violent crime rate. South Africa is rated in the top 10 for the highest murders per capita (UNDOC 2011). Over the past 20 years the number of violent crimes has progressively increased and the reason for this increase needs to be examined. there appears to be a rapid increase in the number of people presenting personality disorders in society. A number of studies have been conducted on the etiology of anti-social personality disorder and on psychopathology. In the past the majority of these studies had been conducted in developed countries and in the past few years a number of studies have started to be conducted in developing countries. Although very interesting with great insight very few have tried to examined any trends and differences between developed and developing countries. During the course of these studies it has been observed that inmates and people exhibiting Psychopathy traits are more likely to commit violent crimes and in addition reoffend. The thesis proposed examines trends between developed and developing countries to find any links between crime and psychopathology and in addition the etiology, prevalence and prevention of psychopathology. The study will identify a number of models utilised to understand violence in society and personality disorders with particular reference to psychopathy. The study is being done in order to obtain a better understanding of a link between psychopathology and escalating crime in South Africa and what, if anything can be done to decrease this prevelance. This thesis outlines a number of diagnostic tools utilised in order to determine if a person is indeed suffering from psychopathy. Each one of these is discussed and the validity of each considered for both developed and developing countries as a diagnostic tool. The study clearly show that there are a number of unanswered questions around psychopathy within South Africa and that more research within a South African context needs to be conducted if this disorder is to be properly understood. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Violence is considered a global mental health problem. The rate of violence in South Africa is amongst the highest in the world and much of this violence is disproportionately skewed towards the poorer and historically disadvantaged communities. Low-income communities continue to bear the brunt of historical legacies of violence which are perpetuated through current ongoing cycles of interpersonal and community violence. While much has been documented about trauma and resilience in environments where the violence or traumatic event has ceased, there is a dearth of literature conceptualising trauma and resilience in contexts where the violence persists. Furthermore, even fewer studies have captured how trauma and resilience are conceptualised from the perspectives of the voices who experience this violence daily. The social constructionist framework of this study aims to contribute to the knowledge of how trauma and resilience is constructed by those who experience ongoing violence, and whether resilience and healing does occur in an environment of continuous traumatic stress. The voices of the participants of the study provide an additional perspective from that of community-based counsellors. Their dual experience of living and working in a violent community gives a rich insight into the relationship between trauma and resilience. The study is located in Hanover Park, a low-income community, notorious for its high levels of community violence. The participants are community-based counsellors who volunteer at Organisation X, a community-based ecological intervention that has been developed in response to addressing the cyclical impacts of ongoing violence and continuous trauma. The research design is a purposive in-depth case study of eighteen counsellors, investigating the narratives of their lives within its real-life context. Follow-up focus groups held with the counsellors were guided by ideas and practices of narrative theory. The narratives were analysed using thematic content and experience-centred form analysis. Multi-level themes related to trauma and resilience were constructed by the participants. It was revealed that the trauma effects related to systemic ongoing violence are viewed as maladaptive features of negative resilience. At the same time positive resilience which promotes healing, empowerment and transformation is possible despite negative and violent environments. The perspectives of community counsellors which offer critically important insight into their experience of the context of violence, and the complex interconnecting of individual, interpersonal and social aspects of trauma and healing in disadvantaged communities, could also inform future evidence-based interventions, provide alternate paradigms within which mental health professionals could position themselves to engage in issues of social justice and psychosocial health. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geweld word wêreldwyd as 'n geestesgesondheidsprobleem beskou. Die voorkoms van geweld in Suid-Afrika, is tans een van die hoogstes in die wêreld en die meeste van hierdie geweld neig om veral die armer en histories benadeelde gemeenskappe negatief te raak. Gemeenskappe in die laer inkomstegroepe is dus die mense wat die spit afbyt, omdat hierdie historiese nalatenskap van geweld deur die huidige voortdurende kringloop van interpersoonlike en gemeenskapsgeweld voortleef. Alhoewel daar alreeds baie dokumentêre bewyse bestaan oor trauma en veerkragtigheid in omgewings waar geweld of traumatiese gebeure beëindig is, is daar 'n gebrek aan literatuur wat trauma en veerkragtigheid vasvang waar geweld die orde van die dag is. Daar is verder nog minder studies wat vaslê hoe trauma en veerkragtigheid uit die oogpunt van die betrokkenes wat geweld daagliks ervaar, gekonseptualiseer word. Die sosiale konstruksionisme raamwerk van hierdie studie beoog om 'n bydrae te lewer oor hoe , indien wel, trauma en genesing beleef word deur diegene wat voortdurende geweld ervaar in 'n omgewing waar aanhoudende traumatiese stres voorkom. Die deelnemers aan hierdie studie verskaf 'n addisionele perspektief van die van gemeenskapsberaders. Hul tweeledige ervaring van leef en werk in 'n gewelddadige gemeenskap verskaf 'n dieper insig in die verhouding tussen trauma en veerkragtigheid. Die buurt waar die studie gedoen is, is Hanover-park - 'n lae inkomste gemeenskap wat berug is vir hoe vlakke van gemeenskapsgeweld. Die deelnemers is beraders uit die gemeenskap wat vrywillige werk doen by Organisasie X - 'n gemeenskapsgebaseerde ekologiese intervensie wat ontwikkel is om die sikliese impak van voortdurende geweld en trauma te verminder. Die navorsingstudie is 'n doelgerigte diepgaande gevallestudie van agtien beraders wat hul lewensverhale binne die werklike konteks ondersoek. Die beraders het die opvolg fokus-groepe gelei deur idees en die narratiewe teorie in die praktyk toe te pas. Die vertellings is geanaliseer deur gebruik te maak van die tematiese inhoud en 'n ervarings-gesentreerde analitiese formaat. Veelvlakkige temas wat verband hou met trauma en veerkragtigheid is deur die deelnemers saamgestel. Dit het aan die lig gebring dat die effek van trauma wat verband hou met voortdurende sistemiese geweld geag word as wanaangepaste kenmerke van negatiewe veerkragtigheid. Terselfdertyd is die positiewe veerkragtigheid wat genesing, bemagtiging en verandering evorder moontlik, ten spyte van negatiewe en gewelddadige omgewings. Die vooruitsigte van die gemeenskapsberaders wat belangrike en kritiese insig in hul ervarings binne geweldsverband bied, die ingewikkelde verbondenheid van die indiwiduele, interpersoonlike en sosiale aspekte van trauma en genesing in benadeelde gemeenskappe kan insiggewend wees vir toekomstige ingryping. Dit kan alternatiewe modelle voorsien waarvolgens beroepslui in die geestesgesondheidveld hulself kan inrig om kwessies van sosiale geregtigheid en psigo-sosiale gesondheids-toestande aan te spreek.

Murder, rape, corruption and gang wars, sounds like something out of a bad movie but for many it is their way of life and not a movie they can stop. Many people today live with the constant threat of attack and the threat is often not by some stranger but someone they know, their neighbour, their uncle, their father, their domestic worker and on occasion even their own mother. As crime escalates more people are asking the question,"Why this rapid increase in crime and why is there such an increase in the number of violent crimes?" South Africa is well known, unfortunately, for its high crime rate and in particular it's exceptionally high violent crime rate. South Africa is rated in the top 10 for the highest murders per capita (UNDOC 2011). Over the past 20 years the number of violent crimes has progressively increased and the reason for this increase needs to be examined. there appears to be a rapid increase in the number of people presenting personality disorders in society. A number of studies have been conducted on the etiology of anti-social personality disorder and on psychopathology. In the past the majority of these studies had been conducted in developed countries and in the past few years a number of studies have started to be conducted in developing countries. Although very interesting with great insight very few have tried to examined any trends and differences between developed and developing countries. During the course of these studies it has been observed that inmates and people exhibiting Psychopathy traits are more likely to commit violent crimes and in addition reoffend. The thesis proposed examines trends between developed and developing countries to find any links between crime and psychopathology and in addition the etiology, prevalence and prevention of psychopathology. The study will identify a number of models utilised to understand violence in society and personality disorders with particular reference to psychopathy. The study is being done in order to obtain a better understanding of a link between psychopathology and escalating crime in South Africa and what, if anything can be done to decrease this prevelance. This thesis outlines a number of diagnostic tools utilised in order to determine if a person is indeed suffering from psychopathy. Each one of these is discussed and the validity of each considered for both developed and developing countries as a diagnostic tool. The study clearly show that there are a number of unanswered questions around psychopathy within South Africa and that more research within a South African context needs to be conducted if this disorder is to be properly understood. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)