Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction Worldwide, up to 25% of women are assaulted during pregnancy, with estimates varying between populations. Violence has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcome, including preterm birth, abruptio placentae and low birth weight. Among the Coloured population of the Western Cape the incidence of spontaneous preterm birth is 20%, compared to the global figure of 10%. Overall, the rate of preterm labour has not dropped over the past 40 years and no clearer answer as to a specific cause has been found. The objective of this study was to determine whether patients who deliver preterm experience more domestic violence than those who deliver at term. Methods Two groups of patients were assessed. Firstly, patients who spontaneously delivered between 24 and 33 weeks (24wOd - 33w6d), who were admitted for suppression of active labour after 24 weeks, or who experienced placental abruption before 34 weeks, were screened for domestic violence using the "Abuse Assessment Screen". A second group of women, attending a local Midwife Obstetric Unit with uncomplicated pregnancies, completed the same questionnaire. The questionnaires were all administered by the same person (J.S.) after written informed consent was given. Results A total of 229 patients were interviewed, 99 in the low risk (LR) and 130 in the preterm labour (PTL) group, which included 23 women with abruptio placentae. The PTL group experienced significantly more violence throughout their lives than the LR group (59.7% vs. 40.4%, p = 0.038). Experiences of violence within the last year or during the pregnancy did not reach statistical significance between the two groups, although the numbers were higher for the PTL group. The PTL group smoked significantly more cigarettes per day (p = 0.009), used more alcohol (p < 0.001) and had a higher incidence of syphilis than the LR group (p = 0.005). These differences remained the same when the abruptio's were analyzed as a separate group. Conclusions: Women who delivered preterm did experience more violence at some point in their lives and were also more likely to engage in high-risk behaviour. Violence alone does not seem to cause PTL directly, but is part of a low socioeconomic lifestyle. The fact that the alcohol use is so high among these women is a problem that needs to be addressed, but once again, it is possibly the result of deeper social problems. The need for education on values and respect, family planning use and low risk sexual behaviour is once again challenged. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: GEWELD TEEN VROUE -IMPAK OP REPRODUKTIEWE GESONDHEID EN UITKOMS VAN SWANGERSKAP Inleiding Daar word beraam dat tot 25% van alle swanger vroue aangerand word, maar die insidensie wissel tussen verskillende populasies. Ervarings van geweld kan 'n direkte of indirekte oorsaak wees van swak verloskundige uitkoms wat voortydse kraam, abruptio placentae en lae geboortegewig insluit. In die Wes- Kaap, onder die Kleurlingbevolking, is die insidensie van voortydse kraam 20%, wat swak vergelyk met die wêreldwye insidensie van 10%. Gedurende die laaste 40 jaar het die voorkoms van voortydse kraam nie verminder nie en geen deurbrake is gemaak t.o.v die oorsaak van die probleem nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal of vroue wat prematuur verlos moontlik meer geweld ervaar as vroue wat op normale swangerskapsduur verlos. Metodes Twee groepe vroue is bestudeer. Die eerste groep het vroue ingesluit wat spontaan verlos het tussen 24 en 33 weke (24wOd - 33w6d) of vroue wat na 24 weke swangerskapsduur toegelaat is vir onderdrukking van kraam. Vroue met plasentale loslating (abruptio placentae) voor 34 weke, sonder onderliggende hipertensiewe toestande, was ook ingesluit in die groep. Daar is m.b.v. 'n vraelys ("Abuse Assessment Screen") bepaal watter van die vroue gesinsgeweld ervaar het. Die tweede groep het vroue ingesluit met ongekompliseerde swangerskappe en wat by 'n nabygeleë kliniek voorgeboortesorg ontvang het. Hulle is ook gevra om die vraelys te voltooi en is opgevolg om die uitkoms van hulle swangerskappe te noteer. Die vraelyste is almal deur een persoon (J.S.) aan die vroue voorgelê nadat hulle ingeligte, skriftelike toestemming gegee het. Resultate 'n Totaal van 229 vroue was ingesluit, 99 in die lae risiko (LR) groep en 130 in die voortydse kraam (VK) groep, waarvan 23 abruptio placentae gehad het. In vergelyking met die LR groep, het die VK groep het betekenisvol meer geweld in hulle leeftyd ervaar (59.7% teenoor 40.4%, p = 0.038). Geweld wat tydens die afgelope jaar of tydens die swangerskap ervaar is, het nie betekenisvol verskil tussen die twee groepe nie, alhoewel die getalle hoër was vir die VK groep. Die VK groep het betekenisvol meer sigarette per dag gerook (p = 0.009), meer alkohol gebruik (p < 0.001) en het 'n hoër insidensie van sifilis gehad as die LR groep (p = 0.005). Hierdie verskille was steeds beduidend nadat dié met abruptio placentae as 'n aparte groep geanaliseer is. Gevolgtrekking Die vroue wat prematuur verlos het, het meer emosionele en fisiese geweld in hulle leeftyd ervaar en is meer geneig om 'n ongesonde leefstyl te handhaaf. Geweld blyk nie 'n direkte oorsaak van voortydse kraam te wees nie, maar gaan gepaard met 'n lae sosio-ekonomiese lewensstyl. Die hoë insidensie van alkoholgebruik onder swanger vroue is 'n probleem wat aangespreek moet word, maar dit is waarskynlik die manifestasie van dieper emosionele probleme. Opvoeding in terme van waardes en respek, gesinsbeplanning en veilige seksuele gedrag is gevolglik 'n noodsaaklikheid.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Political Studies by Coursework and Research Report in the Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities March 2016 / Domestic violence is both a local and global phenomenon. Much research has been conducted on its incidence in South Africa, but there is a dearth of research on how it affects Muslim communities. Thus, this research report contributes to the literature in providing a case study of how a select middle class cohort of Muslims in Johannesburg, by gender and generation, discursively construct their perspectives on domestic violence in their community. The research investigates how members of Muslim congregations understand and define gendered violence, particularly violence against women. The research report addresses two key themes through the research. The first, involves a textual analysis of the interpretations of Chapter 4 Verse 34 in the Qur’an. The interpretations and understandings of this verse and of Islam form the basis for how the respondents defined, understood and perceived gendered violence in their community and in wider society, especially violence against women. The main focus of the empirical research, addresses how a diverse group of respondents relate to the issue of violence against women in Islam and in the Muslim community. This research report adopts a case study approach and thus does not have general applicability. However, through an analysis of focus groups and individual interviews, which form the basis of the research, the report presents the perspective on domestic violence as discussed by select Muslims in Johannesburg. It interrogates the notion of the public and private, of honour and shame versus security, and investigates the avenues of escape available to women. The respondents argue that while intimate family violence is a general social problem, it occurs in Muslim homes to a lesser extent. They refer to the writings of the Prophet Muhammad, his life and personal conduct, in order to show that domestic violence is not allowed in Islam. However, the older men and women respondents both directly and indirectly blame women for the abuse they endure. This victim-blaming resides within a strongly patriarchal bias that creates the idea that men are the protectors and representatives of the family in the public realm and inevitably justifies domestic violence. The younger cohort provided a somewhat less rigid set of perspectives that were less judgemental in nature. The distinction made between the public and private realms proved to be an important one in defining the status and roles of women and men, and in shaping what could be disclosed in public and what should remain private. Honour proved to be a central precept in the significance of privacy. In Islamic culture, the private sphere is associated with honour and if what is meant to be private is made public, this idea of honour is breached and the family suffers humiliation. But the women bear the brunt of the blame. Thus, the debate about honour in Muslim culture and Islamic precepts of what is right and wrong is critical in bringing the issue of domestic violence to the fore as a violation of women’s rights on the one hand, and Islamic dogma on the other. The resolution of this conflict is important in determining the role of the Jamiat and Muslim congregations in offering mechanisms of support for abused women and avenues of escape from the abuse. However, these mechanisms and avenues will only work if what is meant to be ‘a private matter’ is no longer made an issue of honour in Muslim communities / MT2017

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Psychology) in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, March 2017. / Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem affecting many women in South Africa and worldwide. Due to the many consequences that victims of IPV experience, it is increasingly seen as a public health concern. Despite interventions targeted at reducing the rates of IPV, it still remains prevalent in South African communities. Research has mainly explored IPV from the victims’ perspective and only in recent years has there been a marked interest in perpetrators of IPV. This study explores an identified gap in literature which examines the experiences and actions of male perpetrators of IPV. In-depth interviews were conducted with five men who were a part of a perpetrator reintegration programme at a Non-Governmental Organisation in Johannesburg. The data was analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis in an attempt to better understand their reported individual experiences. The study found that there was little consensus amongst perpetrators of IPV regarding the nature and causes of violence. IPV is normalised by many perpetrators. It is embedded in a context of patriarchy which emphasizes male dominance over the household, the finances and the women and children. Men and women are socialized into the context of patriarchy. Through the research, it was found that perpetrators view their actions as a response to something their partner did wrong or did not do, thus the act is seen as justified, the use of blame and minimization of the act were common responses when asked about experiences of IPV. Traditional customs such as Lobola allowed men to believe that they owned their wives, and through this had dominance and control over the relationship. This was viewed by participants as a right to discipline and punish one’s partner. / XL2018

In addition to the reproductive benefits associated with outcompeting sexual rivals and being seen as an attractive mating prospect by women, research suggests that competition adaptively regulates men's sexual interest and behavior in preparation for mating opportunities following competitive outcomes, with victory leading to an increase in sexual interest and loss leading to a decrease in sexual interest. One hundred fifteen undergraduate men engaged in a contrived competitive task in which a third were led to believe that they won, a third were led to believe that they lost, and a third were led to believe that they neither won nor lost. Participants completed the Rape Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (RABS), which was used to test whether the effects of competition extend to men's proneness to sexual aggression. In addition, the current study attempted to replicate Gorelik and Bjorklund's (2015) finding that only single men's sexual interest is affected by competition. Results did not reveal an effect of competition on men's rape proclivity, although there were effects in the predicted direction on two of the RABS items. Gorelik and Bjorklund's (2015) effect of competition on men's sexual interest was not replicated. Limitations, implications for the understanding of the biology of sexual aggression, and directions for future research are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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.

Thesis ((M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of the North, 2002 / Violence against women ts a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which has led to the domination of women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women. It is an old phenomenon that was kept secret, and people pretended that the problem did not exist. It wasn't until the feminist activists openly addressed the issue of inequality that included women's lack of rights and low status within marriage and society as well as battering that the taboo topic was changed into a subject extensively investigated. Extensive research on the topic now exists. As is the case in many developing countries, research on violence against women in Namibia is relatively rare. Research regarding the mental health consequences of abuse is virtually non-existent. It is to this area of research that the present study addressed itself. This study aimed at describing and determining the mental health consequences of battering to which Namibian women are subjected. The study followed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Qualitative research used in-depth interviews based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The measures utilized was an Abuse Disability Questionnaire (ADQ). A demographic questionnaire identifying battered women variables was also utilized. A total of 60 battered women were surveyed and all 60 women completed the questionnaires. In quantitative methods, data were analysed in terms of descriptive statistics. In qualitative methods, closely related data were grouped together under specific titles to serve as categories. The results indicated that Namibian battered women endure physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse. The results has shown that age, education, religion, employment status and marital status do not matter. Women are still being battered. The results also indicated that Namibian battered women are indeed subjected to various negative mental health consequences.

Gender-based violence and the risk of HIV infection are some of the social problems facing women in South Africa. The emergence of gender-based violence as a prominent challenge facing the University of KwaZulu-Natal community led to the impetus for a qualitative study which focuses specifically on female UKZN residence students on Howard College Campus. A social constructionist approach was used to explore how female UKZN residence students understand and experience gender-based violence and safe sex practices. Unstructured interviews were conducted with twelve female residence students and interview texts were analysed using discourse analysis. The findings revealed the difficulties women experience in negotiating safe sex and how gender-based violence is facilitated through a system of discourses which reproduce patriarchal power relations. This research shines a light on the prevalence of gender-based violence in South Africa and the far reaching impact it has on the lives of women. The fear of gender-based violence is a continuous presence in the lives of these women and this research demonstrates how one does not have to be a victim of gender-based violence to experience the trauma and anxiety surrounding this violence. Hopefully this research will culminate in policy and interventions aimed at improving the lives of female students at UKZN. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The study seeks to interrogate the gender constructions in the Daily Sun’s “Charter for a Man” campaign which ran from 7 November to 7 December 2007. It coincided with the 16 Days of Activism against gender violence and was designed to lobby support for this campaign and discourage men from physically abusing women. The “Charter for a Man” listed nine principles that signatories were to abide by. It included a section to be signed by men to be submitted to and collected by the Daily Sun. The campaign was constructed as an intervention into the issue of gender violence. Consequently, the 30 news stories, four editorial pieces and 11 letters to the editor that were published during the campaign period make up the textual data analysed in the study. The news stories consisted of testimonies from abused women and some women abusers. In addition, celebrity signatories were selected to endorse the campaign and encourage other men to follow suit. In the editorials, the campaign was consistently flagged as a nation building initiative which all men were supposed to support. The letters to the editor consisted of readers who either supported or rejected the campaign. The study takes place against the context of a patriarchal society characterised by high levels of violence. Given this scenario, the study is informed by a concern with gender justice and therefore considers whether such a campaign, ostensibly aimed at eradicating gender violence, has the potential of being transformative of gender inequalities. The study set out to establish the kinds of masculinities and femininities that were variously constituted in the campaign as well as the gender discourses that were privileged. It is informed by the theories of feminist poststructuralism and Foucault’s conceptualisation of discourse. As the campaign is the initiative of a tabloid newspaper, it is also considered within the framework of newspaper campaigns and arguments about tabloids and the public sphere. As text based research, the study employs critical discourse analysis as a qualitative procedure of textual analysis. It makes use of an eclectic approach to textual analysis that draws on linguistics, narrative and argumentation. The texts are analysed according to the categories of news texts contained which includes the Charter itself, signatory articles, testimonies, vox pops and letters to the editor. The overarching theme of nationhood projected in the editorials and other categories is also discussed as part of the analysis. The study concludes that the Daily Sun campaign might be a seemingly progressive action at first glance. However, it does not challenge the existing gender order but rather maintains and sustains patriarchal attitudes through the repeated representation of women as weak and in need of patronage and men as their protectors and providers. In some instances, women are constructed primarily as sexual beings as their physical attributes are emphasised, while men are constructed as working class citizens and rational beings. The study therefore proposes that the Daily Sun fails as an alternative public sphere that might make visible the concerns of women as a marginalised group in society. The campaign, it is argued, is self-serving in its promotion of the Daily Sun’s image as the “People’s Paper” rather than serious concerns about gender violence.

Orientadores: Joice Melo Vieira, Maria Coleta Ferreira Albino de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T16:41:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AparicioLopez_MariadelRosario_M.pdf: 1221818 bytes, checksum: 72d8ffc8ed01491bdf36c1f5d77ac24d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Essa dissertação tem o objetivo de refletir sobre a violência de gênero no México por meio da Encuesta Nacional sobre las Dinámicas de las Relaciones en los Hogares 2006 (ENDIREH-2006). A análise desse fenômeno será realizada a partir de três eixos: 1) descrição das características sociodemográficas e socioeconômicas das mulheres casadas e unidas que vivenciaram violência física ao lado dos seus cônjuges; 2) análise dos episódios de violência física mais comuns entre os casais mexicanos e os possíveis fatores associados à violência física; 3) análise das dinâmicas conjugais através dos motivos que causam raiva nos casais e suas possíveis reações / Abstract: This dissertation reflects on gender violence in Mexico through the Encuesta Nacional sobre la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares, edition 2006 (ENDIREH-2006). The analysis of this phenomenon will be from three aspects: through a description of the sociodemographic and socioeconomic married women who lived physical violence by their husbands or spouses; presenting episodes of physical violence more common among Mexican couples and the associated factors for physical life and, finally, discusses marital dynamics through the reasons that cause anger in couples and their possible reactions / Mestrado / Demografia / Mestra em Demografia

This study investigates the meaning that women attach to their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV). It seeks to explore how women who have experienced violence in the context of an intimate relationship understand, or make sense of, that experience. It is important to investigate this in order to address some of the assumptions that often inform understandings of the phenomena. Moreover, such information can be used to inform the design and implementation of appropriate interventions. Nine women who had previously experienced violence within the context of an intimate heterosexual relationship participated in this study. For ethical reasons only women who had extricated themselves from those relationships were interviewed for this study. Participants’ accounts were therefore retrospective. The women who participated in this study constituted a homogenous group in terms of their level of education, geographic location and employment status. Data was collected through personal, face-to-face interviews which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data in the form of text was analyzed following Willig’s (2001) criteria for Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Disclosure of the women’s experiences, how they made sense of their experiences, as well as the resources they identified as available to them are reported in the results and analysis chapter.