published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

This thesis looked deeper into the subject of engaging men and boys in the issue of violence against women in Mauritius. The aim of the study was to investigate what methods were used to engage men and boys in the subject, as well as the challenges faced when working to engage men and boys in the subject of violence against women, and lastly if there is any new innovative strategies that could develop the area of engaging men and boys towards decreasing violence against women. The theory used in this study was hegemonic masculinity by Connell. We used abductive thematic network analysis (ATNA) as our method and analysis. In addition we also used Atlas.ti-7, a computerized data analysis tool, to categorize the data and to further create the themes and networks between them. Our results showed that one of the methods that were frequently used by the organizations was to empower men to make a change in their own life, and further becoming the change in society themselves. Another method used by some of the organizations was to create an alternative role of what masculinity is in order to change the stereotypical macho dominant man which includes being aggressive as one of the characteristics, for instance. Some of the difficulties faced by the organizations was the challenge of actually recruiting men and boys to the workshops, but also recruiting male facilitators as employees. Some of the innovative ideas put forward by the interviewees, was to engage boys at school more than what is done now, also to work with corporations and companies and their employees in the issues of violence against women.

No description available.

No description available.

M.A. / Wife abuse as a social construct had no reality until 1970 and as a result violence against women remained invisible and seemingly non-existent. When wife abuse was named, a new reality was created and for the first time women's experiences were acknowledged and validated. The process of naming, largely as a result of the efforts of many active feminists, generated an alternative reality providing the space for many new narratives to emerge. Research has shown that wife abuse is not a rare phenomenon. Conservative estimates suggest that at least one in four women in South Africa have experienced wife abuse at some point in their lives. This research. using a social constructionist perspective which adheres to feminist principles, will explore the multiple realities of wife abuse. It will thus continue the dialogue regarding wife abuse, generating new narratives and alternative meanings that will hopefully contribute toward a greater understanding of it. Chapter one discusses the prevalence of wife abuse within South Africa as well as the resultant effects. Chapter two attempts to document the long and insidious history of wife abuse that was legitimised within the law until the rise of feminism. The importance of feminism is discussed as part of the context. Chapter three discusses the "tools" to be used in this dissertation and explores the way in which wife abuse has emerged as a social construct. Chapter four reflects that the way in which wife abuse is meaningful to the participants is to a large extent shaped by the collective representations thereof, which are then considered. Chapter five discusses the social, psychological and legal response that has emerged because wife abuse was named. Chapter six charts the way in which wife abuse is understood and explicated through a feminist lens. Chapter seven is dedicated to the research methodology adopted in this dissertation. The tenets of a social constructionist post-modern framework an; explained, facilitating the ensuing discussion pertaining to the research design. Chapter eight illuminates the themes that evolved in discussion with participants reflecting that the way in which wife abuse is seen, perceived, experienced and understood is largely shaped by the various roles of the participants. Chapter nine looks specifically at how each participant constructs wife abuse. Chapter ten considers the way in which wife abuse is seen through the lens of a survivor and the way in which she perceives the role of alternative systems. Finally consideration is given to the absence of the "batterer''. Chapter eleven marks the last part of the dissertation in which the research process and themes are reflected upon and conclusions are drawn. finally chapter twelve critiques the research and makes recommendations for the future Concluding thoughts are verbalised regarding the journey that was taken and the journey that lies ahead.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Background: This study examined the association between gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy in Zimbabwe. Various studies have identified factors associated with unintended pregnancy but the role of gender-based violence in unintended pregnancy has not been fully investigated. Gender-based violence is identified as a global public health concern and has reproductive health consequences. METHODS: This study used the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) of 2005/ 2006 to explore the relationship between gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy. A total of 1 516 women were included in ZDHS. For the purpose of this study only women aged 15-49 who participated in the Domestic Violence Module and who reported to have given birth in the five years before the survey were selected. The outcome variable was pregnancy intent. The predictor variables were physical, emotional and sexual violence. These were recoded into binary variables. The responses for these were “yes” for women who reported that they had experienced a form of violence and “no” for those who had not. Data analysis consisted of three stages; univariate frequency distributions and, bivariate and multivariate analysis using logistic regression. RESULTS: The study found that the experience of gender-based violence was prevalent in Zimbabwe. As 33.25% of women reported having experienced some form of physical violence and 33.71% suffered a form of emotional abuse. In the case of sexual violence, about 15.37% of women reported an experience thereof. Unintended pregnancies were reported by 30.67% respondents. An association between gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy was found to exist. This is evident in both the bivariate and multivariate analyses. Women who have experience gender-based violence are 1.53 times more likely to report unintended pregnancy.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Department of Sociology

Indiscriminate violence against civilians is a recurrent problem in armed conflicts of all sorts. However, from a social science perspective this type of violence poses a puzzle. The literature on government and non-government violence mostly assumes that indiscriminate violence has counter-productive effect and is ultimately self-defeating. Yet, this begs the question as to why an actor should use indiscriminate violence at all? This dissertation tries to solve at least part of the puzzle. First, it critically reviews the literature and points to some misunderstandings that have made progress in comprehending indiscriminate violence more difficult. Second, the dissertation provides a theory on the effects of indiscriminate violence that targets groups, i.e. group-selective violence. While most of the literature assumes that violence against groups seeks to coerce the groups that are attacked, this dissertation widens the view and includes non-targeted groups in the calculation as well. It thereby demonstrates that group-selective violence can be able to produce coercive effects among those groups that are not targeted while generating only limited counter-productive effects. Empirically, this dissertation provides two types of supporting evidence. First, it will provide several case studies as a plausibility probe. These cases are designed to highlight that group-selective violence is used in the way proposed by the theory and has the hypothesized effects. Second, the dissertation will test the hypotheses of the theory of group-selective violence with data on violence against civilians in ethnic wars. Here quantitative methods are used to investigate the patterns and the consequences of violence. Both empirical investigations provide support for the notion that group-selective violence can be beneficial for the perpetrator and that it is used to achieve those benefits. In sum, this dissertation puts forth the theoretical background and empirical support for the effectiveness of group-selective violence.

Violence against women is not only recognized as a pervasive and insidious social problem affecting all societies, but is being increasingly characterized as the most widespread form of human rights violation. South Africa is at this moment, experiencing violent crime at an unprecedented rate. Today, violence has become deeply entrenched in South African society. As such it is not surprising to witness the widespread abuse against women. The researcher begins by examining relevant literature in the area of the experiences of women in intimate abusive relationships. This study makes use of a phenomenological method to explicate the meanings of 6 participants of the Aryan Benevolent Home, a safe house, who have experienced abuse in an intimate relationship. The central aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of abuse women by their intimate male partners. The research was approached from a feminist perspective, using a qualitative methodology. The participants were diverse in terms of age and background and drawn from women seeking help at the Aryan Benevolent Home. Information was obtained by means of a semi-structured interview, which was tape recorded and transcribed for analysis. Anonymity and confidentiality were assured to all participants before the study. The study concludes with the limitations and implications of the findings and recommendations are further discussed. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.