Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain

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dc.contributor.advisorDe la Rey, Cherylen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBoonzaaier, Florettaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-14T18:08:14Z
dc.date.available2015-09-14T18:08:14Z
dc.date.issued2001en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: leaves 117-128.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractWoman abuse is a pervasive social problem and there is a paucity of South African research exploring women's experiences of violence. This study focused on how women endure abusive relationships by examining how women construct and give meaning to their experiences, within a particular socio-cultural context. Interviews were conducted with 15 participants who volunteered participation in response to advertisements. All research participants resided in Mitchell's Plain or surrounding areas. In-depth, narrative interviews were used to investigate women's experiences of violence from their partners. The interview topics included women's daily concerns and problems, their experiences of and responses to their partners' violence, and their feelings toward their partners and staying in the relationships. The interviews lasted approximately one to two hours and were tape-recorded and transcribed. The interview data was analysed by utilising a narrative approach, taking the content of women's stories into account. A close attention to language and discourse also shaped the analysis of women's narratives. In their narratives, women named their experiences of violation and abuse, explored the impact of abuse, and discussed their help-seeking attempts. Women also constructed particular gendered identities for themselves and their partners. Hegemonic gendered identities were sometimes adopted or resisted and reflected contradictory subjective experiences. This study showed how women in abusive relationships utilised a variety of strategies to end the violence in their lives and challenged constructions of women as passive victims of abuse. The meanings women attached to their experiences of abuse were filtered through the particular socio-cultural context (characterised by poverty and deprivation) within which their experiences occurred. An important contribution of this study was the acknowledgement that change occurred as a result of the abuse. Women named their experiences of abuse, questioned a husband's violence against his wife, and made connections between their experiences and those of other women, thereby shifting toward a gendered consciousness.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBoonzaaier, F. (2001). <i>Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13904en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBoonzaaier, Floretta. <i>"Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13904en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBoonzaaier, F. 2001. Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Boonzaaier, Floretta AB - Woman abuse is a pervasive social problem and there is a paucity of South African research exploring women's experiences of violence. This study focused on how women endure abusive relationships by examining how women construct and give meaning to their experiences, within a particular socio-cultural context. Interviews were conducted with 15 participants who volunteered participation in response to advertisements. All research participants resided in Mitchell's Plain or surrounding areas. In-depth, narrative interviews were used to investigate women's experiences of violence from their partners. The interview topics included women's daily concerns and problems, their experiences of and responses to their partners' violence, and their feelings toward their partners and staying in the relationships. The interviews lasted approximately one to two hours and were tape-recorded and transcribed. The interview data was analysed by utilising a narrative approach, taking the content of women's stories into account. A close attention to language and discourse also shaped the analysis of women's narratives. In their narratives, women named their experiences of violation and abuse, explored the impact of abuse, and discussed their help-seeking attempts. Women also constructed particular gendered identities for themselves and their partners. Hegemonic gendered identities were sometimes adopted or resisted and reflected contradictory subjective experiences. This study showed how women in abusive relationships utilised a variety of strategies to end the violence in their lives and challenged constructions of women as passive victims of abuse. The meanings women attached to their experiences of abuse were filtered through the particular socio-cultural context (characterised by poverty and deprivation) within which their experiences occurred. An important contribution of this study was the acknowledgement that change occurred as a result of the abuse. Women named their experiences of abuse, questioned a husband's violence against his wife, and made connections between their experiences and those of other women, thereby shifting toward a gendered consciousness. DA - 2001 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2001 T1 - Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain TI - Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13904 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13904
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBoonzaaier F. Women abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plain. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2001 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13904en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherResearch Psychologyen_ZA
dc.titleWomen abuse : exploring women's narratives of violence and resistance in Mitchell's Plainen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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