Domestic Violence in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Experiences and Challenges
Keywords:
Domestic Violence; Culture; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Gender Equality; Critical Discourse Analysis
Abstract
In the post-apartheid era, domestic violence remains one of the major social problems facing South Africa as it affects the victim, perpetrators, the family, and community at large. Though there have been various attempts to determine the prevalence of domestic violence and sexual assault in South Africa, available statistics reflect only a small portion of cases. Most people think that the traditions and rules of African cultures can better explain domestic violence.Some see this connection as a direct one, arguing that wife battering is regarded as normal within the traditional African culture. Since the turn of the millennium and the adoption of the just ended Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), women and girls have been discussed on global platforms. The failure to attain the MDGs resulted in the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) tells all governments around the world to make sure that men and women have the same rights and that all women and girls have the same rights.This is in light of the vulnerability which women and girls find themselves in. Women and girls in most communities find themselves without a voice and their rights are undermined due to socially constructed roles and attributes that undermine them. This paper explores the hypothesis that social and cultural values and beliefs are antithetical to women’s development and wellbeing and thus cause domestic violence. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to analyse and discuss secondary data collected.
References
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Boserup, Brad, Mark McKenney, and Adel Elkbuli. "Alarming trends in US domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic." The American journal of emergency medicine 38.12 (2020): 2753-2755.
Bowman, Cynthia Grant. "Domestic violence: Does the African context demand a different approach?" (2003).
Bradley, Nori L., et al. "Health care practitioners’ responsibility to address intimate partner violence related to the COVID-19 pandemic." Cmaj 192.22 (2020): E609-E610.
Burrill, Emily S., Richard L. Roberts, and Elizabeth Thornberry, eds. Domestic Violence and the Law in Colonial and Postcolonial. Ohio University Press, (2010).
Collins, John J. "The zeal of Phinehas: The Bible and the legitimation of violence." Journal of Biblical Literature 122.1 (2003): 3-21.
Cools, Sara, and Andreas Kotsadam. "Resources and intimate partner violence in Sub-Saharan Africa." World Development 95 (2017): 211-230.
Dastjerdehei, Rezvan Kazemi, et al. "Factors affecting domestic violence: a qualitative study." Social Behavior Research & Health (2020).
De La Harpe, Kim, and Floretta Boonzaier. "Women's experiences of an intervention for violent men." South African Journal of Psychology 41.2 (2011): 147-156.
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Jewkes, Rachel, et al. "Preventing rape and violence in South Africa: Call for leadership in a new agenda for action." MRC Policy brief 2 (2009).
Jewkes, Rachel. "Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention." The lancet 359.9315 (2002): 1423-1429.
Kholofelo, Mothibi A., and Happy Mathew Tirivangasi. "Police Capacity Building in Dealing with Domestic Violence Cases in South Africa: An Entry Point to Women’s Access to Justice." Violence Against Women and Criminal Justice in Africa: Volume I. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, (2022). 123-147.
Knabe, A., Schöb, R., & Weimann, J. Partnership, gender, and the well-being cost of unemployment. Social Indicators Research, (2016). 1255-1275.
Lau, U. "Fact Sheet: Intimate Partner Violence." Institute for Social & Health Sciences and MRCUNISA, Lenasia and Tygerberg, South Africa (2009).
Lund, Rafael Guerra, Scheila Manica, and Giselle Mânica. "Collateral issues in times of covid-19: child abuse, domestic violence and femicide." Revista Brasileira de Odontologia Legal 7.2 (2020).
Lynch, Kellie R., et al. "Associations between sexual behavior norm beliefs in relationships and intimate partner rape judgments." Violence Against Women 23.4 (2017): 426-451.
Mathews, S., Loots, L., Sikweyiya, Y. & Jewkes, R. Sexual abuse. In A. van Niekerk, S. Suffla a & M. Seedat (Eds.). Crime, violence and injury in South Africa: 21st century solutions for child safety (pp. 84–96). Houghton: Psychological Society of South Africa, (2012).
Mathews, Shanaaz, and Naeemah Abrahams. Combining stories and numbers: an analysis of the impact of the Domestic Violence Act (No. 116 of 1998) on women. Gender Advocacy Programme, MRC, (2001).
Mazza, Marianna, et al. "Danger in danger: Interpersonal violence during COVID-19 quarantine." Psychiatry research 289 (2020): 113046.
Mshweshwe, Linda. Support for abused rural women in the Eastern Cape: Views of survivors and service providers. University of Johannesburg (South Africa), 2018.
Myers, Kristen, and Ilana Demantas. "Breadwinning and bread‐losing: Exploring opportunities to rework manhood." Sociology Compass 10.12 (2016): 1119-1130.
Pagelow, Mildred Daley, and Lloyd W. Pagelow. Family violence. ABC-CLIO, (1984).
Parenzee, Penny, Lillian Artz, and Kelley Moult. Monitoring the implementation of the domestic violence act: First research report, 2000-2001. Cape Town: Institute of Criminology, University of Cape Town, (2001).
SAPS Strategic Management. Annual Report 2008/2009. Pretoria: SAPS, (2009).
SAPS Strategic Management. Annual Report 2009/2010. Pretoria: SAPS,( 2010).
Schneider, Daniel, Kristen Harknett, and Sara McLanahan. "Intimate partner violence in the great recession." Demography 53.2 (2016): 471-505.
Seabi, Agnes Tshidi. Marriage, cohabitation and domestic violence in Mpumalanga. Diss. University of Pretoria, (2010).
Sikweyiya, Yandisa, et al. "Patriarchy and gender-inequitable attitudes as drivers of intimate partner violence against women in the central region of Ghana." BMC public health 20.1 (2020): 1-11.
Singh, Divya. Self-defence as a ground of justification in cases of battered woman who kill their abusive partners. Diss.( 2009).
Stiegler, Nancy, and Jean-Pierre Bouchard. "South Africa: Challenges and successes of the COVID-19 lockdown." Annales Médico-psychologiques, revue psychiatrique. Vol. 178. No. 7. Elsevier Masson, (2020).
Stromquist, Nelly P. Women in the Third World: An encyclopedia of contemporary Issues. Routledge, (2014).
Sultana, Abeda. "Patriarchy and women s subordination: a theoretical analysis." Arts Faculty Journal (2010): 1-18.
Takalani, Mashau, Fhatuwani Ravhuhali, and Kena Mapotso. "DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT NO. 57 OF 2002 AND ITS FRAMEWORK OF 2005 IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS: SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES’VULNERABILITY." Gender & Behaviour 18.1 (2020).
Tirivangasi, H.M & Rankoana, S.A. South Africa and xenophobia: Regional peace strategies for xenophobia and xenophobic attacks prevention. SAAPAM 4th Annual Conference proceedings: Limpopo Chapter, 28-30 October, (2015), 519-531.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: UNAIDS.( 2008).
Vetten. Gendering state accountability in South Africa: Police accountability and the Domestic Violence Act, (2014), http://apcof.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/No-11-Gendering-State-Accountability-in-South-Africa_-Police-Accountability-and-Domestic-Violence-Act-Lisa-Vetten-.pdf.
Vogelman, Lloyd, and Gillian Eagle. "Overcoming endemic violence against women in South Africa." Social Justice 18.1/2 (43-44 (1991): 209-229.
Women, Violence Against CaLD. "Engaging Men from Diverse Backgrounds in Preventing Men’s Violence Against Women."(2013).
Wood, Katherine Margaret. An ethnography of sexual health and violence among township youth in South Africa. Diss. London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London),( 2003).
World Bank. Gender-Based Violence (Violence Against Women and Girls), (2019). Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialsustainability/brief/violence-against-women-and-girls.
Published
2023-08-06
How to Cite
Mathew, T. H., & Agnes, R. S. (2023). Domestic Violence in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Experiences and Challenges. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 5(11), 517-526. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v5i11.1632
Section
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