The relational construction of woman abuse : narratives of gender, subjectivity and violence in South Africa

This study examined how women and men in intimate heterosexual relationships attribute meaning to the man's perpetration of violence against a woman partner. Narrative interviews were conducted with women and men who constituted 15 heterosexual couples (30 individual women and men). Narrative analytical methods, informed by feminist poststructuralism, revealed that participants located themselves within multiple and ambiguous gendered subject positions. In their talk about violence and relationships, women and men 'performed' gender and enacted diverse culturally available constructions of femininity and masculinity. The analysis also showed that participants' talk about violence was embedded in broader sociocultural mechanisms that construct woman abuse as a serious social problem in South Africa. Within-case and across-case narrative analytical methods revealed that couples' narratives were either constructed collaboratively or incongruently across partners. In collaborative narratives, couples' stories were congruent in terms of their content, structure and aims, for example, explaining the ending of the marriage. Incongruent narratives, on the other hand, were characterised by major disconnections in the content and function. It was concluded that, although presumptions about homogeneity prevail, greater sensitivity to heterogeneity amongst victims, perpetrators and couples is appropriate. This study provides insight into the dynamics of abusive relationships as well as a basis for suggestions about interventions for perpetrators and victims of woman abuse.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Boonzaier, Floretta

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• De la Rey, Cheryl

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7794

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7794