Intimate violence against women : a report on the incidence and correlates of intimate violence against women - an Mdantsane, Eastern Cape sample

Gender issues, especially in South Africa, have over recent years moved decisively into the public domain. In this context intimate violence by men of their women partners, so long shrouded in silence, is now being hailed as one of our most serious and prevalent social problems. But despite this awareness the circumstances which underpin this sort of violence remain controversial and obscure and its effective management elusive. This study explores some of the factors which may promote or protect against its use in order to identify which would both assist individuals personally affected by personal violence as well as influence any societal factors which perpetuate it. This study uses the words' wife abuse', 'wife beating', 'spouse abuse' and 'intimate violence' interchangeably to refer to violence towards women by their intimate male partners whether they qualify strictly as 'husbands' or not. The report starts with a brief review of selected literature on the topic of intimate violence. The context of the current study and the pilot work is then discussed. Following this, the Domestic Violence Survey, the core of this report is introduced and the results presented. Finally a brief discussion brings together some of the major findings and makes some tentative suggestions for future investigations.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Harris, Eric

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Foster, Don

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9753

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9753