The prevalence and effects of abuse against men in the three tribal authorities in INgwavuma District in KwaZulu-Natal.
The study aimed at investigating the prevalence and effects of abuse or violence against men in an intimate relationship in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Notably, the thesis is entitled “The prevalence and Effects of Abuse against Men in the three Tribal Authorities in Ingwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal”. The study defines domestic violence as an abusive behaviour by one or both partners in an intimate relationship (e.g. marriage, dating, family, friends, and cohabitation). Domestic violence as a public health problem leads to death, physical disabilities, mental health problems, psychological problems, economical deficiencies, to mention a few. The study was informed by three main research objectives: to identify the causes of men abuse; to determine the effects of men abuse; and to develop strategies for addressing men abuse. The theoretical framework that underpinned the study was Social Learning Theory by Bandura. The study used a post-positivist research paradigm which enabled the researcher to yield multiple perspectives from the target population rather than a single reality. In that light, the study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods during data collection. The qualitative data were gathered through open-ended questions among men who once experienced abuse by their intimate partners while quantitative data were gathered through a survey. The study also used in depth literature review and document analysis which formed part of qualitative content analysis. The study drew a sample from men who once experienced abuse from their intimate partners. The study adopted non-probability sampling because the researcher did not know the size of the population. Additionally, the researcher used snowball and purposive sampling techniques. These sampling techniques were used at different stages to select the respondents. Snowball was largely used because the researcher did not know the victims of abuse. The study sampled 60 men who once experienced abuse and interestingly, all of them were interviewed as intended by the study. The collected data were analysed through the use of qualitative content analysis. The study acknowledged the wealth of knowledge on the concept ‘abuse’ by the respondents. The findings showed that men abuse is not a new thing in the province but is well-known and experienced by a number of men. The concept ‘abuse’, among men, meant different ways of abuse experienced by any gender in an intimate relationship. For example, the findings showed that abuse means an intimate partner who may pull a man by his private parts, being beaten, insulted, forced to clean the floor and wash nappies. It is observed that men abuse is a problem in the area and is well-known in the community. The findings showed that a large number of men suffer silent abuse because they believe that it is a mark of shame to be known as a man who is abused by his wife. It was established that the main cause of men abuse is power hunger by women. It was established that some women deprived men of sexual intercourse; some young women cheated with young men, they call Ben 10s, in the community. It was observed that a large number of men do not report cases of abuse. It was revealed that the reason men do not report cases of abuse, is the fear of being in the spotlight and that they do not know where to report. The study found that the few men who reported cases of abuse by their intimate partners ended up being a joke in the community. It was revealed that the culprit is never punished. The study showed that men do not have rights in KwaZulu-Natal. In other words, there is nothing that protects men from their women intimate partners. The strategies for preventing men abuse from their intimate partners are well presented. The most crucial strategies spelled out were related to raising awareness campaigns on men abuse; community workshops on men abuse; and educating women on men abuse. The full thesis is available in the University of Zululand Institutional Repository.
abuse --men --tribal authorities --South Africa
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