Volume 17, No. 1, Art. 9
January 2016
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and
the Link to Intimate Femicide
Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin
Key words: Abstract: In this article, we explore how women survivors of intimate partner violence understand
abuse; domestic; the abuse they endured and the possible link to intimate femicide. This is a qualitative study based
South Africa; on a feminist poststructuralist perspective. Seven South African women, aged 23 to 50 years, with a
interviews; history of different manifestations of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) participated in open-ended
discourse interviews. The data was analyzed by means of discourse analysis. In their explanations, the
analysis; women constructed gendered identities, which reflected contradictory and ambiguous subjective
feminism; experiences. The women's understandings were filtered through the particular social context in
psychology which their abusive experiences occurred. The findings highlighted that contemplating femicide was
too threatening, and consequently participants drew on discourses of femininity, romantic love, and
others to justify their remaining in their violence-ridden relationships. It emphasizes the need for
additional engagement in women's understandings of intimate femicide, as women who live in
abusive relationships have largely been consigned to the periphery.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Framework
3. Study Setting
4. Methods
4.1 Sampling and data collection
4.2 Data analysis
5. Discourse Analysis of the Understanding of Intimate Femicide
5.1 Hegemonic gender discourses
5.2 The patriarchal family discourse
5.3 Dominant prescriptions of femininity
5.4 Discourses of the "good wife"
5.5 Resistance to discourses of femininity
5.6 Resistance to traditional religious discourses
5.7 Positioning within religious discourses
5.8 Resistance to discourses of heterosexuality
5.9 Romantic discourses
5.10 Dark romance discourses
5.11 Discourses of perfect love
6. Future Research
7. Conclusion
References
Authors
Citation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research (ISSN 1438-5627)
,FQS 17(1), Art. 9, Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin:
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and the Link to Intimate Femicide
1. Introduction
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a severe medical and public
health concern for women (BOONZAIER, 2008; TOWNS & ADAMS, 2009). The
World Health Organization (WHO) has defined IPV as behavior within an intimate
relationship that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm such as acts of
physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling
behaviors (WHO, 2012). The intention to do harm, the sense of entitlement, and
the desire to control and dominate are defining features of IPV, as are the
repetitive nature of the behavior and its tendency to escalate in severity (JOYNER
& MASH, 2012). Globally, the majority of IPV is perpetrated by men against
women (GASS, STEIN, WILLIAMS & SEEDAT, 2010). Preventing IPV is vital for
ensuring the health, safety, and optimal well-being of women. [1]
IPV has been described as endemic to South African society and is the most
widespread form of violence affecting women in South Africa (JOYNER & MASH,
2012; MOSAVEL, AHMED & SIMON, 2011; SHAMU, ABRAHAMS,
TEMMERMAN, MUSEKIWA & ZAROWSKY, 2011). At least one in four women in
South Africa has been in an abusive relationship at some point in their lives (LAU,
2009). [2]
A dominant factor contributing to the high IPV rate in South Africa is the fact that
South African culture is to a large extent still regarded as patriarchal and
hierarchical, where women are expected to be obedient and men are viewed as
the disciplinarians in the family. Although these traditions are beginning to shift,
socially dictated gender roles are pervasive and relate to the widespread
manifestation of IPV in South Africa. Violence for men is normalized and thus
asserting their masculinity through violence is seen as a socially acceptable
means of exercising power over women (JEWKES et al., 2009). Consequently,
IPV demolishes the idea of gender equality and social justice (ibid.). [3]
The murder of women by their intimate partners is linked to a history of IPV
(CAMPBELL, 2012). In South Africa, many relationships comprising long-term
physical abuse of the woman by a man end in mortality (GASS et al., 2010).
Intimate femicide refers to the murder of a woman by an intimate partner, such as
her "husband, boyfriend (dating or cohabiting), ex-husband (divorced or
separated) or ex-boyfriend or a rejected would-be lover" (MATHEWS et al., 2008,
p.553). According to RUSSELL and HARMES (2001), the term suggests that
when women are murdered, femaleness becomes a risk factor, especially in
intimate relationships. Therefore, the term was introduced to highlight the role of
gender in murder cases. It emphasized the fact that the majority of murder
victims are women and the majority of perpetrators are men (ibid.). [4]
Compared to the rest of the world, women in South Africa remain the most likely
to be murdered by an intimate partner (JEWKES et al., 2009). South Africa has a
female homicide rate six times the global average and half of murdered women
are killed by an intimate partner (MATHEWS, JEWKES & ABRAHAMS, 2011).
FQS http://www.qualitative-research.net/
, FQS 17(1), Art. 9, Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin:
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and the Link to Intimate Femicide
Women are therefore more likely to be murdered by a known perpetrator than by
an unknown perpetrator (MATHEWS et al., 2004). [5]
Given the magnitude of the problem, an in-depth exploration in South Africa is
crucial to enhance our understanding of IPV and intimate femicide. Qualitative
research provides the opportunity for researchers to gain a rich perspective that
in turn enables the development of new understandings that have the potential to
be responsive to complex problems in society (ULIN, ROBINSON & TOLLEY,
2005). However, intimate femicide has received very little attention and therefore,
there is a dearth of research conducted in South Africa—a country which has one
of the highest reported rates worldwide (GASS et al., 2010; MATHEWS et al.,
2008). In particular, there is a lack of research focusing on women's
understandings of intimate femicide and their level of risk while in an abusive
relationship. Many studies on intimate femicide in South Africa have overlooked
the voices of abused women (ABRAHAMS, MATHEWS, MARTIN, LOMBARD &
JEWKES, 2013; MATHEWS, 2010; MATHEWS et al., 2004, 2008). Instead,
these studies have focused on examining the patterns of intimate femicide
(MATHEWS et al., 2008); the prevalence of intimate femicide in South Africa
(ABRAHAMS et al., 2013; MATHEWS et al., 2004); and understanding intimate
femicide from the perpetrator's perspective (MATHEWS, 2010). Although the
previous studies conducted add vital information to the body of research, the
necessity of this study lies in its ability to examine intimate femicide from the
perspective of those most at risk of being murdered. [6]
To the best of our knowledge, no scholars have yet explored this area in the
South African context and therefore it will be a valuable contribution as it
illuminates the voices of women survivors of IPV and explores how women
construct their understandings of IPV and their level of risk (FOX et al., 2007).
This is especially valuable since women are largely not given a "voice" in
mainstream research (BOONZAIER & VAN SCHALKWYK, 2011). It is critically
important for informing strategies and programs to reduce the risk level of
intimate femicide and ultimately to guide prevention policy to ensure the
widespread safety of women. In this study, we employed qualitative
methodologies to explore the discourses of women survivors of IPV drawn on to
understand intimate femicide. [7]
The following sections will explore, in more detail, the conceptual framework, the
study setting and methodology used. The study's findings will also be presented
as well as suggestions for future research. [8]
FQS http://www.qualitative-research.net/
January 2016
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and
the Link to Intimate Femicide
Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin
Key words: Abstract: In this article, we explore how women survivors of intimate partner violence understand
abuse; domestic; the abuse they endured and the possible link to intimate femicide. This is a qualitative study based
South Africa; on a feminist poststructuralist perspective. Seven South African women, aged 23 to 50 years, with a
interviews; history of different manifestations of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) participated in open-ended
discourse interviews. The data was analyzed by means of discourse analysis. In their explanations, the
analysis; women constructed gendered identities, which reflected contradictory and ambiguous subjective
feminism; experiences. The women's understandings were filtered through the particular social context in
psychology which their abusive experiences occurred. The findings highlighted that contemplating femicide was
too threatening, and consequently participants drew on discourses of femininity, romantic love, and
others to justify their remaining in their violence-ridden relationships. It emphasizes the need for
additional engagement in women's understandings of intimate femicide, as women who live in
abusive relationships have largely been consigned to the periphery.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Framework
3. Study Setting
4. Methods
4.1 Sampling and data collection
4.2 Data analysis
5. Discourse Analysis of the Understanding of Intimate Femicide
5.1 Hegemonic gender discourses
5.2 The patriarchal family discourse
5.3 Dominant prescriptions of femininity
5.4 Discourses of the "good wife"
5.5 Resistance to discourses of femininity
5.6 Resistance to traditional religious discourses
5.7 Positioning within religious discourses
5.8 Resistance to discourses of heterosexuality
5.9 Romantic discourses
5.10 Dark romance discourses
5.11 Discourses of perfect love
6. Future Research
7. Conclusion
References
Authors
Citation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research (ISSN 1438-5627)
,FQS 17(1), Art. 9, Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin:
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and the Link to Intimate Femicide
1. Introduction
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a severe medical and public
health concern for women (BOONZAIER, 2008; TOWNS & ADAMS, 2009). The
World Health Organization (WHO) has defined IPV as behavior within an intimate
relationship that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm such as acts of
physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling
behaviors (WHO, 2012). The intention to do harm, the sense of entitlement, and
the desire to control and dominate are defining features of IPV, as are the
repetitive nature of the behavior and its tendency to escalate in severity (JOYNER
& MASH, 2012). Globally, the majority of IPV is perpetrated by men against
women (GASS, STEIN, WILLIAMS & SEEDAT, 2010). Preventing IPV is vital for
ensuring the health, safety, and optimal well-being of women. [1]
IPV has been described as endemic to South African society and is the most
widespread form of violence affecting women in South Africa (JOYNER & MASH,
2012; MOSAVEL, AHMED & SIMON, 2011; SHAMU, ABRAHAMS,
TEMMERMAN, MUSEKIWA & ZAROWSKY, 2011). At least one in four women in
South Africa has been in an abusive relationship at some point in their lives (LAU,
2009). [2]
A dominant factor contributing to the high IPV rate in South Africa is the fact that
South African culture is to a large extent still regarded as patriarchal and
hierarchical, where women are expected to be obedient and men are viewed as
the disciplinarians in the family. Although these traditions are beginning to shift,
socially dictated gender roles are pervasive and relate to the widespread
manifestation of IPV in South Africa. Violence for men is normalized and thus
asserting their masculinity through violence is seen as a socially acceptable
means of exercising power over women (JEWKES et al., 2009). Consequently,
IPV demolishes the idea of gender equality and social justice (ibid.). [3]
The murder of women by their intimate partners is linked to a history of IPV
(CAMPBELL, 2012). In South Africa, many relationships comprising long-term
physical abuse of the woman by a man end in mortality (GASS et al., 2010).
Intimate femicide refers to the murder of a woman by an intimate partner, such as
her "husband, boyfriend (dating or cohabiting), ex-husband (divorced or
separated) or ex-boyfriend or a rejected would-be lover" (MATHEWS et al., 2008,
p.553). According to RUSSELL and HARMES (2001), the term suggests that
when women are murdered, femaleness becomes a risk factor, especially in
intimate relationships. Therefore, the term was introduced to highlight the role of
gender in murder cases. It emphasized the fact that the majority of murder
victims are women and the majority of perpetrators are men (ibid.). [4]
Compared to the rest of the world, women in South Africa remain the most likely
to be murdered by an intimate partner (JEWKES et al., 2009). South Africa has a
female homicide rate six times the global average and half of murdered women
are killed by an intimate partner (MATHEWS, JEWKES & ABRAHAMS, 2011).
FQS http://www.qualitative-research.net/
, FQS 17(1), Art. 9, Bianca Dekel & Michelle Andipatin:
Abused Women's Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and the Link to Intimate Femicide
Women are therefore more likely to be murdered by a known perpetrator than by
an unknown perpetrator (MATHEWS et al., 2004). [5]
Given the magnitude of the problem, an in-depth exploration in South Africa is
crucial to enhance our understanding of IPV and intimate femicide. Qualitative
research provides the opportunity for researchers to gain a rich perspective that
in turn enables the development of new understandings that have the potential to
be responsive to complex problems in society (ULIN, ROBINSON & TOLLEY,
2005). However, intimate femicide has received very little attention and therefore,
there is a dearth of research conducted in South Africa—a country which has one
of the highest reported rates worldwide (GASS et al., 2010; MATHEWS et al.,
2008). In particular, there is a lack of research focusing on women's
understandings of intimate femicide and their level of risk while in an abusive
relationship. Many studies on intimate femicide in South Africa have overlooked
the voices of abused women (ABRAHAMS, MATHEWS, MARTIN, LOMBARD &
JEWKES, 2013; MATHEWS, 2010; MATHEWS et al., 2004, 2008). Instead,
these studies have focused on examining the patterns of intimate femicide
(MATHEWS et al., 2008); the prevalence of intimate femicide in South Africa
(ABRAHAMS et al., 2013; MATHEWS et al., 2004); and understanding intimate
femicide from the perpetrator's perspective (MATHEWS, 2010). Although the
previous studies conducted add vital information to the body of research, the
necessity of this study lies in its ability to examine intimate femicide from the
perspective of those most at risk of being murdered. [6]
To the best of our knowledge, no scholars have yet explored this area in the
South African context and therefore it will be a valuable contribution as it
illuminates the voices of women survivors of IPV and explores how women
construct their understandings of IPV and their level of risk (FOX et al., 2007).
This is especially valuable since women are largely not given a "voice" in
mainstream research (BOONZAIER & VAN SCHALKWYK, 2011). It is critically
important for informing strategies and programs to reduce the risk level of
intimate femicide and ultimately to guide prevention policy to ensure the
widespread safety of women. In this study, we employed qualitative
methodologies to explore the discourses of women survivors of IPV drawn on to
understand intimate femicide. [7]
The following sections will explore, in more detail, the conceptual framework, the
study setting and methodology used. The study's findings will also be presented
as well as suggestions for future research. [8]
FQS http://www.qualitative-research.net/
