“I just want to live”: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of separation abuse in South African heterosexual relationships
- Authors: Johnson, Samantha-Sue
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Phenomenological psychology , Family violence -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Case studies , Intimate partner violence -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164626 , vital:41149
- Description: A key strategy for ending IPV, would be to make it possible for potential victims to safely leave their abusers. However, the abuse may persist, often with devastating consequences. The current literature on separation a buse primarily makes use of quantitative research to explain the phenomenon as is visible in the large amounts of quantitative research that was cit ed throughout this research project. Therefore, the aim of this research was to qualitatively explore the lived experiences of South African women who had experienced separation a buse . The Power and Control Wheel, located within Feminis t Theory, was used as the theoretical framework as it offers an illustrative understanding of the types of abuse that exists within a relationship and was adjusted to suit post - separation a buse . The research was conducted in Makhanda (formerly known as Grah amstown ) , Eastern Cape with the assistance of the local Families South Africa (FAMSA) office. Four participants were interviewed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. IPA was chosen as it involves a detailed exploration of how p articipants make sense of their personal and social worlds as well as determining the meanings that participants relate to their personal experiences and events in their lives. Data was collected through semi - structured interviews which were conducted by t he researcher with the assistance of a translator for the participants who preferred to speak Isi - Xhosa. Each participant initially participated in a screening interview conducted by a FAMSA staff member before being interviewed to minimize harm that could be caused through speaking about their experience before they were ready. The interviews were analysed through the use of IPA techniques where themes were extracted from the data. Five superordinate themes emerged from the analysis, namely “types of abuse experienced post-separation”, “children and abusive relationships”, “drinking and substance SEPARATION ABUSE IN SOUTH AFRICA ii abuse”, “protection order” and “hope for the future”. The findings revealed the ways in which the abusers continued their abuse during the separation period, the participant’s experiences of separation abuse as well as the experiences they believed their children had throughout the process. Two of the participant’s also revealed they feared for their lives, which resulted in them applying for protection orders. Despite the years of abuse suffered at the hands of their ex -partners, all four participants remained hopeful that they could become independent enough to provide for their children and themselves. While there have been South African studies which look at stalking victimization, the IPV female mortality rate and power and powerlessness experienced by women leaving abusive relationships, there is currently no published study in South Africa that explicitly focuses on separation abuse in heterosexual relationships in South Africa. Therefore, it was be neficial to conduct this research as the need exists to conduct research that not only focuses on the homicide rates of females at the hands of their partners but also the types of separation abuse that exists.
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- Date Issued: 2020
“Savage” hair and mothers’ hearts: a corpus-based critical discourse analysis of intersectional identities in two South African school setworks
- Authors: Hubbard, Beatrice Elizabeth Anne
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women in literature , Women, Black in literature , Critical discourse analysis , Magona, Sindiwe -- Mother to mother , Bulbring, Edyth -- The Mark
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141770 , vital:38003
- Description: This thesis reports on the discursive construal of intersectional physical identities, with particular reference to ‘black’ female characters, in two novels: Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother, and Edyth Bulbring’s The Mark. These novels are prescribed for Grade 10 English Home Language learners in all South African public schools. Gendered identity construction in texts has been widely discussed in critical linguistics, with some research showing that the ways in which bodies are construed reveal the hegemonic and stereotypical gendering of men and women. However, these arguments have not adequately addressed the intersectional nature of identity construction. This thesis employs Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate the complex physical identities of, especially, ‘black’ female characters in these two novels. The inclusion of Corpus Linguistics is essential for uncovering hidden patterns of language choice, while the analytical techniques and theoretical notions from Critical Discourse Analysis provide the explanatory power that underpins the qualitative analysis. The uses to which nine key body parts are put reveal discourse prosodies showing different intersectional realisations for intimacy, power, violence, emotion, and racial marking. These discourse prosodies are most starkly realised in the two body parts, one from each novel, that are statistically most clearly linked to ‘black’ female characters. HAIR in The Mark is used variously as a racial marker, a target for racism, and a symbol for racial pride. HEART in Mother to Mother is used almost exclusively to symbolise the emotional pain of a mother’s love, and how empathy for another mother’s pain can bridge racial divides. Principal findings reveal that both novels provide very necessary lessons in cross-racial empathy, pride in ‘blackness,’ and interracial relationships. However, it is of concern that these novels also exhibit an over-valorisation of motherhood, largely stereotypical depictions of gender roles, and ableist language. In sum, both novels promote some of the transformative principles of the national curriculum, and are shown to have a bearing on nation building.
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- Date Issued: 2020
“When the rainbow is enuf”: black postgraduate women’s experiences and perceptions of higher education and institutional culture – a case study of Rhodes University
- Authors: Gamedze, Ayanda
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Rhodes University , College students, Black -- South Afrca , Women college students, Black -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147215 , vital:38605
- Description: This thesis sets out to investigate the perceptions which Black postgraduate students hold of the present-day toward Historically White Universities (hereafter referred to as HWUs) in South Africa as unique sites from which to investigate institutional culture and the legacy of educational marginalisation. Black women are of particular focus because of the interlocking nature of social inequalities that uniquely influence their comparable experience in the academy. Rhodes University, a top-ranked traditional university provides the institutional site for this investigation into HWUs. This thesis seeks to further explore the suggestion that desegregation of South Africa's institutions of higher learning have meant access, but not always acceptance. The paper explores what Black women students perceive to be Rhodes University's institutional culture and its impact on their lived realities. Subsequently, these women have learned who they are, and what place they occupy in South Africa today, through navigating a space not necessarily accommodating to Blackness and difference. There exists a plethora of literature on the issues which Black women scholars systematically encounter daily in the academy, in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Nonetheless, there needs to be a further inquiry on the question of belonging of Black womanhood in HWU post the student-led movements of the past few years that have renewed the challenge to South Africa's colonial past, its neoliberal present, and its scourge of gender-based violence. This paper captures an ongoing conversation around the role of Black women in addressing transformation in HWU. As a Black woman in an HWU, I found myself wondering whether there are certain experiences students like me have in common – realities with nuances we call to identify with to some extent. I collected data from six Black women with whom I conducted interviews, and used it to compile this report and its analysis. I believe that the social significance of this study speaks to the importance of hearing the stories of subaltern groups that are positioned in spaces of privilege, yet continue to be defined by the disadvantage of their gender, race, and various other factors.
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- Date Issued: 2020