The research reported in this thesis (Female Students' Understanding of Intimate Partner Violence in UKZN residencies), unless otherwise stated, is my original work. Research Question 3: What do female students in UKZN residences suggest as possible ways to reduce the number of intimate partners.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Some students live in constant fear of being abused because of unresponsive university authorities and being stigmatized by society (Gordon & Collins, 2013). As a former resident student at one of the universities in South Africa, I observed several cases of IPV that went unreported and the university had no measures to combat it.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Objectives of the study
To explore the views of female students at UKZN residences on the prevalence of intimate partner violence at the residences. To investigate what female students at UKZN residences suggest as possible ways to reduce intimate partner violence at the residences.
Key research questions
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Therefore, this study highlights the importance of interventions in addition to safety measures aimed at changing attitudes and societal norms about intimate partner violence. The findings from this study may be useful for journals on violence and abuse, especially within the South African context; for policy designers in higher education; to activists against gender violence; and to the students themselves to encourage them to be aware and knowledgeable about IPV and therefore make informed decisions.
CLARIFICATION OF KEY CONCEPTS
Intimate partner violence
ORGANISATION OF THE REPORT
Chapter four of this report focuses on the presentation and discussion of the data that was generated. The data are presented under the relevant themes and direct quotations are used to support the claims.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The third chapter focuses on the research design and methodology, which contains detailed information about the participants, the instruments used to generate data and the procedure that was followed.
CONCEPTUALISING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Defining Intimate Partner Violence
Therefore, definitions vary according to the purpose of use, such as for research, legal or social reasons which may be regional and cultural. These forms, according to Kelly and Johnson (2008), emphasize power and control (see Figure 1) as the main factors that determine intimate partner violence.
SOME THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON IPV .1 Feminist perspectives on IPV
Systems view of IPV
Social learning theory is based on the assumption that partner violence is a product of learned violent behavior and its consequences within a social environment and is thus seen as an appropriate mechanism for dealing with problems. According to Flood (2009), the process of learning violent behavior stems from individuals observing close associates such as family, friends, and significant others who have negative definitions of the use of intimate partner violence and commit acts of violence against their partners. and eventually imitate this. behavior.
WOMEN AS VICTIMS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Fear of abusers and stagnant legal processes
The legal system's processes to provide adequate assistance to victims of intimate partner violence are not sufficiently effective, with the result that victims of intimate partner violence are often reluctant to testify against their partners. The female victim would prefer to protect herself at all costs because the legal system is unable to do so (Payne & Wermeling, 2009).
Dependence on the perpetrator
Female victims are often threatened with death if they try to end the relationship or report it to the police (Artz, 2011; Przekop, 2011). In her research, Artz (2011) documented some of the reasons why the female victims did not complete the protection order.
MEN AS PERPETRATORS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
In South Africa, women's use of alcohol is socially discouraged, as men associate it with adultery and that it can prevent women from fulfilling expected gender roles.
SOCIAL NORMS THAT CONDONE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Attitudes influencing violence against women
Attitudes play a role in the perspectives that both men and women have about violence against women, the perpetration of violence, women's response to their victimization, and societal responses to violence against women. Women's response to being subjected to violence at the hands of men is influenced by their attitudes and those of others.
Traditional gender norms
Gender inequality and the normalisation of violence
This shows that the issue of gender inequality and intimate partner violence is deeply rooted in the socializations that are passed down from generation to generation. In a study by Abrahams et al. 2006), both men and women recognized the association of alcohol and intimate partner violence.
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: A GLOBAL PHENOMENON
From the information above, it becomes clear that intimate partner violence occurs all over the world and affects women more. Not all countries in the world are mentioned above as there is limited information covering all continents regarding IPV.
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Areas such as Egypt, Ghana, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had the highest prevalence of men responding violently when denied sex by their partners (ibid). When analyzed by race, African American women were found to have the highest prevalence of receiving IPV against women compared to black and white counterparts.
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN UNIVERSITIES AND UNIVERSITY RESIDENCES
Violence against women is normalized in many South African cultures (Collins, 2013) and many students have grown up in patriarchal cultures where their gender expectations may be in direct conflict with those encouraged in higher education institutions (Barkhuizen, 2013). These findings justified men's abusiveness and women's victimization due to socialization and cultural norms as fixed and inevitable forces.
ADDRESSING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Such ideologies also affect the way the law is applied, if at all, in cases of violence against women. Low student confidence in their university's security measures is directly related to under-reporting of violence.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Doing gender
West and Zimmerman (1987) use the example of a boy who underwent sex reassignment surgery to explain "gender making". Ultimately, “gender fulfillment merely involves the use of discrete, well-defined bundles of behavior that can be easily incorporated into interactional situations to produce recognizable acts of masculinity and femininity” (West and Zimmerman, 1987, p. 135).
Constructions of masculinity, femininity, and violence
It is rather an attempt to secure a status position which is central to the man's experience of being a man, and which is thus tied to society's expectations of manly behaviour. West and Zimmerman (1987) argue that by "doing gender" women and men maintain and reproduce the constructs of society as institution and legitimize the institutional arrangements of powerful social authorities as natural and normal.
CONCLUSION
Gqola (2007) makes a shocking but real statement about inequality in South Africa: “The gender discourse in the South African public sphere is very conservative. The rape and other GBV statistics, the rampant sexual harassment at work and in public spaces, the siege of black lesbians and raging homophobia, the very public and ruthless dissemination of misogynistic images, metaphors and language (ibid). The above statement, coupled with statistics The cases cited suggest that the criminal justice system, government, professionals and community members need to do more to reduce intimate partner violence.
RESEARCH PARADIGM
The following is the discussion of qualitative research methodology that I used as a means to gain an in-depth understanding of the study conducted. This chapter also contains an explanation regarding ethical considerations and the credibility of the research study conducted.
THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH
Case Study Methodology
Intimate partner violence is explored on a UKZN campus and looks at female students living in university residences. The focus was placed on understanding the subjective views of female students living in UKZN residences regarding IPV in residences.
THE RESEARCH CONTEXT
Findings from this case further explain the understandings of the 18 female students used in this study rather than those not included. All female residences were represented by ten participants, and mixed residences were represented by five female students.
SAMPLING AND SAMPLING METHODS
This study was part of a larger project entitled Safer Learning Environments: Reducing Gender Based Violence in UKZN Homes and Selected Schools.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
DATA GENERATION METHODS
Focus Group Discussions
Focus group discussions took place in three different locations: the Research Commons, one of the university classrooms, and one of the student residence halls. The interview questions (see Appendix B) were divided according to the extension of the three critical questions mentioned in the first chapter.
Individual Interviews
I did this to ensure that the data generated captured the exact words of the participants and thus strengthen the reliability of the study. Regarding the female students living in a mixed dormitory, the interviews were conducted separately from the male students, as the female apartments were separated by floors from the male apartments in their rooms to maintain their safety and privacy.
DATA ANALYSIS
I believed that some students could not speak freely in a group and this was a reality as female students spoke more when they were alone than when they were in a group. I read the data many times to familiarize myself with it and to identify patterns that could form themes.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
- Credibility
- Transferability
- Dependability
- Confirmability
Therefore, Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest that the researcher include a full description of the context being studied so that the reader can make a transfer. Information about the boundaries of the study was also highlighted because it would be more useful for the reader to analyze the context before making comparisons.
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED
Reliability is used to show that the findings are stable and a future researcher can repeat the study (Shenton, 2004). In my study, an in-depth reflection of the processes within the study was made: research design and its implementation; the entire data generation process; and a reflective evaluation to enable future researchers to replicate the study.
POSSIBLE LIMITATIONS
Although there were challenges that bothered me, the study was successfully completed and these challenges had no bearing on the quality of the data I generated.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
These themes stem from participants' direct interpretations, beliefs, environmental observations, and lived experiences of IPV in the women's residences. Words such as participants, women, girls, and female students are used interchangeably to refer to participants because participants used them interchangeably to refer to themselves and other female students.
PROFILING THE PARTICIPANTS
She was in her third year of studies and had been staying in the residences for three years. She had been living in the residences for three years and was in her third year of studies.
MAIN FINDINGS
What is Intimate Partner Violence?
While most people who have studied it come to the conclusion that it involves physical, sexual, emotional or psychological and financial abuse (WHO, 2012); the participants' understanding was limited. Participants were aware of power dynamics that exist in relationships, and talking about it created more awareness.
Gender roles and IPV
This statement shows that men and women are socialized into their roles in the same way, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly through observation. Other students learned by observing what happened in their homes, learning to be submissive indirectly in the process, and this may expose them to violence they do not challenge.
Violence demonstrates love
Others say they love their partners, so it's okay if they're abused by the ones they love." - Sit down. Hayes (2015, p. 2) alludes that "belief in romantic love prioritizes maintaining relationships above all else and suggests that 'love itself can overcome all obstacles', even abuse." The above extracts also show the relative powerlessness that some girls experience when it comes to love and relationships.
Materialism and ‘sugar-daddies.'
Most of the students coming from rural areas are not exposed to the life of "sugar daddies". Most of the students coming from rural areas are not exposed to the life of "fathers" and are easily attracted. - Sami.
Cohabiting and training as wives
It is as if they are husband and wife, even though they are not married, and he exercises more power in the relationship. Self-blame for victims of abuse was discussed more during the focus group interviews, only two participants mentioned it in the individual interviews.
The university security and support systems
Participants sometimes reported IPV to relevant authorities, but they did not receive help. The RA said that there is no need to report abuse to the police, that there is a counseling process on campus, housing what-what.
Reducing Intimate Partner Violence
In its preamble, the policy states: “The university is committed to providing a work and study environment that is free from any form of unfair discrimination or harassment. This includes any acts or threats that interfere with the performance at work or in study of any individual or group based on race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language or birth (UKZN sexual harassment policy, 2004, p.2).” The university also has a Sexual Violence Awareness Campaign held earlier in 2016 at the Westville campus.
CONCLUSION
- Research Question 1: What do female students at UKZN residences understand as intimate partner violence?
- Research Question 2: What are female students at UKZN residences views on the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence at the residences?
- Research Question 3: What do female students at UKZN residences suggest as possible ways to reduce Intimate Partner Violence at residences?
- Implications for policy
What are female students at UKZN residences' views on the prevalence of intimate partner violence at the residences. I will now examine the female students' views on the prevalence of IPV in the residence halls.
CONCLUSION
Public responses to intimate partner violence against women: the influence of perceived severity and personal responsibility. Do you have any information about intimate partner violence that has occurred here in the residences.
TURNITIN REPORT/CERTIFICATE
