The experiences of low-income female survivors of domestic violence

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Domestic violence crosses all boundaries and is regarded as a universal challenge affectingwomen of all spheres of life. Domestic violence is seen as a serious social problem in SouthAfrica. It is regarded by many researchers as a leading cause of female injury. Domesticviolence can be described as an act by a member of a family against another member withintent to do physical injury, psychological or emotional harm, or an assault or a threat thatreasonably places that member in fear of imminent physical injury or emotional harm. It hasmajor consequences, not only for the abused woman, but also for her children and society atlarge. Many low-income women cannot escape their abusive circumstances due to a lack ofresources. Despite the fact that they cannot leave their situation, many women display certainstrengths, helping them to deal with their difficult situation. These women can be viewed asheroic, assertive and persistent. They are not victims, but active survivors. The social workprofession could benefit from greater insight into the strengths and coping mechanisms oflow-income female survivors of domestic violence.The goal of the study is to gain an understanding of low-income female survivors' experienceof domestic violence, focusing on their environmental resources (including family, friends andcommunity) and on their coping mechanisms (inner resources/strengths). To achieve this goal,the objectives are: to present a theoretical overview of the nature and extent of domesticviolence; to describe the environmental resources (such as family, friends and community) oflow-income abused women from the ecological perspective; to explore the copingmechanisms (inner resources) of these women in terms of the principles of the strengthsperspective; and to analyse and interpret the data obtained from the study. The researchutilises an exploratory and descriptive design. The research question is, 'What are theexperience (environmental resources) and coping mechanisms (inner resources) of lowincomefemale survivors of domestic violence?This question was addressed by means of qualitative research. Twenty participants took part inthe study. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select the participants. They wereinterviewed by the researcher, and the data obtained from the interviews were organised intothemes. Five themes namely, the experience of domestic violence, low-income, resources, coping mechanisms and statutory intervention were identified. These themes were furtherdivided into sub-themes and categories.Conclusions derived from the data included: domestic violence is a phenomenon that cutsacross all racial, marital status or age boundaries; some low-income female survivors ofdomestic violence experience their situation as stressful; low-income is one of the determiningfactors preventing some abused women to leave their situation; resources play a significantpart in the lives of some low-income abused women; certain strengths from some low-incomebattered women help them cope; and some abused low-income women do not find an InterimProtection Order (IPO) or the police to be helpful.The recommendations are that social workers should assess primary, secondary and tertiaryintervention in dealing with domestic violence; the ecological and strengths perspectivescombined would be helpful in assessing resources and coping mechanisms in low-incomeabused women and collaboration between social workers, the court and the police could helplow-income abused women to use statutory services effectively.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University