Violence in the home and in intimate relationships : a qualitative exploration of black teenagers' experience and views

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Domestic violence in South Africa is increasingly becoming a major social problem.Domestic violence disrupts family life and the functioning of family members. However,domestic violence is still narrowly defined and viewed as affecting women who are usuallythe victims/survivors of such violence. The impact of domestic violence on children islargely underestimated and ignored. Most research and intervention programmes havefocused on the problem as it affects women thus treating the impact of violence on childrenas of secondary importance. The aim of this study is to examine domestic violence from theperspective of black teenagers who either witness or experience such violence themselves. Inan attempt to understand and make sense of Black teenagers' experiences and views ofviolence in their homes and intimate relationships, insights from different theoreticalperspectives are used. These are Trauma theory, Social learning theory and the Funnel ofViolence theory.Using a qualitative methodology, the study explores black teenagers experiences ofdomestic violence in their home of origin and their perceptions of violence in intimaterelationships. Focus group interviews were conducted with 22 black male and femaleteenagers between the ages of 14 and 21 to obtain data. The study was conducted inKayamandi, a township situated in the Stellenbosch area.The findings revealed that the teenagers have been exposed to constant conflictbetween their parents, the causes of which include alcohol abuse and infidelity. Theexposure to violence at home has been traumatic and has affected teenagers on an emotional,psychological and sometimes physical level. The conflict at home has also affected theirability to cope and adopt in their social and school environment. Some have also been directvictims of violence since they have suffered abuse at the hands of both their parents. As aresult, their relationship with their parents has been strained. In addition, they seem to haveadopted distorted views on how to deal with problems within relationships. They tend toview violence as a means to resolve conflict in intimate relationships and some of theseteenagers have come to believe that violence is acceptable since it is an indication of love.They also believe that violent behaviour is a consequence of provocation and is carried outunwittingly to punish and discipline the victim. In most cases the victims of violence arewomen.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University