Zubeda Dangor, Professor Lee Ann Hoff, and Renae Scott
ISBN No. 0-620-20504-0
Published August 1996

The following study is available through the NISAA Institute for Women's
Development

Abstract

This exploratory study addresses the issue of women abuse and the resources or their absence for victimized women and children. It provides documentation for the expansion of social, health, and legal services on behalf of this at risk population. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of thirty-seven South African women from various community settings and institutions in the Johannesburg region. Interview data were grouped in the following categories: Nature and extent of woman abuse, relationship between abuse and apartheid; distinction or unique aspects of abused in South Africa, the traditional status of women, increasing incidence of child and elder abuse, perception about services for women. Two focus groups addressed issues that emerged from interview data.

This study affirms the need for national survey data and in-depth research with abused women themselves to obtain a fuller picture of the personal, familial, and societal coasts of violence against women. An unvarnished acknowledgement of domestic violence and its physical, emotional and social toll on community stability and health is integral to the new South African's pursuit of political and economic reform.