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Gender-based violence and masculinity : a study of rural male youth.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Sathiparsad, Reshma. |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Gender-based violence is a violation of human rights and includes acts that result in physical, sexual or psychological harm to women. Research points to high levels of genderbased violence in many communities in South Africa. While acknowledging male and female roles in the perpetration of violence, this study focuses specifically on violence enacted by males against females. Most approaches to address this issue have focused on the link between masculinity and violence and have concentrated on empowering women to challenge subordination and oppression by men. However, there is increasing recognition that focusing only on women is counter-productive, since reductions in levels of violence depend fundamentally on male behaviour change . My aim was therefore to investigate the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of a sample of rural male youth regarding gender-based violence . The research was located in Ugu District, a rural area in southern KwaZulu Natal. I employed a qualitative research approach embracing the interpretive paradigm and sought to obtain a rich and deep interpretation and description of participant views relating to the topic. A combination of two main data-collection methods was used, namely, focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews. Ten boys were selected from each of three secondary schools for participation in focus groups, which met weekly for three weeks. To obtain insights into the individual participant's views and experiences, participants from the focus groups were subsequently invited to volunteer for in-depth individual interviews. The twelve youth who volunteered made up the second sample. A single interview was held with each of these participants. Combined methods of analysis were used to analyze the data, namely, content analysis and discourse analysis. The study concluded that while displays of dominant forms of masculinity were apparent among the majority of the study participants, there were also displays of alternative forms of masculinity . The responses of a minority of participants indicated that they valued equality with females and challenged traditional norms, adding weight to the perception of the fluidity, multiplicity and the contextual nature of masculinity . These alternative discourses are significant in that they emphasized their openness to relating to women in ways that are not oppressive. Based on these findings, I propose that alternative masculinities be encouraged as a strategy to prevent inter-partner violence and to promote gender equality. The thesis concludes with implications for interventions, future research and policy. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10413/1527/Sathiparsad_R_2006.pdf;jsessionid=43A40152888C823A2B45F2F5D2A70145?sequence=1 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
