Abstract
M.A.
Wife battering is one of the most pervasive forms of violence
used against any individual in south Africa. The problem of
battered women only came into the limelight in the early 1970's
in the United States, its progression into public awareness
corresponding with the growth of the women's movement. In South
Africa, concern about wife battering started in the early 1980's.
Inspired by the actions of overseas movements, South African
feminists began to mobilise around violence against women. People
Opposing Women Abuse opened the first shelter for battered women
in Johannesburg in the eighties, followed by Rape crises in Cape
Town.
This study is anchored by a commitment to document battered
women's experiences of marital violence in order that appropriate
actions may be taken to ameliorate their situations. In
undertaking this research, the intention is to learn from
battered women about the context of their daily lives, exploring
their educational and employment statuses, to describe the
development and nature of their relationships with men who abuse
them, establish the type of abuse they experience, and most
importantly, to find out why they stay in such relationships.
Data for this study is derived from questionnaires with fourteen
abused women from two shelters (People Opposing Women Abuse, and
NISSA Institute for Women Development).