Abstract
Abstract:
Ideas about maintaining the ‘solidarity of the family’, in contrast to women’s interests, is starkly evident in domestic violence situations, where notions of maintaining the family have been intrinsic to women’s decisions to remain in abusive relationships. Through the narratives of 17 abused women this article will show how socio-cultural discourses that promote the maintenance of the family above women’s safety, by normalising abuse in marriage and expecting women to self-sacrifice, contributes to women’s reluctance to leave abusive relationships. Further notions of ‘forever after’ marraiges and making it work at all costs also contributed to limited help seeking in the interests of maintenaning the social institution of mariage. Informal networks insistence that women should endure abusive relationships, contribute to abused women feeling an overriding commitment to maintaining the family. As a result of these discourses and a lack of support from informal networks, women are reluctant to disclose abuse to professionals, because seeking help for abuse implies that they are challenging socio-cultural norms that are entrenched at the level of the family and community. These findings emerged from an analysis of in-depth abuse history interviews conducted with women living in Johannesburg and Cape Town shelters. Abuse history interviews are similar to life histories but the interviews only focused on the periods and aspect of women’s lives when they experienced abuse. The aim of the study is to understand the personal, socio-cultural, structural and institutional factors that influenced help-seeking. This article will largely focus on the socio-cultural discourses that normalise domestic violence in order to preserve families. It is argued that socio-cultural norms which serve to perpetuate domestic violence in the name of families at the expense of women’s rights and safety, need to be challenged and the true impact of domestic violence on social life needs to be highlighted.