Low-income women and mental health care : an exploratory study of non-governmental mental health services in the west coast/winelands region of South Africa (original) (raw)
Related papers
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2001:1) views domestic violence as the world’s most prevalent form of human rights violation with devastating effects on both the physical and mental well-being of these victims, mostly women. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the mental health effects of domestic violence as experienced by women utilising a mobile primary healthcare (PHC) clinic in a low socio-economic area in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative, contextual, explorative and descriptive research design was followed. The study was conducted in a mobile PHC in a low socio-economic area in Gauteng. Participants were selected purposefully from the women attending this clinic. Data were collected by conducting ten semistructured interviews when data saturation occurred. The transcribed interviews and field notes were analysed using Tesch’s method of qualitative data analysis. Women exposed to domestic violence related the mental health effects in terms of physical, psychological, spiritual, and social experiences. They described the physical pain and related symptoms as well as the emotional hurt, anxiety and sadness. The violation they experienced was reflected in social isolation and distrust towards men. Although the hopelessness of their situation was evident, participants displayed certain coping mechanisms. Keywords: Domestic violence in South Africa, mental health aspects of domestic violence, resilience of victims of domestic violence, women’s experiences of domestic violence
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS IN NAMAQUALAND, SOUTH AFRICA
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a phenomenon that consistently receives research and policy attention in South African society. GBV is driven by multiple, complex socio-economic factors such as drug and alcohol abuse, poverty and unemployment. GBV manifests in multiple forms, amongst other, as physical and often sexual aggression in intimate relationships, termed Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Research evidence indicates that social empowerment and support is an effective mechanism for reducing the risk of alcohol/drug aggression and IPV. The Rural Development Support Programme (RDSP) is an NGO that has been involved in developing social support interventions in Namaqualand communities for the past 10 years. Built on a 24-year track record of community development efforts, the RDSP model of indirect intervention by building the capacity of small community-based organizations (CBO’s) in forming and nurturing community support groups (CSG’s), appears innovative, unique and sustainable. Until completion of this research project, little was known about the impact of RDSP’s programme, and reports on the impact of this strategy, anecdotal and descriptive. A quasi-experimental research project on RDSP programme impacts using an experimental and comparison group combined with qualitative descriptive interviews involving support group members sheds new light on the effectiveness of social support groups to GBV victims. Initially, findings of this research indicate that overall and if compared directly, CSG’s do not seem to make a statistically significant difference. However, layering group comparisons into experimental and control group, produces a range of within-group, between subject effects from which significant deductions can be made, not so much for the experimental group, but for the control group that seems exposed to a multitude of chaotic circumstances. If contrasted against qualitative findings, social support groups definitely make a difference. Participation in CSG’s is reported as having a stabilizing effect on its members, whilst the control group is considerably worse-off as far as empowerment and social support characteristics. Findings clearly show the disposition of women who are not in CSG’s, specifically those in families characterized by alcohol and drug abuse. Patterns reflecting benefits of CSG’s for alcohol and drug abusers stand out clear. The significance of the study does not pertinently lie in what was found regarding the experimental group, but more about what was found lacking in the control group….
2006
Domestic and intimate partner violence is becoming increasingly common in South Africa. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN increasingly, the literature in south africa (sa) suggests that domestic or intimate partner violence is the most common reason for a woman to present to her health care practitioner (hcp). intimate partner violence has multiple, complex physical and psychological consequences and places an overwhelming health burden on women, their families and the health care system. This cost has never been calculated in sa, but a report from the uK estimates that the cost of intimate partner violence in england and wales in 2004 was £22.9 billion. 1 violence against women is as pervasive as tuberculosis and inextricably linked with hiv/aiDs. women in sa still struggle to negotiate safe sex and are disproportionately the victims of rape and intimate partner violence. This is not new, but it has been accentuated by the impact of hiv. apart from the obvious focus of hiv-related violence, violence against women (vaw) is a major public health problem. unfortunately it is still not recognised as such and so suffers from poor, almost non-existent, resource allocation. The only recompense for the majority of women in sa are those hcps who are diligent when assessing them for abuse and treat them holistically and with dignity.
HELP-SEEKING BY ABUSED WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA
ABSTRACT Abused women are reluctant to seek help despite the existence of enabling legislation. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted with 17 abused women in shelters, to understand the personal, socio-cultural, structural and institutional factors that influenced help-seeking. Feminist standpoint theories were influential in the research design, methodology and analysis of this study because it provided participants with the power to define their experiences from within their own context. Four key themes that deterred help-seeking emerged. First, the predominance of patriarchy at the structural level emerged as an important theme that was enacted through men controlling women’s freedom of speech, association and movement. Second, at the socio-cultural level, discourses of love and the best interests of the child played a role in promoting the stability of the family above women’s safety. Third, women sought help from informal networks of support, which sent them back to abusive relationships because of their acquiescence with patriarchy and socio-cultural constructions that normalised and privatised abuse. As a consequence of the inaction of informal networks, the psychosocial or personal consequences of abuse were exacerbated and women did not consider utilising formal services. This was compounded by a lack of financial resources. Fourth, at the institutional level, when abused women presented at health settings for medical concerns, they remained undetected or who were sent back to the abusive relationship. Rarely did medical services refer women to social services. Women obtained referrals to shelters from other women and community services many years after first experiencing abuse. Abused women were positive about the role shelters played in their empowerment. vii A significant insight of this study is the way in which women attained empowerment and sought help by reconstructing the socio-cultural discourses that contributed to their oppression into the tools for agency. Women utilised legitimated socio-cultural discourses to justify seeking help, since challenging the status quo directly was too costly. Policy and practice need to target the personal, socio-cultural, institutional and structural impediments to seeking assistance, in order to prevent further violence, improve mental health outcomes and facilitate formal help-seeking.
2014
Gender-based violence (GBV)2 has been described as the most widespread and socially tolerated of human rights violations.3 This appears justified as, globally, more girls have been killed in the last 50 years, simply because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century.4 Due to the fact that women and girls remain disproportionately affected by GBV,5 this article primarily focuses on the needs of female survivors of GBV (SGBV). In relation to South Africa, statistics for the year 2012 revealed that a woman was murdered every eight hours by her intimate partner.6 Rape homicides have also increased annually within South Africa since 1999,7 while 66,387 sexual offences were reported to the South African Police Services during the year of 2013.8 This is an alarmingly high number when one considers that sexual offences are notoriously underreported.9 There are other forms of GBV currently plaguing South Africa, such as sexual harassment, stalking, cor...
Gender Based Violence Interventions in Namaqualand
Gender Based Violence Interventions in Namaqualand, 2016
This report is about a study that investigated the hypothesis that community-based Social Support Groups for victims of GBV in a rural area of South Africa called Namaqualand, had a significant impact on the people attending those groups. A variety of people attend various CSG's in different formats, namely victims of violence, GBV and IPV; Caregivers in the community; sufferers from HIV and alcoholism. The hypothesis was measured against dimensions such as women empowerment, social support, and readiness to receive alcohol treatment in the case of CSG's for perpetrators of violence that have alcohol and substance abuse problems. The project was sponsored by the Joint Gender Fund, and the multi-site mixed-method study was conducted by Afri.Yze Consult (Pty) Ltd. in collaboration with an NGO, the Rural Development Support Programme (RDSP), who trains community members to become group facilitators for CSG's in the area. Results show that vulnerable community members who do not attend CSG's are worse-off in some of the dimensions measured, compared to members that attend CSG's on a regular basis. The report also provides a qualitatively derived help-seeking model for victims of GBV providing useful insights about help-seeking behaviour patterns associated with CSG's
Women's mental health in South Africa
South African Health Review , 2006
Mental health is a neglected topic, and that of women’s mental health even more so, with the latter receiving little attention within the South African public health sector. This chapter provides a selective, focused overview of women’s mental health issues requiring public sector attention in South Africa. It reports global and South African prevalence rates and burden of disease estimates for common mental disorders in women, focusing on depressive and anxiety disorders. Several key factors which impact on the mental health status of South African women are discussed, namely gender disadvantage, poverty, gender violence, HIV/AIDS and peripartum depression. Policy and programme implications of women’s mental health issues are noted, and recommendations for effecting a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to improving the mental health status of women are outlined.
2018
This paper describes a study of rural areas in Ntabethemba, Tsolwana Municipality which is an administrative area in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It focuses on empowerment of women victims of domestic violence which the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is expected to address. The role of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in empowering women victims of domestic violence is clearly defined and the programmes that can be offered are suggested. The paper is informed by a qualitative approach using a case study design. It also used interviews complemented by a focus group discussion as data collection methods. In this study, thirty-two participants were selected through the use of a purposive sampling technique. The study revealed the following thematic findings: (1) Unreported cases of domestic violence, (2) Negative attitude towards domestic violence, (3) Misconception about domestic violence (4) Lack of resources within EPCSA, (5) Unavailability of sup...