Lived Experiences of Women Victims of Domestic Violence in Rural Areas of Vhembe District: Limpopo Province.

Abstract

The high rate of domestic violence has become an issue of concern in South African families today. In most instances women and children die due to domestic violence and cases go unreported because of fear, lack of facilities such as: crisis intervention centers, hot lines as well as refugee places (shelters).

The overall aim of this research was to explore and describe the lived experiences of victims who are exposed to domestic violence. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used for this study. In-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted with 38 women who shared their experiences of staying with abusive partners.
Open coding method was used to analyse the data. Findings from the study revealed that women endure painful experiences in their relationships varying from physical to emotional pain. Findings further revealed that women also perpetuate the situation of domestic violence in their response to the pain. Findings from the study contributed to the development of a programme of support to women experiencing domestic violence, this is not included in this article.

Key Words: Assault; Domestic Violence; Lived experiences; Perpetrators; Victims.