I Had a Hard Life - Literature review Example

Mathews, S., Jewkes, R. & Abrahams, N, , ‘I HAD A HARD LIFE Exploring Childhood Adversity in the Shaping of Masculinities among Men Who Killed an Intimate Partner in South Africa, British Journal of Criminology, 8, pp. 960-977---literature review The research question is the central part of any research paper and it connotes the researcher’s endeavor in establishing a particular topic. The research question is meant to signify the theme on which the paper is going to be presented and hence should be specific. Depending upon the complexity of the issue the research question might be a single question or the hypothesis might consist of multiple questions. The research question in the paper “‘I HAD A HARD LIFE’: Exploring Childhood Adversity in the Shaping of Masculinities among Men Who Killed an Intimate Partner in South Africa” by Mathews, S., Jewkes, R. and Abrahams, N. tries to address the relationship between adverse childhood experience and violent masculinity among men in South Africa who kill their intimate partner. The authors identified twenty men who had been imprisoned for killing their intimate partners and made researches to explore the childhoods of these men. The methodology included seventy four in depth interviews with these men and also with their family and friends. The argument presented in the paper is that the “violent forms of masculinities” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 960) adopted by these men is a result of strong desire “to achieve respect and power” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 960). Methodology The problem of intimate partner violence is widespread in South Africa. Although much study has been conducted on the issue of “intimate partner violence and intimate femicide” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 960), much is left to be done. Information available about the long term trends in homicide in South Africa is not enough. Data for the whites, colored skinned and the Indians are available while that of the Blacks is scarce (Prinsloo, Bradshaw and Laubscher, 2010). A further contribution from research works is necessary in this field to understand the roots to this serious problem. The authors of the paper have conducted primary survey and collected information about the ways in which the twenty men had spent their days during childhood. They have conducted “in-depth semi-structured interviews” (Mathews, S., Jewkes, R. & Abrahams, N, 2011, p. 960) with the incarcerated men. The first author had taken two interviews with each of the men and the interview was taken in the prison cell with the duration of one to two hours. One to three interviews were held with the friends and family members of the accused as well as the victims. This was done to investigate the incident and the context in which it happened from the perspectives of both the parties involved. The data were collected for a period of eighteen months “from July 2006 to March 2008” (Mathews, Jewkes,. & Abrahams, 2011, p. 963). The interviewees were of the age of eighteen to fifty-one years at the time of committing the homicide and when they had been interviewed they were between twenty one to sixty one years of age. Two prisons located “in the Western Cape Province of South Africa” had been selected for conducting the interviews. This region holds the topmost rank with the maximum homicide rate in South Africa. Purpose The purpose of the interviews conducted was to understand the mental condition of the men who killed their partners. The men provided explanations for their act of violence and their perception of the events that eventually made them to perpetrate the crime. The “origins of violence are complex” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 962). Several factors inter-related with each other are responsible for such acts of violence within intimate partners. It is not possible to write about the violence in the country without understanding the history of racial oppression that has dominated the country for a long period. Approach Mainly three approaches are used in the paper to formulate the line of reasoning in favor of their arguments. Gender identities are viewed as a socially constructed that is influenced by the relations of power between the male and the female within the society. The social framework of the Western Cape is identified as an important factor within which the young men are provided with the opportunity to explore the different practices of power. Violent and ruthless masculinities are valorized within such social forms. The severity and frequency of the occurrences of gender-based violence in South Africa requires deeper understanding of “the psychosocial processes underlying men’s perpetration” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 962). Analysis and interpretation of the material The authors have made good attempts to understand the social as well as psychological aspects of the situation of the crime and information is collected through primary survey. The interviews that were taken with the incarcerated men were taped with permission and translated into English. As a data management tool, the “open code software” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 963) was used for analyzing the data by a process involving coding and interpretation of the findings. Mini hypotheses were developed which were tested and modified in reference to the data. Concepts are not theories in themselves but are tools useful for the construction of the theories. These concepts are formed through various experiences and contain several mini-hypotheses which are to be developed further keeping reference to the data collected (Montgomery, 1999, p. 7). It is helpful in developing the theory keeping parity with empirical data. The paper largely deals with the shaping of the shaping up of the masculinities of the men. According to a study by Patel et al. it has been found that there is a significant level of correlation between childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence (Patel et al., 2012). The interviewees of the two prisons had taken route to lethal violence. Seventeen out of the twenty men were involved in acts of violence more than one time. These men had committed offences outside their personal relationship in their community and some of the offences were also committed by them as a juvenile. Physical abuse experienced as a child influences a person’s adult interpersonal experiences. It predicts the possibility of the person to experience interpersonal violence as an adult. (Hetzel-Riggin & Meads, 2011, p. 568). It has also been found that the men who perpetrated intimate partner violence were scantily educated. Although all the men had attended school as a child, half of them dropped out in junior school. Only two of them completed high school. It can be interpreted that the economic status and the level of education reflects in the behavior of the men towards other people. Strengths/Weakness and Political views The article is methodologically strong due to its usage of information gathered by conducting direct interviews. Research conducted through study of secondary sources might not lead to the true picture and would emerge with a less than desired outcome. Surveys conducted on violence with the aim to uncover the violence in effect reveal higher levels of perpetration than that are thought to occur (Bryman, 2012, p. 229). Besides the authors have taken into consideration the men’s relationship with their mothers when they were children; this helps in better understanding of their intentions behind their act of violence. It is a crucial point since a child’s personality is molded by his relation with his mother. Traumatic childhood experience is considered a major cause of the act of violence by the men. Through the interviews the men revealed a feeling of lack of support and the need for care and respect within the family life. This lack has been treated as an agent in leading the men to seek “camaraderie within their social setting” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 970) and explore the boundaries of their masculinity. However, the paper has only taken into account the twenty men from two prisons in South Africa, from the region which is mostly populated by the colored. The result of this study is based on the details of the account of these men only. However, Africa has a population consisting of all the four racial catagories; “Black, Coloured, Indian and White” (Mathews, Jewkes, & Abrahams, 2011, p. 961). The effects of the oppressive laws that have been brutally enforced upon the inhabitants during the practice of apartheid have varied long term effect on the minds of the people. The politically powerful ruling white minority brings about massive inequalities. It is not revealed by the study the extent to which intimate partner violence take place in the class of white people. There might be a stronger relationship between the inequality among the racial categories and the incidence of intimate partner violence, besides the effect of traumatic childhood experience. Conclusions The problem of intimate partner violence is perceived across almost all “social, economic, religious and cultural groups” (Zungu, Salawu & Ogunbanjo, 2010). Almost all residents of South Africa undergo an experience of violent crime in some part of their lives or sometimes throughout their lives. The cultural environment induces the men to commit the crimes in huge numbers and even “without remorse and seemingly with emotional impunity” (Joan, 2009, p. 127). The acts of violence are manifested with acts of social support. The empathy men experience from other men might at times appear to them as support to their acts of violence (Popay, 1998, p. 175). It brings to surface the question of ethical support that is to be provided to these men. The incidence of such violence is noticed more frequently among youths. They take resort to violence in the desire to establish their male identity (Jewkes, 2002, p. 1423). The resolve to this problem cannot be found without determined support from the larger society that would work towards to elimination of inequality. References 1) Mathews, S., Jewkes, R. & Abrahams, N, (2011), ‘I HAD A HARD LIFE’: Exploring Childhood Adversity in the Shaping of Masculinities among Men Who Killed an Intimate Partner in South Africa, British Journal of Criminology, 8, pp. 960-977. 2) Prinsloo, M., Bradshaw, D. and Laubscher, R. (2010), Historical trends of homicide and road traffic fatalities in South Africa: 1968–1989, Injury Prevention, 16, pp. A212-A212. 3) Montgomery, R. L. (1999). Introduction to the Sociology of Missions. Greenwood Publishing Group. 4) Joan, W. (2009). Notes from a tense field: threatened masculinities in South Africa, Social Identities, 15(1), pp. 113-130. 5) Patel, et al. (2012). Life Stress as Mediator of the Childhood Maltreatment - Intimate Partner Violence Link in Low-Income, African American Women, Journal of Family Violence, 27(1), pp. 1-10. 6) Hetzel-Riggin, M. D. & Meads, C. L. (2011). Childhood Violence and Adult Partner Maltreatment: The Roles of Coping Style and Psychological Distress, Journal of Family Violence, 26, pp. 585-593. 7) Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press. 8) Popay, J. (1998). Men, Gender Divisions and Welfare. Taylor & Francis. 9) Jewkes, R. (2002). Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention, Violence against Women, 359, pp. 1423-1429. 10) Zungu, L. I. Salawu, A. O. & Ogunbanjo, G. A. (2010), Reported intimate partner violence amongst women attending a public hospital in Botswana, African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 2(1), pp. 185-190. Read More