- Title
- A discourse analysis study of traditional health practitioners’ role in the treatment of female sexual violence and its mental health sequelae in KwaZulu-Natal
- Creator
- Muthwa, Nqobile
- Subject
- Women -- Violence against -- South Africa
- Subject
- Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa
- Subject
- Physicians -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2024-04
- Date
- 2024-04
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63904
- Identifier
- vital:73625
- Description
- South Africa is considered the epicentre of rape, leading to its reputation as the ‘rape capital of the world’. As a way of mitigating the risk of re-victimisation to individuals who have experienced rape, hospital-based post-rape centres were developed to offer services and support to rape victims. The uptake of these services remains scant as issues such as rape stigma, limited knowledge on their availability and alternative health systems limits their usage. In South Africa, there exists medical pluralism, which refers to multiple ways of making sense of illness and treatment seeking methods. It is estimated that around 80% of South Africans utilise the services of traditional health practitioners in conjunction with biomedical health practices or as a standalone service to get alternative solutions for their health needs. Victims of rape need to access a wide range of services such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), medical examinations, and emergency contraception. There has been a paucity in research looking into the alternative treatments accessed by rape victims who do not access services in the formal healthcare system. It is against this backdrop that this study explored the construction and treatment formulation of rape by traditional health practitioners. The study focused on the use of language and how it becomes action that influences the services rendered to rape victims. Thematic analysis, discourse and conversational analytical approaches were used to analyse data that emerges from the one-on-one interviews. 15 traditional healers who identified as abathandazi, Izangoma and izinyanga were selected to participate in the present study. The healthworlds framework and social constructionism were used to make sense of how traditional health practitioners construct rape and how the dominant discourses surrounding rape influence how they understand their position as healthcare providers. The main findings of the study illustrated that in the healthworld of traditional healers’ understanding of rape was constructed as ukungcola nobumnyama / impurity and darkness. These discourses spoke to the perception of rape as an aberration as one’s ancestors should prevent traumas and catastrophes from befalling on the individual. When rape occurs, it signalled spiritual problems resulting into a phenomenon where ancestors cannot safeguard the living. Under these discourse rape was also constructed as something that taints, impurifies and contaminates not just the raped individual but their entire bloodline and ancestors. As a result of the discourse surrounding rape, cleansing and purification rituals played a huge role in post-rape care. In addition, traditional health practitioners viewed their role as facilitators in reestablishing the relationship between the raped individual and their ancestors. The study observed that rape victims who share the same healthworld are likely to experience spiritual transgressions following rape which will have long-lasting effects on the psychological health outcomes of victims. The present study recommends a post-rape care model that advocates for collaborative opportunities between biomedical and traditional healthcare practitioners. This model can be integrated into existing post-rape care systems to provide holistic and comprehensive healthcare that addresses biopsychosocial as well as the spiritual and cultural influences of rape.
- Description
- Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xv, 273 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
NMU School of Behavioural Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Muthwa, N April 2024.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |