Acknowledgements The Royal Danish Embassy and the European Union for funding the study and the Ford Foundation, USAID, US Embassy in Pretoria and Standard Bank (for the ISS's Criminal Justice Monitor) for the publication of the results. All the survivors who gave generously of their time to be interviewed. Without their patience and courage, the study would not have been possible. All those individuals and organisations that assisted with the fieldwork and interview process. They were key to the success of the study, not only in conducting the interviews with survivors but also for participating enthusiastically in the focus groups to discuss the findings and deepen our understanding of the difficult issues they face on a daily basis. There are too many to thank individually here. All the people and organisations that assisted are listed in full in Appendices 1 and 2. Experts in the field who provided advice, guidance and critical comment throughout the process. The study has been the culmination of many years' work, starting with the design and set up of the initial phase (in metropolitan areas of the country) to the completion of the national study some three years later. In particular: z Charlotte Gaitskell who led the first phases of the metro study while at DRA Development. Charlotte wrote, consulted and helped modify the questionnaire and selected and guided all the team coordinators, designed and conducted workshops for fieldworkers in each city and conducted pilot studies and supervised the fieldwork process. z Thanks also to Lily Artz, Lisa Vetten and Lala Camerer who assisted during the metro and national study. z For the national study, the steering committee who provided valuable input throughout the process. z Lizette Meyer and Kerry Vermaak from DRA development for organising and managing the fieldwork phase of the national study which required perseverance, patience and logistical skill that many of us just do not have. z Shahana Rasool, who joined a complex project after it had already begun, and brought enthusiasm, guidance, good ideas and many adjustments with out which the final product would not have been what it is. z Patrick Burton from DRA development for helping to edit the final report of the national study. List of figures Figure 1 The proportion of survivors that experienced different types of abuse 39 Figure 2 Duration of emotional abuse, by settlement type 45 Figure 3 Duration of physical abuse, by settlement type 50 Figure 4 Duration of sexual abuse, by settlement type 54 Figure 5 Survivors who never spoke about the most serious incident of abuse, by settlement type 56 Figure 6 Perpetrators of abuse, by abuse type 62 Figure 7 Perpetrators of abuse, by settlement type 64 Figure 8 Employment status of perpetrators, by type of abuse 67 Figure 9 Behaviour of perpetrator after abuse, by type of abuse 69 Figure 10 Outcomes that survivors of abuse worry about 84 viii Violence against woman Figure 11 Time elapsed before recieving medical assistance 97 Figure 12 Women who were satisfied with service received from medical personnel 101 Figure 13 Type of counsellor 107 Figure 14 Women who felt understood by counsellor 109 Figure 15 Women who were satisfied with services provided by counsellor 112 Figure 16 Sought help from police 153 List of tables Table 1 Metropolitan phase sample breakdown 17 Table 2 Metropolitan phase weighted sample breakdown 18 Table 3 Non-metropolitan phase sample breakdown 18 Table 4 Combined metropolitan and non-metropolitan sample breakdown 19 Table 5 Research team breakdown by generic category and organisation 24 Table 6 Combined metropolitan and non-metropolitanbreakdown by settlement type 26 Table 7 Women's definition of abuse according to the worst incident experienced 38 Table 8 Age at which most serious incident occured 40 Table 9 Types of economic abuse experienced 41 x Violence against woman Table 10 Types of emotional abuse experienced 43 Table 11 Were you alone or accompanied at the time of the most serious incidents of emotional abuse 44 Table 12 Types of physical abuse experienced 46 Table 13 Were you alone or accompanied at the time of the most serious incidents of physical abuse 47 Table 14 Types of sexual abuse experienced 51 Table 15 Were you alone or accompanied at the time of the most serious incidents of abuse 53 Table 16 Marital status of perpetrators 65 Table 17 Age of perpetrators, by type of abuse 66 Table 18 Income earned by of perpetrators, by type of abuse 68 Table 19 Types of treatment or assistance suggested by survivors of abuse, by type of abuse 71 Table 20 Effects experienced at the time of abuse, by type of abuse 77 Table 21 Effects of abuse reported at the time of the inerview, by type of abuse 79 Violence against woman xi Table 22 Systems of stress associated with violence against women experienced 82 Table 23 Amount of time survivors attended councelling, by type of abuse 110 Table 24 Amount of time survivors attended councelling, by age 111 Table 25 Outcome of cases that were reported to the police 169 About the authors Shahana Rasool has been actively involved in the violence against women sector in South Africa for several years in activities ranging from counselling and community work to training and research. She spent a year at the ISS as lead researcher on the national violence against women survey. Shahana is currently working in Sydney, Australia. She has a BA Social Work (Honours) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. As a Rhodes Scholar, Shahana obtained a Masters in Social Policy from Oxford University. Kerry Vermaak is a senior researcher at DRA in Durban. She joined the private research company in June 1999 as a researcher on the national violence against women survey. Previously, she worked on community project evaluations at the Child and Family Centre. Her responsibilities at DRA include project planning, fieldwork and data management, data analysis, writing and presentation. She has worked in the areas of violence against women, drug use, social capital and mental health, and adolescent sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS. Kerry has a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours in Psychology) from the University of Natal. Robyn Pharoah is a senior researcher at the ISS on the AIDS and security in SADC project. Prior to joining the ISS, she was a senior researcher at DRA. She has also worked at the Centre for Social and Development Studies, based at the University of Natal in Durban. Robyn has been involved in a variety of research projects including a number of social impact studies, baseline studies and evaluations. Her special interests include health, gender and land issues. Robyn has an Honours Degree in Anthropology from the University of Durham, United Kingdom and a Masters Degree in Development Studies from the University of Natal, Durban. Antoinette Louw is head of the Crime and Justice Programme at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. She has been researching crime, violence and criminal justice in South Africa since 1991 when she joined the Centre for Social and Development Studies at the University of Natal. Since 1997 when she moved to the ISS, her work in the policy research field has covered victimisation surveys, crime prevention policy and practice, policing, and public perceptions of justice and xiv Violence against woman safety. Antoinette has a Masters Degree in Political Studies from the University of Natal, Durban. Aki Stavrou is a development researcher and policy analyst who began researching violence and conflict in South Africa during the mid-1980's. He work in the sector has since included leading research teams undertaking victimisation studies in four South African and two East African cities, as well as in rural South Africa. He has also conducted two major qualitative studies on children in armed conflict in Northern Uganda for the Institute for Security Studies. In addition to this book, similar work on violence against women has been undertaken in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi. He is currently a researcher at the Irish Centre for Migration Studies at the University College Cork in Ireland. Executvie summary Aims and methodology The aims were to inform policy direction on violence against women broadly, and to provide practitioners with pointers about specific service delivery issues. One thousand survivors of economic, emotional, physical and sexual abuse were interviewed across all nine provinces. Only women who had experienced abuse were interviewed. The findings do not therefore indicate the extent of violence against women in South Africa. Ninety eight professionals working in the field of violence against women from across the country assisted in sourcing survivors and administering the interviews. The sample is, as a result, skewed in favour of those women who sought assistance after abuse. Experiences of abuse Women were most likely to define abuse in terms of physical aspects, even though many had experienced other types of abuse. 80% had experienced emotional abuse, 76% physical abuse, 63% sexual and 62% economic abuse. 32% had experienced all types of abuse. All four types of abuse (to a lesser extent sexual abuse) tended to be experienced over a long period of time. The most common location for abuse was in the home. Survivors of emotional and physical abuse tended to be in company (commonly children) when the abuse occurred. Although many women do not report abuse to the authorities, the assumption that women do not speak about abuse is false. For all types of abuse, at least half the survivors spoke about the incident immediately. Most told friends and family members. Perpetrators of abuse Over half of the women who experienced economic, emotional and physical abuse said the perpetrator was a spouse or partner.