Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya
Deeply rooted cultural beliefs and norms relating to the position and the responsibilities assigned to men and women play a significant role in propagating intimate partner violence (IPV). It is yet to be understood in what ways experiences of IPV contribute to how people socially construct their he...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2272762 |
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| author | Elizabeth O. Onyango Susan J. Elliott |
| author_facet | Elizabeth O. Onyango Susan J. Elliott |
| author_sort | Elizabeth O. Onyango |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deeply rooted cultural beliefs and norms relating to the position and the responsibilities assigned to men and women play a significant role in propagating intimate partner violence (IPV). It is yet to be understood in what ways experiences of IPV contribute to how people socially construct their health and wellbeing as they navigate the tensions created by the prevailing sociocultural systems. To address this knowledge gap, we employed a social constructionist perspective and the eco-social model to explore how Kenyans aged 25–49 years socially construct their health and wellbeing in relation to their experiences of IPV. We conducted nine in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions in four counties in Kenya between January and April of 2017. Textual analysis of the narratives reveals that although men are usually framed as perpetrators of violence, they may also be victims of reciprocal aggression by women, as recently witnessed in cases where women retaliate through gang attacks, chopping of male genitalia, and scalding with water. However, women are still disproportionately affected by gender-based violence because of the deeply rooted gender imbalances in patriarchal societies. Women experience social stigma associated with such violence and when separated or divorced in situations of unsafe relationships, they are viewed as social misfits. As such, most women opt to stay in unhealthy relationships to avoid social isolation. These experiences are not only unhealthy for their psychological wellbeing but also for their physical health and socioeconomic status and that of their offspring. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f323b75e8e094ddea957d225bedea05f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2641-0397 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| spelling | doaj-art-f323b75e8e094ddea957d225bedea05f2025-08-20T03:31:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSexual and Reproductive Health Matters2641-03972023-12-0131110.1080/26410397.2023.2272762Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from KenyaElizabeth O. Onyango0Susan J. Elliott1Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 11405 87 Ave NW, AB T6G 1C9, Edmonton, Canada.Professor, Faculty of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 CanadaDeeply rooted cultural beliefs and norms relating to the position and the responsibilities assigned to men and women play a significant role in propagating intimate partner violence (IPV). It is yet to be understood in what ways experiences of IPV contribute to how people socially construct their health and wellbeing as they navigate the tensions created by the prevailing sociocultural systems. To address this knowledge gap, we employed a social constructionist perspective and the eco-social model to explore how Kenyans aged 25–49 years socially construct their health and wellbeing in relation to their experiences of IPV. We conducted nine in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions in four counties in Kenya between January and April of 2017. Textual analysis of the narratives reveals that although men are usually framed as perpetrators of violence, they may also be victims of reciprocal aggression by women, as recently witnessed in cases where women retaliate through gang attacks, chopping of male genitalia, and scalding with water. However, women are still disproportionately affected by gender-based violence because of the deeply rooted gender imbalances in patriarchal societies. Women experience social stigma associated with such violence and when separated or divorced in situations of unsafe relationships, they are viewed as social misfits. As such, most women opt to stay in unhealthy relationships to avoid social isolation. These experiences are not only unhealthy for their psychological wellbeing but also for their physical health and socioeconomic status and that of their offspring.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2272762wellbeinghealthsocial constructionqualitative researchpartner and sexual violencegender-based violence (GBV) |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth O. Onyango Susan J. Elliott Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters wellbeing health social construction qualitative research partner and sexual violence gender-based violence (GBV) |
| title | Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya |
| title_full | Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya |
| title_short | Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya |
| title_sort | victims or perpetrators agency and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing a qualitative study from kenya |
| topic | wellbeing health social construction qualitative research partner and sexual violence gender-based violence (GBV) |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2272762 |
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