3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Extending social security protection to the domestic workers in Zimbabwe(2018) Makura, EleanorDomestic workers in Zimbabwe do not belong to any social security system for protection against any shocks such as old age, death, invalidity, illness, maternity or occupational injuries. It is because of these social problems that this research study was carried out. The study seeks to understand the risks domestic workers in the Greenside and Chikanga suburbs of the city of Mutare face on a daily basis so as to propose an extension of the social security system to this informal sector. In addition, the study wishes to obtain the perceptions of employers of domestic workers on extending social security system to these workers and their role in this extension. A qualitative method was implemented with interviews carried out purposively with respect to domestic workers using snowball sampling and stratified sampling for interviews with employers. The findings show that some domestic workers ended in this type of job because their parents could not afford the fees for them to further their studies. Those with a fair level of education, findings show that they could not find a better job. The study findings reveal that domestic workers face several life challenges such as the inability to negotiate their salary, the inability for them to buy food or pay school fees for their children; the inability to save towards retirement; pregnancy - as they do not have maternity benefits; and the inability to pay for health care as well as funeral cover. Most domestic workers also fear losing their jobs as a result of occupational injuries. However, the findings also reveal that domestic workers are willing to participate in a social security insurance system on a voluntary basis and are prepared to contribute on a monthly basis. Employers of domestic workers are in favour of a social security scheme for their domestic workers. The employers were also in favour of government regulating domestic work like any other profession and were prepared to register their domestic workers if such policy was in place. Employers, however, felt domestic workers were untrustworthy, as such, they were prepared to contribute towards their social security scheme if the domestic worker stayed for at least five years under their employment. Findings also showed that employers were prepared to play a role in educating their domestic workers on the benefits of saving towards retirement. The objectives of the study were therefore realised, and it would be in the interest of the state to come up with a policy on extending social security system to the domestic workers as a way of promoting economic development and poverty reduction.Item Experiences of gender - based domestic violence among unemployed women in Havana informal settlement - Windhoek(2018) Sithole, MemoryGender-based domestic violence (GBDV) has become one of the most widespread human rights abuses, with staggering prevalence rate in the world. GBDV also has public health implications. Globally, GBDV affects women disproportionately. According to World Health Organization, 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner violence. In the sub-Saharan Africa alone, GBDV has affected millions of women because it is largely hidden and viewed as a private matter by many societies in the region. The predominance of the patriarchal system across Africa has meant that women are still perceived and treated as subordinate to men, as a result violence against women is accepted as a cultural norm. In Namibia the most recent reports indicate that 50 000 crimes related to gender based violence were reported to police stations around the country between 2012 and 2015. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of GBDV among unemployed women who reside in Havana Informal Settlement in Windhoek. For this research, a qualitative approach and an exploratory research design were used. Semi-structured interviews were administered among 15 unemployed women aged between 19 and 55 years old who were recruited as participants. All interviews were audio-recorded and later transcribed. The social and cultural factors that perpetuate domestic violence, and the consequences of gender based-violence on unemployed women. The data was analysed thematically in line with the study objectives. It is envisioned that the findings of this study can be used as a foundation for future study that fully describes the experiences of unemployed women not only in Windhoek informal settlements but also in all the 14 regions of Namibia. KEY WORDS: gender, family, domestic violence, unemployed, cultural experiences, women.Item Men's perceptions, experiences and responses to domestic violence: a comparative study of immigrant and South African men in the Johannesburg inner city(2016) Njowa, PoliteThis report presents findings from a comparative qualitative study conducted in the Johannesburg inner city. The study sought to understand immigrant and South African heterosexual men’s perceptions, experiences, and responses to domestic violence. Drawing on social constructionist theory, the research investigates whether migration and nationality influenced how heterosexual men perceived, experienced, and responded to domestic violence. The study used qualitative methodology and relied on original empirical research. In total, participants (consisting of six immigrant and six South African men) were identified through purposive and snowballing sampling methods. Semi-structured interview guides were used to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings of the study revealed that migration influenced the way in which immigrant men experienced and responded to domestic violence in South Africa. However, migration did not have an impact on how immigrant men perceived domestic violence. This means that the ways in which immigrant men perceived domestic violence was the same as they perceived it in their home countries. However, the ways in which they were experiencing and responding to it in South Africa was different from the ways they used to experience and respond in their home countries (migrant sending countries). The South African participants did not attribute their perceptions, experiences and responses to migration. Instead, they attributed their experiences to the over insistence on rights by women, and the failure of law enforcement agencies to ensure that men who are victims of domestic violence are also heard. Findings also revealed that nationality differences between immigrant men and South African men did not influence the ways in which these two groups perceived and understood the term ‘domestic violence’. Thus, migrant men and South African men understood the term in the same way. The definitions of domestic violence that participants reported were different from the traditional definitions and categorizations of domestic violence. Participants defined domestic violence in accordance with their perceptions and experiences, as there was a thin line between perceptions and personal experiences. Further analysis showed that men understood domestic violence as being physical, emotional, and verbal. The findings of the study also revealed that immigrant men believed that their susceptibility to domestic violence was due to migration because of the perception that South African domestic violence legislation favours women. Furthermore, South African men attributed ‘favouritism on terms of the law’ towards women as an issue that made women take advantage of the policy framework to initiate violence towards their intimate partners. These men suggest that women do this in the knowledge that men are generally not believed when they (i.e. men) make reports of domestic violence.