Abstract

MASHABELA, Emanuel  and  KHESWA, Jabulani Gilford. Exploring the impact of intimate partner violence on the women students living in cohabitation. IJTL [online]. 2020, vol.15, n.1, pp.35-48. ISSN 2519-5670.

The aim of the study was to explore the impact of intimate partner violence on female students living in cohabitation in one South African tertiary institution. In a qualitative study comprised of 12 black isiXhosa-speaking female students, aged 19-24, from the University of Fort Hare (Alice Campus), a purposive sampling was followed. The study was underpinned by Emersson's social exchange theory. The participants gave their informed consent to be tape-recorded prior to conducting the focus group interviews, which lasted for almost an hour. Safeguarding their dignity, privacy and confidentiality was achieved by using pseudonyms. To ensure trustworthiness of the study, Lincoln and Guba's principles were followed, namely: confirmability, dependability, neutrality and transferability. The findings revealed that cohabiting female students are subjugated in terms of expressing their rights to negotiate safe sex and are physically abused when refusing to terminate pregnancies. Furthermore, an impaired sense of autonomy and deprivation to bond with their own biological children were reported. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that there should be empowerment programmes for gender equality at tertiary institutions and parental support for female students.

Keywords : abuse; alcohol; culture; psychological distress; sex.

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