SEXUAL REVICTI1VIISATION IN "COLOURED" FEMALE SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AN INTEGRATED APPROACH by CAROL-ANN DIXON submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR G. PRETORIUS OCTOBER 1998
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SEXUAL REVICTI1VIISATION IN "COLOURED" FEMALE SURVIVORS OF CHILD
SEXUAL ABUSE
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
by
CAROL-ANN DIXON
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
at the
RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY
SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR G. PRETORIUS
OCTOBER 1998
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people:
Professor Gertie Pretorius, my supervisor, who facilitated the growth of the ideas in
this thesis, and for the many hours she spent in guiding the process to its completion.
The three narrators who were willing to share and entrust their stories to me.
My wonderful husband, Richard, who showed enduring patience, support and love
over the past two years.
My dearest children Craige, Nicole and Matthew, who showed understanding beyond
their years.
My support system - Bongiwe, Shannon, Caroline, my parents, Phyl and Ted and my
in-laws, Jill and Brian, without which this thesis would not have been completed.
Shirley du Rand for her computer wizardry.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to tell the story of sexual revictimisation of coloured women.
The epistemological framework of this study is an integrated one including both modem
and postmodern approaches to the study of revictimisation. The dominant postmodern
approach is that of constructivism. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of research
are used to collect and analyse the data.
The story of revictimisation was recounted firstly through responses to a questionnaire by
a sample of coloured women within the context of a coloured community. Secondly, the
unique stories of sexual revictimisation were re-authored through the co-author's lens in
the form of themes that emerged from the stories told by each of the three narrators. The
effects of sexual revictimisation, as well as the specific ways each narrator survived their
abuse experiences was discussed. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three
narrators were elucidated in a co-constructed story of stories. A comparison between the
quantitative research results, the qualitative story constructions and the literature on
sexual revictimisation concluded the re-constructed story where the numerous stories,
within either a unique, cultural or universal context, were integrated into a conceptual
whole.
The information gained could serve as guidelines for those working with adult survivors
of child sexual abuse within a coloured context. An understanding of sexual
revictimisation and the risk factors involved in the effects of child sexual abuse may be
useful in the prevention of sexual revictimisation.
Key words: Child sexual abuse, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, revictimisation,
coloured history and identity, modernism, postmodernism, constructivism, qualitative
research, quantitative and qualitative integration, hermeneutics, stories, narrative.
OPSOMNIING
Die doel van hierdie studie is om die stone van seksuele herviktimisering van kleurling
vroue te vertel. 'n Geintegreerde epistimologiese saamwerk, waarin beide modernistiese
en postmodernistiese benaderings ingesluit is, word in die studie van herviktimisering
aangewend. Die oorheersende postmodernistiese benadering is die van konstruktivisme.
Beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes om data in te samel en te
analiseer is gebruik.
Eerstens is die verhaal van herviktimisasie deur middel van die afneem van response op
'n vraelys, gerig aan 'n steekproef bestaande uit kleurlingvroue vanuit 'n
kleurlinggemeenskap, oorvertel. Tweedens is die unieke verhaal van seksuele
herviktimisasie in die vorm van die temas voortspruitend uit die verhale van die drie
vertellers, vanuit die mede outeur se oogpunt berskryf. Die gevolge van herviktimisasie,
sowel as die spesifieke maniere waarop die onderskeie vertellers hul ervaringe oorleef
het, is bespreek. Tema's, wat telkemale uit die verhale van die drie vertellers na yore
gekom het, is deur die mede outeur in een verhaal uiteengesit. 'n Vergelyking tussen die
kwantitatiewe navorsingsresultate, die kwalitatiewe verhaalkonstruksies en die literatuur
oor seksuele herviktimisasie, sluit die hergekonstruktureerde verhale af. Terselfdertyd is
die verskeie verhale, hetsy binne 'n unieke, kulturele of universele konteks tot 'n
konseptuele geheeleenheid geintegreer.
Die informasie verkry uit die studie, kan as riglyn vir diegene dien wat met volwasse
oorlewende slagoffers van seksuele misbruik binne 'n gekleurde gemeenskapskonteks
werk. 'n Begrip van seksuele herviktimisasie en die risiko faktore betrokke by die
gevolge/effekte van seksuele misbruik van kinders, mag van nut wees in die voorkoming
van seksuele herviktimisasie.
Sleutelwoorde: kinder seksuele misbruik, volwasse oorlewende van seksuele
misbruik, geskiedenis en identiteit binne 'n gekleurde gemeenskapskonteks, modemisme,
postmodernisme, konstruktivisme, kwalitatiewe navorsing, kwantitatiewe en
kwalitatiewe integrasie, uitlegkunde, verhale, vertellings.
MOTHEROOT
Creation often
needs two hearts
one to root
and one to flower.
One to sustain
in time of drought
and hold fast
against winds of pain,
the fragile bloom
that in the glory
of its hour
affirms a heart
unsung, unseen.
Marilou Awaikta •
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page number
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview of the study 1
1.2 Aim of the study 4
1.3 Outline of the study 5
1.4 Terminology 6
POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A
THEORETICAL CONTEXT 7
CHAPTER TWO 8
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE 8
2.1 Definition of Child Sexual Abuse 8
2.2 The Effects of Child Sexual Abuse on Adult Functioning 12
2.2.1 Caveats about this information 13
2.2.2 Symptomatic Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse 14
2.2.3 A Conceptual Approach to the Consequences of
Child Sexual Abuse 19
2.2.3.1 Diagnostic categories 19
2.2.3.2 Traumagenic dynamics 20
2.2.3.3 Effects on personality 25
2.2.3.4 Coping strategies 25
2.2.4 Dominant discourses about Child Sexual Abuse 28
2.2.5 Discussion 29
2.3 Child Sexual Abuse within a Cultural Context 30
2.3.1 Ethnic differences in the prevalence of Child Sexual
Abuse 31
2.3.2 Childhood sexual abuse research within a racial
context in South Africa 32
2.3.2.1 Child sexual abuse within the coloured
context 34
2.3.3 Ethnic differences in abuse characteristics 36
CHAPTER THREE 42
3. ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL
ABUSE AND REVICTEVIISATION 42
3.1 Definitional issues and mediating variables
in sexual revictimisation 42
3.2 Theoretical issues 48
3.2.1 Direct effects of child sexual abuse on
revictimisation 49
3.2.2 Developmental theory 53
3.2.3 Indirect effects on revictimisation 54
3.2.4 The social construction of revictimisation 56
3.2.5 The cultural context of revictimisation 57
3.2.6 Conclusion 57
POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT 60
CHAPTER FOUR 60
4. THE STORY OF THE "COLOURED"
PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA 60
4.1 The History 60
4.1.1 Social attitudes and activities at the
Cape colony 63
4.1.2 Recent developments 65
4.2 The identity of the "coloured" people
of South Africa 67
4.2.1 The influences of slavery and politics 68
4.2.1.1 The common bond of servility and
disempowerment 69
4.2.1.2 The common bond of oppression 70
4.2.1.3 The common bond of dehumanisation 70
4.2.2 The changing nature of identity 71
4.2.2.1 The advent of the "so-called coloureds" 72
4.2.3 Positioning the study within a
linguistic context 73
4.2.4 Marginalisation 75
4.2.5 Conclusion 76
POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A
PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXT 78
CHAPTER FIVE 78
THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 78
5.1 Structuralism and poststructuralism 81
5.2 Modernism and Newtonian physics 83
5.3 Postmodernism and the new science 86
5.3.1 Postmodernism 87
5.3.2 Cybernetics 89
5.3.3 Constructivism 89
5.3.3.1 Radical constructivism 91
5.3.3.2 Social constructivonism 92
5.3.3.3 Co-constructivism 94
5.3.3.4 Language, Narratives and constructivism 96
5.4 Towards an holistic integrative conception
of sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women 97
5.4.1 The modern view 97
5.4.2 The postmodern view 99
CHAPTER SIX 106
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 106
6.1 Problem statement and purpose of
this study 106
6.1.1 Terminology 107
6.2 Integration of quantitative and qualitative
research 108
6.3 Quantitative methodology 112
6.3.1 Research design and data collection 111
6.3.2 Sample 115
6.3.3 Data analysis 116
6.4 Qualitative methodology - the
re-telling and re-authoring of stories 117
6.4.1 Constructivism and research 119
6.4.2 Narrating the stories 121
6.4.3 Selecting the narrators 122
6.4.4 The interview 123
6.4.5 Re-authoring the stories 126
6.5 Results of the research 130
6.5.1 Quantitative research 130
6.5.1.1 Sample and data collection 130
6.5.1.2 Data analysis 132
6.5.1.2.1 Child sexual abuse, adult sexual abuse
and sexual revictimisation frequencies 132
6.5.1.2.2 Child sexual abuse characteristics 133
6.5.1.2.3 Adult sexual abuse characteristics 135
6.5.1.2.4 Comparisons of community responses
to child and adult sexual abuse 137
6.5.1.2.5 "Coloured" identity 139
6.5.1.2.6 Other variables 139
6.5.2 Qualitative results 140
6.5.2.1 Selecting and interviewing the narrators 140
6.5.2.2 The narrative process 142
6.5.2.3 Re-tellings and re-authoring of the
stories 143
The re-telling of Moirah's story
Re-authoring the story — emerging themes 143
The re-telling of Nishaat's story
Re-authoring the story — emerging themes 159
The re-telling of Rachel's story
Re-authoring the story — emerging themes 173
6.5.2.4 Co-constructing the story of revictimisation 187
6.5.2.4.1 Emerging themes 187
CHAPTER SEVEN 204
7. DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH RESULTS 204
7.1 Discussion of quantitative results 204
7.2 Discussion of the quantitative and
qualitative results 206
7.2.1 Re-constructing the story of revictimisation 209
7.2.1.1 Definitional issues of revictimisation 209
7.2.1.2 The effects of revictimisation 211
7.2.1.3 Theoretical explanations of
revictimisation 214
7.2.1.4 Dominant discourses of abuse 221
7.2.1.5 Contextual positioning 229
7.3 The challenge 232
CHAPTER EIGHT 234
8. CONCLUSION 234
8.1 Evaluation of the study 234
8.1.1 Strengths of this study 235
8.1.2 Limitations of this study 239
8.1.3 Recommendations for future research 241
BIBLIOGRAPHY 243
APPENDIX ONE 255
The questionnaire used for the collection of
quantitative data 255
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Today in my small natural body I sit and learn -
my woman's body like yours target on any street
taken from me at the age of twelve .... I watch a woman dare
I dare to watch a woman we dare to raise our voices
(J. Tepperman, 1970)
1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
In the last two decades, the problem of child sexual abuse has emerged from the cloak of
social secrecy and become a leading concern of mental health professionals and a new
topic of mental health research (Cole and Putnam, 1992). Prior to 1980 the harmfulness
of child sexual abuse was neither well established, nor clearly conceptualised. This may
have been due to Freudian conceptions of child-adult sexual activities as being explained
through the Oedipus complex, and understood as being gratifying to the child (Salter,
1995). Against such a background and with such a theory in place, it would be difficult
to appreciate the harmfulness of child sexual abuse - "the 'traumatic' aspect furthermore
loses some of its significance when it is realised that the child itself often unconsciously
desires the sexual activity and becomes more or less a willing partner in the act" (Sloane
and Karpinski, 1942, p. 666, in Salter, 1995). As a result, most of the early research
about child sexual abuse concluded that such experiences had no deleterious effects on
adult functioning (Salter, 1995).
Not every historical figure, however, considered child sexual abuse to be benign.
Firenczi (1955) wrote with great power of the dynamics of sexual victimisation. He also
appears to be the first social researcher to notice the phenomenon of revictimisation,
noting that child victims of rape are more likely to be raped as adults, and women who
were sexually abused as children were more likely to be abused as adults (Firenczi,
1955). There has also been some attention paid to a possible cycle of abuse, wherein the
victim appears to become a perpetrator against other victims (Finkelhor, 1984;
Miller,1985).
Although there has been a steady flow of publications over the last thirty years or so on
the sequelae of child sexual abuse, that steady flow has been dwarfed in the past 10 to 15
years by a tidal wave of research (Salter, 1995). While repeated victimisation has been
noted in the literature, even by researchers as far back as Charcot, Janet and Freud who
coined the term "repetition compulsion" with regard to a victim's tendency to repeat their
trauma, (van der Kolk, 1989, p. 390), the phenomenon of sexual revictimisation, has,
however only received focal attention within the last decade (Salter, 1995).
"Is it not true that life is one damn thing after another,
it's the same damn thing over and over" (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
These few words describe the phenomenon of revictimisation, which has become more
well known in the recent history of research into the effects of child sexual abuse
(Mandoki and Burkhart, 1989). Victimologists, whose research originated within
criminology (Peterson and Seligmann, 1983), have long recognised that victimisation is
not randomly distributed in the population (Mandoki and Burkhart, 1989). It appears to
precede, predict and produce further victimisation. Despite this knowledge and these
observations, surprisingly little empirical work on the revictimisation process has been
conducted. Even less work has been done from a qualitative perspective, on how women
2
who have been sexually revictimised both experience, make sense of and survive their
ordeal. In addition, most of the work done on child sexual abuse and sexual
revictimisation has been done from a framework based on reductionistic and linear
thinking which is the hallmark of the Western/Newtonian view of reality. While this
approach has led to a plethora of information about the effects of child sexual abuse and
sexual revictimisation, it has tended to ignore the interrelationship between the abuse and
the context within which it occurs, as well as the meaning which is attributed to such
abuse.
"Women of African descent have encountered numerous forms of sexual victimisation
since the 16th century, when they were first brought to America. Today their
descendants continue to face sexual violence in various forms, including childhood
sexual abuse, rape in adulthood, and sexual harassment ... the role of ethnicity in sexual
violence against African-American women has received only limited attention" (Wyatt
and Riederle, 1994, p. 233).
This statement may hold equally true for women of mixed descent in South Africa. The
coloured women of South Africa have an unique history and while numerous studies
have been conducted with regard to the coloured population of South Africa (Adhikari
1992; Du Pre, 1992; Pillay, 1991; Preston-Whyte, 1991; Rip, 1995 and Simone, 1995),
to date there appears to be no evidence of research which specifically targets coloured
women and sexual revictimisation within their unique context. As a result there is a
dearth of helpful information about the prevalence within the coloured community, and
the effects on the lives of women who experience sexual revictimisation. In addition to
the absence of these quantitative factors which would provide broad but "thin" (White,
1997, p. 15) understanding of the problem in the coloured community, there are no
known or recorded stories from the survivors themselves about how they have
constructed and made sense of their experiences and how they have survived. These
3
stories or narratives would provide a "thicker" (White, 1997, p. 15), albeit narrower and
more particular, understanding of sexual revictimisation within the female coloured
community of South Africa.
1.2 AIM OF THE STUDY
In the present study an attempt is made to redress some of these deficiencies by studying
the sexual victimisation- revictimisation cycle within a population of coloured women.
In addition, an attempt towards an integrative process that includes both quantitative and
qualitative research is made. The quantitative research will centre around providing an
empirical context for the study and aims towards a broad delineation of sexual
revictimisation among coloured women.
There will also be an attempt to establish a link between child sexual abuse and adult
sexual revictimisation. The qualitative research within a constructivist paradigm will
endeavour to understand how a few women within the coloured community who have
experienced sexual revictimisation make sense of their experience, and how they have
constructed their particular narrative in a meaningful way. In addition, an important
aspect of the inquiry will include some attempt to understand the ways in which these
women have survived their abuse experiences.
Due to the potential vastness of this field, it must be remembered that the discussion in
this dissertation takes place within the limitations of space and time, as well as within the
limitations of the writers experience and knowledge.
4
1.3 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
The curtains which have shut out the public gaze from the 'private' event of child sexual
abuse and revictimisation are beginning to be drawn back, with researchers and social
scientists starting to peer in and focus on abuse as something problematic and therefore in
need of understanding. It is apparent that the field is permeated with numerous
difficulties and deficiencies which serve to complicate and colour effective
understanding. When faced with the prevalent conceptual linearity of the effects of child
sexual abuse and revictimisation, it is a difficult task to achieve a metaposition and
confront the issue in an integrated and more holistic manner. It is suggested, however,
that this is precisely what is required if a complete understanding is to be attained. In
thus study, sexual revictimisation of coloured women is thus viewed both from the
traditional, linear perspective where the prevalence and effects of the phenomenon is
relevant, and from the systemic and constructivist positions where context, meaning,
integration and survival are relevant.
The study is positioned within a theoretical context in Chapters 2 and 3. The traditional
linear view of child sexual abuse is discussed in Chapter 2, with some attempt to position
it within a cultural context. Chapter 3 offers a coverage of the concept of sexual
revictimisation, highlighting both linear and nonlinear theoretical issues. Chapter 4
places the study within an historical context, and includes an overview of the history and
identity of the "coloured" people of South Africa. The study is positioned within a
philosophical context in Chapter 5 where the epistemological framework of the study is
described, and an attempt is made to provide an holistic, integrative, conceptual theory of
sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women. In Chapter 6 the research methodology is
described and in Chapter 7 the results of the research are presented. Chapter 8 evaluates
the study, points to shortcomings and indicates further recommendations for research.
5
1.4 TERMINOLOGY
The terms "constructivism" and "constructionism" are used interchangeably throughout
the literature with little apparent difference. Gergen (1985) points out that
"constructivism" has been mainly linked to Piagetian cognitive theory, Kelly's construct
theory and Vygotsky's theory of cognitive learning based on twentieth century art. The
term "constructionism" appears to be used predominantly when referring to "social
constructionism" which is mainly linked to Berger and Luckmann's seminal volume, The
social construction of reality (Gergen, 1985), and therefore to broader theorising on the
construction of reality which includes the self within society. There also appear to be
different epistemological and ontological approaches to constructivism and social
constructionism. These range from conservative views where it is thought that an
objective reality does exist, but that this reality is interpreted through cognitive constructs
or schemas, to more radical views where it is thought that no reality exists apart from the
constructions thereof
In this study the term "constructivism" will be used to refer to individual constructions of
reality, "co-constructivism" will be used to refer to constructions of reality which are
agreed to and shared by individuals, while "social constructionism" will be used to refer
to constructions of reality which are socially created and shared.
6
POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A THEORETICAL
CONTEXT
In the following two chapters an attempt will be made to review the literature on child
sexual abuse and sexual revictimisation. Definitions of both child sexual abuse and
sexual revictimisation will be discussed, the effects of such experiences on the survivor
will be examined, and the theoretical conceptualisations will be reviewed.
7
CHAPTER TWO
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
2.1 DEFINITION OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
The debate around the definition of child sexual abuse has been surrounded by confusion,
mythology and numerous assumptions. The definitions range from very broad all-
encompassing meanings to more specific distinctions. There are legal definitions of
child sexual abuse which vary from country to country, and which indicate specific
criteria. These criteria which include, the age of the child, degrees of relatedness to the
perpetrator, degrees of threat or violence and differences in perpetrators intentions, are set
out to guide the legal process. Often only sexual intercourse or attempted intercourse is
defined as sexual abuse in the law. This narrow view fails to incorporate a range of other
sexual activities which may be experienced as traumatic to the child (Levett, 1988). It
also fails to include sexual activities which may be perceived by the child as gratifying,
but where power and the importance of the relationship to the child are used to sexually
exploit the child.
Clinical definitions of child sexual abuse are marked by differences between researchers.
A broad definition such as, "any exploitation of a child by an adult for sexual
gratification" (Farmer, 1990, p.9), may not take cognisance of the assumptions and myths
attached to this meaning.
The more specific definitions differentiate between numerous issues including:
(a) the distinction between child sexual abuse perpetrated by a nonfamilial adult,
and incest perpetrated by a family member who is biologically or legally related. The
8
term incest includes both blood and step parents, as well as uncles, cousins and
grandfathers (Russell, 1986). Some definitions go even further to say that the blood or
legal relationship is not the critical factor, but rather the emotional bond or trust that
exists between the parties (Blume, 1990).
the ages of the victim - some definitions qualify child sexual abuse only if the sexual
acts occurred before sixteen years of age (Finkelhor, 1984), others utilise the upper limit
of eighteen (Russell, 1986). In South Africa, the legal definition of a child is a person
under the age of 18 (Levett, 1988),
the age difference between the victim and the perpetrator - some sexual acts are seen
as exploratory and therefore several definitions exclude sexual exploration that occurs
between children where there is less than a five year age difference (Gomes-Schwartz,
Horowitz and Cardarelli, 1990), however the issue of coercion is deemed pertinent and
represents an important consideration regardless of fixed age limits (Jehu, Gazan and
Klassen, 1985). In a comprehensive literature review on age differentials between
perpetrators of child sexual abuse and their victims, Davis and Leitenberg (1987) note
that the number of adolescent male sex offenders is substantial and that most of their
victims are younger female adolescents or children. However, excluded from the
definition of sexual abuse are situations where there is consensual bodily or sexual
exploration between young peers, which may be initiated by either boys or girls and
which some regard as constructive (Yates, 1987),
gender differences - perpetrators of child sexual abuse are generally males (Levett,
1988), while most sexually abused children appear to be female (Finkelhor and Russell,
1983, in Levett, 1988). However there are increasingly more research studies indicating
the prevalence of boys who become victims of child sexual abuse (Salter, 1995). In
addition, although rare, female perpetrators have been encountered (Salter, 1995),
9
the nature of sexual acts involved - there appears to be a distinction in definition
between "typical" instances of child sexual abuse and "bizarre" instances. The former
refers to adults exposing their genitalia, exposing literature or photographic material to
children which may or may not include physical contact, acts including: fellatio,
cunnilingus, fondling or performing anal or vaginal intercourse upon children or
adolescents. The latter includes ritualistic, sadistic or organised-sexual and often violent
abuse as perpetrated by cults or producers of pornographic material using children
(Gilmartin, 1994). There also appears to be a distinction in the literature between sexual
abuse which includes physical injury (e.g. forced genital intercourse) and which is termed
"rape" or "sodomy", and non-violent abuse called "sexual molestation", or "indecent
assault" (Pienaar, 1996).
Levett (1988), writing from a feminist perspective, introduces some other possible
dimensions to the definition of child sexual abuse which is mostly neglected in the
literature. These dimensions include the power invested in males in our society where a
male who has an age advantage coerces a female child into physical intimacies. This
involves then, a double exploitation of power dynamics - age and masculinity. "The
ability to engage a child in a sexual relationship is based on the all-powerful and
dominant position of the adult (or older adolescent) offender, which is in sharp contrast to
the child's age, dependency and powerlessness. Authority and power enable the
perpetrator to coerce the child into sexual compliance" (Kamsler, 1990, p. 10). Another
dimension from the feminist and constuctivist perspective is the dynamic of constructed
meanings which are attached to sexuality and sexual experience for females. These
meanings are differently constructed for males and females in the socialisation process
and therefore complicate the picture, in retrospect. The experience of the abuse is
therefore perceived differently for males and females, and this therefore needs to be
considered when forming a definition.
10
(g) Following on from this broader understanding, it is possible that the experience of the
abuse is perceived differently by children and adults. Some very young children may not
perceive the sexual encounter as abuse at all (and in fact may find the experience
gratifying), while older children who have an increased awareness of the meanings of
sexual behaviour may be more likely to perceive it as abuse (Gilmartin, 1994). This
view needs to be seen against the background of numerous other factors including the
type of sexual act, the nature of the perpetrator, the duration of the sexual encounter and
the context within which it occurs.
For the purposes of this study the definition of child sexual abuse will be used to refer to
all sexual acts involving physical, verbal or visual contact committed by nonfamilial
adults who are at least five years older than the child or adolescent. A child is defined as
under the age of eighteen. The term incest will be used to include all sexual acts
involving physical, verbal or visual contact which are committed by family members or
other caretakers who have been entrusted with a parental role, and who are at least five
years older than the child or adolescent (Gilmartin, 1994; Russell, 1986).
This definition focuses on a particular event, or series of events, which take place at a
particular time. However, it must be acknowledged that the experience of child sexual
abuse is a developmental process and the meaning attached to it will change as the person
grows and changes cognitively, physically, emotionally and behaviourally over time. It
may be that child sexual abuse is not only a particular event that occurs at a particular
time, but that it is in fact never over, and the abuse experience presents itself in many
different forms throughout the lifetime of the individual. Muller (1994), in a study on the
impact of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse on identity formation uses Erikson's
model of developmental stages which concludes that each developmental stage is
associated with a revision and an integration of previous stages. Her study demonstrates
11
that if any stage is affected by abuse, that later stages, in particular the stage of identity
formation versus identity confusion, are affected. At each stage subsequent to the one
during which the abuse occurred, the sexual abuse experience may need to be re-
negotiated, re-resolved and integrated into the identity of the survivor. Cole and Putnam,
(1992) state that the risks to victims of abuse that stem from interference in the normal
developmental path are not static. "Individual differences in adjustment must be
understood in terms of developmental process, as deviations from normative trajectories
as opposed to fixations at a single point in time. Each developmental transition provides
the victim with opportunities to reprocess the experience; one never ceases to have been
victimized, but one continues to conceptualize and come to terms with this experience in
new ways" (p. 180). The inclusion of developmental conceptualisations in the definition
of child sexual abuse is an important factor, and may contribute to an understanding of
how some women cope better than others, and why reactions to the experience are so
vastly different (Klein and Janoff-Bulman, 1995).
2.2 THE EFFECTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ON ADULT
FUNCTIONING
There appear to be two primary methods of describing and understanding the
consequences of child sexual abuse on adult functioning. The first approach, which has
resulted in prolific and voluminous literature, especially over the last decade (Salter,
1995), has been a symptom-oriented approach. This approach has been characterised by
lengthy lists of symptoms obtained fr6m both clinical and non-clinical samples of women
who have been sexually abused as children. However, perhaps a more useful approach
which encourages a broader conceptual perspective, advocates the identification of core
clusters and effects which are more inclusive of specific symptomatology (Morrow and
Smith, 1995).
12
Levett (1988) proposes a third approach, in a controversial and alternative review from
samples of adult survivors of child sexual abuse who have entered therapy and who offer
a different perspective on the effects of child sexual abuse on adult functioning. This
perspective addresses dominant discourses around sexual abuse, and focuses attention on
the resilience of the survivor and on the possibility that not all experiences of child sexual
abuse are negative. Levett (1988), also suggests that "dominant ideas about the traumatic
effects of childhood sexual abuse may play a part in the constellation of traumatic
effects" (p.67).
These three approaches - the symptom-oriented approach, the conceptual approach and
the discourse approach will be reviewed in the next section .
2.2.1 Caveats about this information.
Researchers and practitioners have outlined numerous deleterious effects of child sexual
abuse on adult functioning. Throughout the literature, the caveat is made that many of
the research works possess a variety of flaws and often lack scientific rigour. This has
been as a result of the complicated issues which have to be sorted through; differing
definitions of child sexual abuse, diverse research methodologies and heterogeneous
samples (both clinical and non-clinical), and the language which is used to describe the
consequences of incest or child sexual abuse. The early literature has tended to downplay
the impact of child sexual abuse (Finkelhor, 1984; Miller, 1985), while the more recent
literature has tended to deny the possibility that some may survive child sexual abuse
unscathed (Blume, 1990; Salter, 1995). A more objective approach is however also
evident: "Some rally their strengths and survive their abuse relatively unscathed. Some
stubbornly refuse to surrender, and go on to experience lives of satisfaction. Some are so
damaged and endure such repeated horrors that they must rebuild themselves almost from
scratch" (Blume, 1990, p. 15).
13
A final caveat, many of the works which explain reactions to child sexual abuse.
(measured by psychological tests), do not consider the range and complexity of the
impact of abuse on women or the fact that women and girls who are abused are actively
engaged in a struggle to cope with the consequences. The signs and symptoms are not
necessarily pathological, but learned skills that were necessary for survival (Dinsmore,
1992; Farmer, 1990). This trend is especially evident in more recent literature which
describes women who have been sexually abused as children as "survivors" (Farmer,
1990; Salter, 1995). Some authors go further to describe some women survivors who
have found meaning in their experience and have made successes of their lives, as
"victors" (Gilmartin, 1994).
2.2.2 SYMPTOMATIC CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
The victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have been studied across a number of
divergent time frames (Gilmartin, 1994). Some of these studies focus on the immediate
aftermath of child sexual abuse within child and adolescent populations (Gomes-
Schwartz, et. al., 1990). A great number focus on adult women decades after their having
experienced child sexual abuse (Bass and Davis, 1988; Gilmartin, 1994; Hooper, 1992).
The reported effects are therefore distinctly different - this review is limited to those
consequences which relate to adult functioning, with the underlying assumption that they
have had a developmental history. This assumption suggests that a particular life-event,
such as child sexual abuse, will re-surface and re-appear in many different conceptual
forms over the life-span and therefore will impact the life of the victim continually (Cole
and Putnam, 1992; Klein and Janoff-Bulman, 1995; Muller, 1994). For example, a five
year old girl is sexually abused by her stepfather. She finds this close intimate contact
with her stepfather gratifying and throughout her latent development is unaware of any
impact on her functioning. Upon reaching puberty, she is suddenly struck with the
realisation of what has happened to her as a result of her greater awareness of the
14
meaning of sexual activity. At this point she re-experiences the trauma of the sexual
encounter and defines it as abuse. This traumatic memory has an impact on her
relationships, her school life, her psychological functioning and her decisions about sex.
Later in life when she has her own children, she may re-experience the event in a
different form, through her own daughter. And so this developmental process continues
throughout the life-span. Perhaps this may explain why some women respond to child
sexual abuse during childhood and adolescent years, while others do not do so until many
years later (Gilmartin, 1994). What appears to be certain, though, is that child sexual
abuse is eventually felt, and in many cases the long-term consequences can be serious.
The range of effects of child sexual abuse is broad and the research includes extensive
symptomatology. Numerous impediments in general functioning are reported and it
seems as though any form of human behaviour that may be considered dysfunctional
could be the result of child sexual abuse (Bass and Davis, 1988; Blume, 1990; Briere and
Runtz, 1988a; Coles, 1990; Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994; Russell, 1997; Salter,
1995; Whitfield, 1995). Some of the more common findings include:
(a) Depression appears to be the symptom most commonly reported among adults who
were molested sexually as children (Courtois, 1988; Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994;
Herman, 1992; Renvoize, 1993; Salter, 1995; Whitfield, 1995). Empirical evidence in
both clinical and non-clinical samples have reported the presence of major depressive
symptoms in between 65% and 35% of cases of adults who have been sexually abused as
children, in comparison with non-abused control groups where depressive symptoms
occur in 23% to 16% of cases (Finkelhor, 1986). More recent research using sounder
methodology and improved control groups has found that depression occurs more often
in adult survivors of child sexual abuse than any other symptom (Salter, 1995). For
example, Anderson, Yasenik, and Ross (in Salter, 1995), found depressive symptoms in
94.1% of their sample of 51 adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Although this
15
percentage is particularly high, the majority of studies conducted on survivors of child
sexual abuse indicate the trend that depressive symptoms are significantly higher than for
control groups (Salter, 1995).
Chronic, sometimes severe, anxiety appears to be frequently associated with a history
of child sexual abuse. Significantly higher scores using a variety of anxiety scales were
measured for child sexual abuse survivors than control groups (Briere and Runtz, 1988a;
Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994; Salter, 1995).
Another outcome connected with child sexual abuse in the literature, is the
development of eating disorders (Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994; Russell, 1997;
Whitfield; 1995). Bulimia nervosa appears to occur more frequently than anorexia
nervosa (Gilmartin, 1994; Whitfield, 1995), and either of these eating disorders typically
appear in adolescence and continue well into adulthood (Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin,
1994; Whitfield, 1995).
Researchers have drawn attention to the issue of dissociation as a frequent symptom
distinguishing victims of child sexual abuse (Courtois, 1988; Finkelhor, 1986; Salter,
1995, Whitfield, 1995). In his recent review of the literature on child sexual abuse
between 1980 and 1989, Whitfield (1995) found that nearly all victims of severe, chronic
child sexual abuse often including violence, reported degrees of dissociation ranging
from dissociation between affect and cognition, body-mind dissociation, somatization
disorder and full-blown Multiple Personality Disorder. Other symptoms including
"spaciness", "out of body experiences" and feeling that things are "unreal" were reported
by sexual abuse victims in a study by Briere and Runtz (1988a). They additionally
measured higher than nonvictims on a Dissociation Scale derived from the Hopkins
Symptom Checklist (Finkelhor, 1986). It must be acknowledged that there are degrees of
dissociation and that the most extreme version is Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).
16
There appears to be consensus in the literature that MPD is closely associated with
sadistic, violent sexual abuse lasting long periods of time and involving multiple
perpetrators and/or ritualistic components (Gilmartin, 1994). It has also been suggested
that MPD is a logical and positive adaptation to compensate for overwhelming anxiety
(Putnam, 1989).
Sexual dysfunction is reported in large proportions of adult women with a history of
child sexual abuse, and is described as being one of the most common finding in research
studies done prior to 1990 (Levett, 1988). Sexual problems such as frigidity,
promiscuity, dissatisfaction with or an inability to enjoy sex, negative attitudes about sex,
prostitution, orgasmic disorders, pain during intercourse and confusion regarding sexual
identity have been suggested as long-term consequences (Briere and Runtz, 1988a;
Courtois, 1988; Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994; Herman, 1992; Russell, 1997; Salter,
1995; and Whitfield, 1995).
Suicidality has been associated with child sexual abuse. Levett (1988) reported
numerous studies which indicate that suicide attempts range from 37% to 51% in incest
and sexual abuse victims. Research shows that greater suicidality appears to be
associated with multiple perpetrators, concurrent physical abuse and full penetration.
However, a direct causal relationship between child sexual abuse and suicidality cannot
be established since there may well be other mediating factors such as familial disruption,
parental loss, emotional and economic poverty and other multiple problems (Levett,
1988). This difficulty with linear causality is common to all symptom-oriented
approaches.
Other consequences range from chemical and alcohol abuse histories (Finkelhor,
1986; Whitfield, 1995), pedophilia (Salter, 1995; Whitfield, 1995) and somatic
complaints, including weight problems, sleep disturbances, migraine headaches,
17
hypertension, and other physical problems which sometimes defy diagnosis and treatment
(Bass and Davis, 1988; Commis, 1988, Finkelhor, 1986; Gilmartin, 1994; Salter, 1995;
Whitfield, 1995). Drossman (1994), has noted the frequent association between
functional disorders and child sexual abuse, particularly with gastrointestinal disorders,
such as irritable bowel syndrome.
(h) Whitfield (1995) states that between 50% and 60% of psychiatric inpatients and 40%
to 70% of psychiatric outpatients have a reported history of child sexual abuse. This, and
the aforementioned symptoms or consequences of child sexual abuse suggest that the risk
of mental health impairment for victims of child sexual abuse is pervasive and needs to
be taken very seriously (Finkelhor, 1986). It appears that almost all psychological
sequelae are well represented in samples of survivors of child sexual abuse. An
important consequence of child sexual abuse, and one which is particularly pertinent to
this study, is the concept of re-victimisation.
2.2.2.1 Revictimisation
The literature with regard to the concept of revictimisation is sparse. It appears to refer
to instances where adults who have survived child abuse, experience secondary abuse
later in life and thus may be seen as a consequence of child sexual abuse (Salter, 1995).
Research consistently suggests that adult survivors of child sexual abuse have a high
incidence of being revictimised as adults (Briere and Runtz, 1988a; Finkelhor, 1986;
Fromuth, 1986; Herman, 1994; Russell, 1997; Salter, 1995). These studies show that up
to 65% of women who were abused as children are revictimised as adults through. rape,
attempted rape, battery and sexual assault. It is clear that childhood sexual abuse has a
significant impact on later functioning, adding adult revictimisation only makes matters
worse (Salter, 1995). The concept of revictimisation is central to this particular study and
will be covered in more depth in a subsequent section.
18
2.2.3 A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Because of the breadth and severity of psychological and physical symptoms consequent
to child sexual abuse, and the sheer bulkiness of these sequelae, a theoretical framework
is needed to better understand the consequences of child sexual abuse on adult
functioning (Morrow and Smith, 1995). The "symptoms" approach with its emphasis on
standardised, objective measures of psychological, behavioural and somatic issues,
becomes problematic since there is no attempt to understand the deeper meanings that
these "symptoms" may represent (Gilmartin, 1994). The growing awareness of the
difficulties in conceptualising the aftermath of child sexual abuse resulted in a move
towards some kind of psychiatric diagnosis, which focused on cases where the effects
were serious and severe (Bass and Davis, 1988; Blume, 1990; Briere and Runtz, 1988a;
Courtois, 1988).
2.2.3.1 Diagnostic categories
Initial attempts at developing a conceptual understanding of the consequences of child
sexual abuse appeared in the form of associating diagnostic categories such as
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder with child sexual
abuse as a determining etiology.
(a) Although studies vary considerably, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has definitely
been found in a percentage of adult survivors of child sexual abuse (Gilmartin, 1994;
Salter, 1995). PTSD, a DSM IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1995) diagnostic
category, is a disorder characterised by clusters of symptoms including: an alternating
rhythm of intrusive thoughts, feelings, nightmares interspersed with periods of
withdrawal in which the triggers to affective flashbacks are avoided. In addition,
19
heightened physiological arousal, exaggerated startle reaction and anxiety are
experienced (Gilliland and James, 1997; Salter, 1995). Schetky (1990), in reviewing the
literature, found that almost half of all adult survivors of child sexual abuse met the
criteria for PTSD.
(b) Whitfield (1995) states that the majority of child sexual abuse survivors who
experienced severe and chronic abuse have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality
Disorder. Symptoms here include: efforts to avoid abandonment, patterns of intense and
unstable relationships - alternating between idealisation and devaluation of intimates,
identity disturbances, impulsivity, recurrent suicidal threats or behaviour, self-mutilation,
affective instability, feelings of emptiness, and paranoia or dissociative symptoms (DSM
IV, 1995, APA). Numerous other researchers have documented many of these symptoms
with child sexual abuse survivors, and although it may not always be possible to make a
full diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, many of these features have been
observed in adult survivors of child sexual abuse (Finkelhor, 1986; Herman, 1992;
Russell, 1997; Salter, 1995). These diagnostic contributions to the literature may be
useful in a psychiatric setting, but are not theoretical syntheses and do little to contribute
to the understanding of the phenomenon or effects of child sexual abuse (Levett, 1988).
2.2.3.2 Traumagenic dynamics
One of the greatest problems with the documentation of symptoms associated with child
sexual abuse, is the assumption that there is a distinct causal relationship between the
sexual abuse and later symptomatology (Levett, 1988). It is possible to find examples
from this list of symptoms in almost all populations, both clinical and non-clinical, as
well as abused and non-abused women. It is almost an impossible task to separate the
consequences of child sexual abuse from the consequences of multi-problem family
environments, physical and emotional abuse, and other "traumas of life". While the
formulation of a conceptual model of child sexual abuse effects may not deal with the
20
problem of causal relationship assumptions, it may assist in a better understanding of
overarching categories and core effects and therefore contribute to a theoretical synthesis
(Morrow and Smith, 1995).
Finkelhor (1986) has formulated a conceptual model analysing child sexual abuse into
four trauma generating factors, called "traumagenic dynamics" (p. 180). These dynamics
include traumatic sexualization, stigmatization, betrayal and powerlessness. "These
dynamics, when present, alter the child's cognitive and emotional orientation to the
world, and create trauma by distorting a child's self-concept, world view, and affective
capacities" (Finkelhor, 1986, p. 181).
"Traumatic sexualization" refers to the process whereby a child's sexuality is
inappropriately developed, as a result of sexual abuse experiences. This can occur as a
result of the child being rewarded by the perpetrator for sexual behaviour that is
inappropriate to the child's level of development. Traumatic sexualization varies in
degree, depending on the sexual abuse experiences and includes such factors as: level of
participation, the use of force, and the degree of a child's understanding and awareness.
"Children who have been traumatically sexualized emerge from their experiences with
inappropriate repertoires of sexual behaviour, with confusions and misconceptions about
their self-concepts, and with unusual emotional associations to sexual activities"
(Finkelhor, 1986, p. 182).
"Betrayal" refers to the process in which children discover that a person on whom
they are dependent has caused them harm. This may occur through manipulation,
through lies or misrepresentations or disregard for their emotional responses. Children
may experience betrayal from the perpetrator as well as from trusted others who were not
able or were unwilling to protect them. "Children who are disbelieved, blamed or
ostracized undoubtedly experience a greater sense of betrayal than those who are
21
supported" (Finkelhor, 1986, p. 183). Sexual abuse experiences involving family
members or other trusted people creates more potential for betrayal than those involving
strangers.
"Powerlessness" or "disempowerment" refers to the process during which the
"child's will, desires, and sense of efficacy are continually contravened" (Finkelhor,
1986, p. 183). Finkelhor (1986) theorizes that this process of disempowerment occurs
when a "child's territory and body space are repeatedly invaded against the child's will"
(p. 183). Coercion and manipulation exacerbate the disempowerment process. This is
further reinforced when attempts to stop the abuse are thwarted, resulting in dependency
and entrapment. However, when the child is able to halt the abuse, or control its
occurrence, he may feel less disempowered.
"Stigmatization, the final dynamic, refers to the negative connotations — for example,
badness, shame, and guilt — that are communicated to the child about the experiences and
that then become incorporated into the child's self-image" (Finkelhor, 1986, p. 184).
Negative meanings may be communicated via the perpetrator who may blame, denigrate
or shame the victim. Secrecy also conveys powerful connotations of shame and guilt.
However, stigmatization may also be reinforced by social and familial attitudes towards
sexual abuse.
Finkelhor (1986) suggests that these four traumagenic dynamics account for the main
sources of trauma in child sexual abuse. They are not to be seen as distinct separate facts,
but a clustering of detrimental influences which provide broad categories useful for
understanding the effects of child sexual abuse. This framework is seen as effective in
providing the mechanism whereby the symptomatic list of the effects of child sexual
abuse may be organized and categorized, which encourages a deeper understanding of the
phenomenon. Within each category the effects are divided into psychological impact and
22
Fig. 2.1 Traumagenic dynamics of child sexual abuse
CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE
Affected by ability to control abuse
A
V
E .
..9 g 7s ] a
f ca .r. It ,2 =•:l 7 74 1 42
cn Zi 8 x en
tS
TRAUMATIC SEXUALIZATION
grief - abuse identification - guilt - sexual confusion - dependency - anxiety - shame - negative sexual • mistrust - (ear - inadequacy association
- anger - low self - feeling different - aversion to sex esteem - victim mentality - control needs
- sexual ideas & preoccupation
A V V
reviaimisation - nightmares - substance abuse - compulsive sexual
- isolation - phobias - self mutilation behaviour
- marital problems - somatisization - suicide attempts - promiscuity, - delinquency - depression - crime prostitution
aggression - dissociation - avoidance of sex - aggression
- abuse
- inappropriate behaviour
STIGNIATI -ZATION
1A., 1<
a
POWERLESS- NESS
behavioural manifestation, although it is acknowledged that separating the two is not
always possible, and some of the behavioural manifestations occur in more than one
category.
Finkelhor (1986) reviews numerous studies on the effects of child sexual abuse and
attempts to categorize the symptomatic detail into the four traumagenic dynamics.
Figure 2.1 provides a diagrammatic representation of Finkelhor's (1986) concept of
traumagenic dynamics.
(Finkelhor, 1986)
23
The psychological impact of "traumatic sexualization" includes an increased salience of
sexual issues, confusion about sexual identity, sexual norms and between sex and love
and care, negative associations with sexual activities and arousal, and aversion to sex and
intimacy. Behavioural manifestations include sexual preoccupation, compulsive sexual
behaviours, precocious or aggressive sexual activity including promiscuity and
prostitution, sexual dysfunction, avoidance of sexual intimacy and inappropriate
sexualization of parenting (Finkelhor, 1986).
The psychological impact of "betrayal" includes grief, dependency, mistrust, and anger.
Behavioural manifestations include vulnerability to subsequent abuse and exploitation,
allowing their own children to be victimized, isolation, discomfort in intimate
relationships, marital problems, delinquency and aggression (Finkelhor, 1986).
The psychological impact of "powerlessness" includes anxiety, fear, low self-esteem,
self-perception as a victim, need for and to control, identification with the abuser. The
behavioural manifestations include nightmares, phobias, somatic complaints, depression,
dissociation, truancy, delinquency, vulnerability to subsequent victimization, aggression
and becoming an abuser (Finkelhor, 1986).
The psychological impact of "stigmatization" includes guilt, shame, inadequacy, and a
sense of being different from others. Behavioural manifestations include drug or alcohol
abuse, criminal involvement, isolation, self-mutilation and suicide attempts (Finkelhor,
1986).
24
2.2.3.3 Effects on personality
Salter (1995) attempts a re-organization and synthesis of the numerous symptomatic
effects of child sexual abuse on adult personality functioning. Her categories include,
firstly, the effects on emotional functioning which particularly subsume depression,
anxiety and PTSD and the role of revictimisation in the generation of affective
symptoms. Secondly, the effects on cognitive functioning, the resulting trauma-based
worldview and cognitive distortions. Finally the behavioural strategies the "survivors"
have adopted in order to "manage the chronic pain" which results from child sexual abuse
experiences (p. 220). These strategies include avoidant techniques, specifically denial
and amnesia, and medicating techniques such as substance abuse and addiction, self-
mutilation and suicidality.
2.2.3.4 Coping strategies
Morrow and Smith (1995) argue for the benefits of a broader perspective on the effects of
child sexual abuse and cite research advocating the identification of constructs and core
effects — as opposed to symptoms — of sexual victimisation. They cite Mahoney, (1991,
in Morrow and Smith, 1995) who focuses upon core ordering processes which underlie
individual meanings or constructions of reality. The focus is on survival strategies rather
than pathological symptomatology within a construct-orientated framework. It is
suggested that this conceptual framework brings "order into the chaos of
symptomatology that currently characterizes the field (of child sexual abuse effects), as
well as relating those symptoms to core ordering processes" (Morrow and Smith, 1995, p.
24). These authors further suggest that a re-examination of coping strategies within the
population of child sexual abuse survivors would provide a more coherent framework for
understanding the often confusing constellation of emotional, cognitive and behavioural
patterns of the survivors of child sexual abuse. Their primary method of investigation
was from a constructivist perspective, and the aim was to understand the lived
experiences of women who had been sexually abused as children in order to generate a
25
theoretical model for survival and coping strategies, rather than generate further indices
of symptoms. Their research participants were 11 women who had been sexually abused
as children, but were otherwise heterogeneous in other aspects. They were initially
interviewed and then became part of a focus group providing an interactive environment
focusing on survival and coping. The analytic process was characterised by the grounded
theory approach which is both analytical and self-reflective. Some of the participants
engaged in the co-analysis of the data and continued to collaborate with the researcher
throughout the process.
Two types of causal conditions emerged from the data. Firstly, cultural norms including
"dominance and submission, violence, maltreatment of woman, denial of abuse and
powerlessness of children formed the bedrock on which sexual abuse was perpetrated"
(Morrow and Smith, 1995, p. 26). The second causal condition consisted of various
forms of sexual abuse that had been enacted. These causal conditions resulted in two
core categories of subjective phenomena; firstly, threatening or dangerous feelings; and
secondly, helplessness, powerlessness and lack of control. The subjective phenomena
were influenced by particular contextual markers including; a) sensations experienced by
victims during sexual abuse ranging from arousal to pain; b) frequency, intensity and
duration of the sexual abuse ranging from a single instance to years of ongoing abuse;
and c) perpetrator characteristics which varied from one to multiple perpetrators of both
genders who were always bigger and older than the victim and ranged from blood
relatives to strangers.
In addition to the contextual arena there were other conditions which influenced
participant's choices of survival and coping strategies; cultural values, family attitudes,
beliefs and dynamics, other types of abuse, e.g. violence, age of the victim, rewards and
outside resources. Results showed that two main strategies were adopted by the abuse
survivors: firstly — that of keeping from being overwhelmed by threatening or dangerous
26
feelings, by attempting to reduce, avoid, exchange, discharge, release or forget the
intensity of these feelings, and dividing overwhelming feelings into manageable parts.
Secondly - managing helplessness, powerlessness and lack of control by creating
resistance strategies, thereby reframing abuse to create an illusion of control or power,
attempting to master the trauma, attempting to control other areas of life, seeking
confirmation or evidence from others and rejecting power. Although these strategies
succeeded in their aim, the price was often fragmentation and dysfunctional behaviour.
Phenomena
Threatening OT dangerous feelings
Helplessness. powerless. lack of control
Strategies
Keeping from being overwhelmed by threatening & dangerous feelings
heirplaegaissngess, powerless, & lack of control
Consequences
Paradoxes Surviving Coping Living Healing Wholeness Empowerment Hope
Casual Conditions
Cultural norms Forms of sexual abuse.
Context
Sensation Frequency Intensity Duration Perpetrator Characteristics
Intervening Conditions
Cultural values Family dynamics Other abuses Resources Victim age Rewards
Figure 2.2 Theoretical model for surviving and coping with childhood
sexual abuse (Morrow and Smith, 1995, p. 27)
This study is particularly distinctive in its focus on survival strategies rather than
pathological symptomatology. It also takes into consideration the numerous variables
which may influence the depth and breadth of the effects of child sexual abuse on adult
functioning.
27
Finkelhor, (1986) makes mention of further variables including duration, frequency and
intensity of abuse experiences, single or multiple abuse situations, relationship to the
abuser, type of sexual act, the use of force and aggression, ages of both victim and
offender and disclosure dynamics, including parental and institutional reactions.
What is abundantly clear is the extremely complicated picture of the entire arena of child
sexual abuse and its effects on adult functioning. This is further confused by the multiple
and sometimes flawed research methodologies and conceptual frameworks explicated.
The majority of the research automatically makes the assumption that child sexual abuse
must result in deleterious effects on adult functioning, and that there is a direct causal link
between the pathogenesis of child sexual abuse and adult malfunctioning.
2.2.4 DOMINANT DISCOURSES ABOUT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Levett (1988) arguing from a feminist and social constructionist perspective, suggests
that dominant discourses, whether professional or common, surrounding notions of
psychological trauma in relation to childhood sexual abuse play a significant role in
everyday understanding of abuse situations and in experience of them.
"The discourse of individual agents in a common social group actively (although
unwittingly), legitimates and regulates social constructions of trauma, of individualized
psychopathology and stigma, and of children and women as victims, thus endorsing
professional expertise and control and perpetuating significant power structures of
contemporary western society" (Levett, 1988, p. 190).
In her study of 96 female, middle class university students of all races (predominantly
white), 41 of whom had been sexually abused as children, Levett (1988) found there was
a generalised expectation of negative effects following experiences of childhood sexual
abuse and molestation. She notes the "continuous bombardment" (p.255), of women
with discourses of helplessness, vulnerability, and regulation through - everyday messages
28
(social discussions, media, professional etc.), which have affected the way women view
themselves, and talk about and experience traumatic events in their lives. As such,
women are therefore expected (by others and themselves), to automatically experience
negative effects after child sexual abuse. In addition, apart from a few "amazing
exceptions" they are also not expected to survive or overcome their abuse experience.
This focus on individual experience obscures the invisible influences of broader power
structures (male-female, adult-child), and the way these impinge on individual thought
and experience. According to this view, the traumatic effects of child sexual abuse are
subtle manifestations of the discourses of control of women and children. Many of the
so-called effects of child sexual abuse are more to do with being a woman, being
subjected to and surviving in, a man's world. "It is not that there is a clear set of
"traumatic effects" which follow on such experience but that, through the discourses and
discursive practices of trauma and of female control, the intersections of these discourses
(and others) construct an image of fearsome consequences which is self-perpetuating and
is part of the production and reproduction of female gendered subjectivity and of the
existing male-female dominance hierarchy in western society" (Levett, 1988, p. 318).
2.2.5 DISCUSSION
The literature reviewed reveals shifting dynamics in the study of the consequences of
child sexual abuse. Authors have focused on forming an adequate definition of child
sexual abuse, and on symptomatic cause-effect links between child sexual abuse and
adult functioning (Bass and Davis, 1988; Courtois, 1988; Farmer, 1990; Finkelhor, 1984;
Gilmartin, 1994; Gomes-Schwartz et al., 1990; Herman, 1992; Hooper, 1992; Levett,
1988; Russell, 1986; Salter, 1995; Whitfield, 1995). There is an underlying assumption
that sexual encounters between children and adults automatically result in damage to the
psychological development of the child. Although there is evidence that the childhood
experience of sexual abuse is a potential "pathogenic agent", the assumption of a direct
29
cause-effect link does not take cognizance of the myriad of factors that are likely to be
implicated (Levett, 1988), such as dysfunctional family behaviour, emotional and
physical abuse which may in some cases be viewed as worse than sexual abuse, dominant
discourses and male domination, and numerous other socio-economic factors. The
empirical search for pathology, causes and consequences, while attempting to provide
diagnostic detail, has also often denied the realities of constructed meanings, and has
failed to notice how women who have been sexually abused as children make sense of,
and survive their experiences.
More recently, the literature has begun to focus on how such women have survived and
how they have constructed meaning around their experiences (Morrow and Smith, 1995).
For some women, this survival may hinge on the deconstruction of dominant discourses
about child sexual abuse and resistance of dominant structures of power and knowledge
(Levett, 1988). This approach is perhaps more helpful in the generation of a broader
understanding of the consequences of child sexual abuse, and has particular relevance for
the study of revictimisation.
The integration of the different approaches would perhaps offer a more holistic
understanding of the breadth and depth of the consequences of child sexual abuse. This
integration would combine the breadth of symptomatology, with a deeper understanding
of the specific meanings and dominant discourses attached to sexual abuse encounters,
facilitating generalisations and comparisons across individual and group experiences.
2.3 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE WITHIN A CULTURAL CONTEXT
It appears clear that the adult survivor of child sexual abuse cannot be seen in isolation to
her context. However, the majority of authors have viewed the consequences of child
sexual abuse through an intrapsychic lens, and the consideration of the significance of
30
interactional experiences has been neglected (Kamsler, 1990). The relationship between
the perpetrator and the victim, the familial relationships, the influence of the broader
social context in terms of social interactions and ideas, and the cultural context within
which the abuse occurs are all important considerations to be addressed. Although the
influence and contextual positioning of race or ethnicity has been acknowledged as
integral to the understanding of an individual's mental health (Mennen, 1994), it has
received little attention in the literature on the consequences of childhood sexual abuse.
2.3.1 ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE OF CHILD
SEXUAL ABUSE
The majority of research in the United States of America on race/ethnicity and sexual
abuse, reports on epidemiological and demographic differences, many of which are
contradictory. Wyatt (1985) found similar rates of child sexual abuse incidence for white
and African American women. This was confirmed in a study of college students by
Priest (1992). Russell (1986) similarly found no significant differences in the incidence
of child sexual abuse among white, African American and Latina women, but discovered
that Asian women had a lower rate than all other groups. This has been refuted by
Kercher and McShane (1984) who found that Latino women experienced a significantly
higher rate of child sexual abuse than their white counterparts.
One of the greatest difficulties related to establishing incidence rates is the problem of
reporting by victims. Once again studies differ, with Lindholm and Wiley (in Mennen,
1994) indicating that African American girls were less likely to report sexual abuse than
white or Latino girls, while Tzeng and Schwarzin (1990) found African American
children were more likely to report incidences. More recently, Ards, Chung and Myers
(1998) state that their study indicates that white American children tend to report sexual
abuse more than black American children, and that black children tend to have lower
rates of child maltreatment than whites. In addition, there are significant differences in
types of maltreatment found between black and white victims of child abuse. In many of
31
these studies the contradictory results arise from widely different definitions of child
sexual abuse, some definitions including other forms of child abuse and maltreatment, as
well as numerous methodological flaws and differences including selection bias, the use
of retrospective data, multiple methods of data collection ranging from intrusive to non-
intrusive methods, racial differences and research-participant relationships, lack of
available data about various variables which influence incidence rates, the common
limitation of small sample sizes, as well as the often arbitrary and inconsistent
classification of individuals into racial/ethnic groups (Ards et al., 1998; Mennen, 1994).
2.3.2 CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE RESEARCH WITHIN A RACIAL
CONTEXT IN SOUTH AFRICA
In South Africa, the recently established Child Protection Units (CPU) of the South
African Police Service do not report on racial demographics. However Table 2.1
illustrates the statistics of crimes committed against children, reported by the C.P.U. for
all population groups for the period January 1994 to March 1998.
32
CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS
1994 JAN - DEC
1995 JAN - DEC
1996 JAN - DEC
1997 JAN - DEC
1998-JAN -
MARC H
RAPE 7559 10037 13859 15336 3857
SODOMY 491 660 893 853 183
INCENT 156 221 253 222 51
INDECENT ASSAULT 3904 4044 4168 4068 905
SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT
23/1957
1094 1121 1160 930 216
ATTEMPTED MURDER 213 244 283 277 90
ASSAULT (GBH) 1905 2272 3841 3810 1043
ASSAULT COWON 3246 3768 4502 4446 1155
ABDUCTION 743 805 1184 985 251
KIDNAPPING 906 978 946 1200 341
CHILD CARE ACT 74/1983 2694 3499 3805 3918 1003
OTHER (eg public indecency) 753 833 944 1469 351
TOTAL 23664 28482 35838 37514 9446
ABSCONDERS 1013 952 922 2336 220
MISSING CHILDREN 477 651 771 781 144
TOTAL 1490 1603 1693 3120 364
LECTURES/TALKS 976 1296 1502 /719 181
LIAISON MEETINGS 609 820 1280 1431 245
TOTAL 1585 2116 2782 3150 426
Table 2.1 Crimes committed against children for the period
January 1994 - March 1998
(Source: C.P.U. statistics of the S.A.P.S)
33
2.3.2.1 Child sexual abuse research within the coloured context
Although a fair amount of material has been published on the coloured people (also
included in the category "non-white" in some research studies), with regard to their
identity and political, community and family life, the knowledge of the patterns and
effects of child sexual abuse within this group is lacking (Allwood, 1987). It has been
claimed that the Western Cape in South Africa has the highest incidence of rape in the
world (Allwood, 1987), however what is included in this broad statement is unclear.
In a study of childhood sexual abuse among South African university women students at
the University of Cape Town, Levett (1989) found that childhood experiences of sexual
abuse and molestation may be common among white and coloured women within this
population group. The prevalence figures found in this group were significantly higher
compared to those found by researchers in North America and Canada where prevalence
rates for American college women range from 7% to 24% (Briere and Runtz, 1985). Of
the 94 women in Levett's (1989) study 43,6% reported 61 personal experiences of contact
and non-contact sexual abuse or harassment before age 18 years. Her sample, however,
comprised 21 coloured women and 73 white women, and there was no distinction by
racial group in the results.
This result was confirmed in a more recent study by Collings (1997), who found that
34.8% of a sample of 734 female undergraduate students at the University of Natal in
South Africa, reported 270 experiences of child sexual abuse. Collings (1997) used a
similar definition of child sexual abuse to Levett (1989), but a different methodology to
account for methodological limitations. The sample consisted of 471 whites, 153 Asians,
82 blacks, and 28 coloured women. As with previous research, there was no distinction
by racial groups in the results. In both studies, generalisation to other populations needs
to be made with caution, particularly with regard to inadequately represented racial
groups.
34
The conclusions presented are a reflection of a very small percentage of child abuse cases
in South Africa, and it is thought that the majority of the cases go unreported. This is
particularly true for black and coloured cases (Sandler and Sepel, 1990). This is
reflected in the fact that only 100 sexual abuse cases (98 females and 2 males) were seen
by medical staff at Baragwanath Hospital and other non-white clinics in Soweto during
1989. At Coronation Hospital (which exclusively catered for coloured people until
1994), for the period October 1988 to September 1989, only 89 cases of child abuse were
seen, with 56% of these found to be sexual abuse, the remaining 44% being classified as
physical abuse. At the Alexandra Health Clinic in Alexandra Township, where both
black and coloured children are seen, only 64 cases of sexual abuse were seen in the
fourteen month period ending in August 1989 (Sandler and Sepel, 1990). That these
figures represent the "tip of the iceberg" is reflected in the fact that from May 1988 to
May 1989, sexual abuse of children of all races was the presenting problem in 90% of the
227 cases seen at the Transvaal Memorial Institute for Child Health and Development
(TMI) Clinic in Johannesburg (Sandler and Sepel, 1990).
Argent et al.(1995), review all child abuse related cases seen at the Red Cross Memorial
Children's Hospital in Cape Town (reserved for non-whites), over the period June 1989
through July 1990. Out of 503 cases of abuse reported, 229 cases were confirmed, and
73 suspected as sexual abuse. Among the children where sexual abuse was confirmed, a
history of rape or attempted rape was more common among Xhosa-speaking children (the
mean age was 7) than other groups. In addition, 17% of the 229 children had evidence of
a sexually transmitted disease. By applying international statistics to these figures, the
study estimates that sexual abuse could be expected in nearly 9000 non-white children
each year in the Cape Town area. However, the authors concede that child abuse services
in South Africa are fragmented with flawed records of numbers and types of cases seen
or diagnosed. It is clear from the above that there is a serious shortage of available
35
current statistics of child sexual abuse in South Africa, with specific reference to racial
demographics. "Only once statistics have been collected in every part of the country may
appropriate efforts begin to combat the problem on both a preventative and curative
level" (Sandler and Sepel, 1990, p. 235).
2.3.3 ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN ABUSE CHARACTERISTICS
In relation to abuse characteristics, the description of abuse and responses to abuse in
Colling's (1997) study conformed to findings from surveys of American college women,
with similar percentages of child sexual abuse survivors reporting psychological
symptoms including depression, anxiety, phobias, sexual difficulties, suicidality etc.
However, there was no distinction in symptomatology between racial groups. Because
of the lack of studies with regard to child sexual abuse within the coloured population of
South Africa, it may be helpful to review the international literature on studies which
identify ethnic differences in abuse characteristics between different race groups.
Studies which aim to identify ethnic differences in the specifics of abuse lack
consistency.
A study by DeJong, Emmett and Hervada (1982) report that black female victims of child
sexual abuse are evaluated for abuse at a younger age than Caucasian or Hispanic female
victims. Pierce and Pierce (1984) report similar findings and also noted that black
victims and their families were less likely to be referred for counselling after reports of
child sexual abuse than other ethnic groups. By contrast, Wyatt (1985), found that white
women were abused at a younger age than African American women. Finkelhor and
Baron (1986) found that African American and minority groups were at a greater risk for
child sexual abuse than other population groups.
36
Rao, Di Clemente and Ponton (1992) report on their study of ethnic differences in child
sexual abuse experiences and profiles, specifically focusing on Asians residing in the
United States of America. The study included 2007 cases of reported child sexual abuse
with the following racial/ethnic distribution: 37.6% black, 25.9% white, 21.9% Hispanic,
6.6% Asian, and 7.3% racially mixed or other races. Asian victims of child sexual abuse
were on average older than their non-Asian counterparts, and experienced less physically
invasive abuse than did blacks and Hispanics. In addition, sexual acting-out behaviour
was reported least among Asian victims. Asian family members, however tended to be
least supportive, were less likely to report the abuse and less likely to believe the abuse
had occurred. In the same study black victims also showed demographic distinctions -
they tended to be the youngest victims, were least likely to come from intact families, and
suffered more physically invasive forms of sexual abuse.
There has not been much work in the area of comparative symptomatology resulting from
child sexual abuse between racial or ethnic groups (Mennen, 1994). Wyatt (1990) has
noted few differences between white and African American women in the initial effects
of child sexual abuse, the only significant exception being that African American women
had a more negative attitude towards men than did white women. Russell (1986) found
that there was a significant relationship between race/ethnicity and degree of trauma, in
that Latinas had the highest percentage of subjects indicating considerable trauma,
followed by African Americans, Asians and whites in that order. Morrow and Sorell
(1989) found that being non-white and abused predicted higher levels of depression,
lower self-esteem and more negative behaviours. Non-white is defined as a combination
of African-American and Latina ethnic groups and the study defines this group more in
terms of being a socially constructed minority rather than a race group per se. As a result
it is uncertain whether the psychological characteristics relate to the sexual abuse, or to
being a minority member in a majority society, or a combination. Mennen (1994)
conducted a research study among a racially heterogeneous group of females who had
37
experienced sexual abuse, to clarify the possible influence of race/ethnicity to the nature
and severity of the trauma experience. Numerous variables were measured including
symptoms of depression, anxiety and self-worth, the relationship of the perpetrator to the
victim, kind of abuse, presence or absence of force and age of onset. The results
showed a lack of significant difference in almost all the variables measured and indicate
that, the experience of sexual abuse may have universality's that transcend culture. The
distress a victim suffers is more likely related to the particular experience of sexual abuse
than to racial/ethnic factors" (Mennen, 1994, p. 122). However, there was one variable
that indicated differences and that was the duration of the abuse, with a trend of white
girls being abused longer than Latina or African American girls.
Parra et al., (1995) in a study comparing characteristics of childhood sexual abuse found
that Mexican-American children (in a sample of 1,885 boys and girls who were racially
heterogeneous) were more likely than white or black children to be abused by an
extended family member and black children were more likely to be abused by an
acquaintance or stranger. Although they report numerous other differences between
racial groups, these differences tend to be of epidemiological and demographic nature,
rather than of psychological consequences.
Phillips et al. (1995) cite several studies which document differences in psychological
functioning between black and white victims of childhood sexual abuse. The results of
their study confirm the growing body of literature which suggests ethnic differences in
outcomes for sexually abused children, particularly in levels of depression. While both
Latino and white children show symptoms of depression in response to sexual abuse,
black children tend to be less likely to exhibit signs of depression, or may react with
aggression and/or withdrawal. Wyatt (1990) has also observed that black adult victims of
child sexual abuse exhibit this response and as a result experience more long term
difficulties in functioning.
38
While these studies have numerous methodological limitations, they highlight the
importance of studying ethnic/racial and cultural differences in sexual abuse research An
understanding of these differences provide valuable information for the prevention and
treatment of child sexual abuse (Mennen, 1994; Rao, et. al., 1992). Nevertheless, the
major limitation common to most studies of the relationship of child sexual abuse to
race/ethnicity is the problem of separating the effects of the abuse from the effects of
minority and ethnic victimisation. The resulting conclusion is that the factors influencing
children and adult's subsequent responses to sexual abuse are complex and numerous, and
that it is a mammoth, if not impossible task to separate the variables. This problem clearly
highlights the limitations of a linear approach to the study of ethnicity and child sexual
abuse. These limitations may be overcome by considering how the variables which
contribute to the problem of child sexual abuse are socially constructed. In addition, how
researcher's construct different realities around their understandings, and how
their relationship with the participants of their study has influenced their results has not
been addressed.
Statistics, demographics, ethnic differences and epidemiological studies may provide
important information for the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse survivors,
however they contribute very little to the understanding of individual and cultural
experiences. Lachman (1996) comments on the state of research on child abuse on the
continent of Africa and introduces the important concept of cultural and contextual
attitudes to the problem. He highlights the concept of male domination and female
subservience as being the root of child sexual abuse. In addition, socioeconomic factors
and political instability including war, poverty and economic and educational deprivation
have had drastic effects on the position of the child in African society. Other areas of
concern include child labour, female circumcision, the breakdown of family structure and
39
societal violence, all of which contribute to the larger context within which child sexual
abuse occurs. Lachman (1996) then suggests the need for a conceptual framework that
views child sexual abuse as a "complex multifactorial social phenomena, and not a
simplistic cause and effect event" (p. 545).
Gracelyn Smallwood (1995) provides an alternative view of the problem of child sexual
abuse by placing it within the context of historical and political victimisation of the
aboriginal people of Australia. "Child sexual abuse and its treatment is a relatively new
phenomenon in Australia and the world, and while we may be closer to understanding the
impact of this form of abuse on some children, the literature and research to date is
nevertheless largely exploratory. This is especially so in the area of the sexual abuse of
children on non-European cultures and perhaps more so in the case of Indigenous peoples
and our children ... For us to deal with child abuse and neglect in our society today, we
cannot pretend that the past does not exist, as the symptoms of today are the results of the
past colonial practices of abuse ... Prior to colonization, child abuse was nonexistent"
(Smallwood, 1995, p. 281). She then goes on to cite examples of colonial abuse of the
indigenous people of Australia, and how this has created massive mental health problems
for the Aboriginal community as a whole, including the prevalence of child sexual abuse.
She quotes Edith Carter's research into child abuse in Australia: "Rape and child sexual
abuse in the Aboriginal community is surrounded in silence, survivors are silenced with
fear. A minority of rape and child sexual abuse cases are formally reported. The
majority of child sexual abuse is happening within immediate and extended families. The
silence seems to be perpetuated by at least two things. The first is the Aboriginal culture
surviving in a white world. the second is Aboriginal perception of and relationship to,
the white welfare, legal, and justice system" (Carter, in Smallwood, 1995, p. 286).
Although Smallwood's (1995) view that before colonisation, sexual abuse was non-
existent among Aboriginals may be questioned, her perspective has particular relevance
40
for the South African situation, particularly with regard to the coloureds who have
suffered colonial abuse as well as political, economic and social oppression. The concept
of child sexual abuse needs to be viewed within this context and therefore an
ethnopsychological perspective would add to a more holistic and integrated
understanding.
There are no reported studies in South Africa of the incidence of child sexual abuse
among the coloureds, and the experiences of coloured women who have suffered child
sexual abuse have escaped research interest. Their particular story will undoubtedly shed
light upon this issue and thereby contribute to an understanding of child sexual abuse
within the familial, ethnic, cultural and historical context of the coloured people.
41
CHAPTER THREE
ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND
REVICTIMISATION
3.1 DEFINITIONAL ISSUES AND MEDIATING VARIABLES IN
SEXUAL REVICTIMISATION
Sexual revictimisation has been defined as the experience of both childhood sexual abuse
and later sexual abuse as an adult (Messman and Long, 1996). Revictimisation does not
necessarily refer solely to sexual abuse, but includes any form of abuse, i.e. physical,
emotional or sexual. It may also refer to abuse that is ongoing in nature, as well as to a
secondary experience involving different perpetrators, with a period of time which lapses
between abuse experiences. However, it may also refer to secondary experiences that
occur while the former abuse continues (Gilmartin, 1994), as well as tertiary abuse,
where the victim is revictimised by the systems within the society which have supposedly
been set up to aid victims of abuse, such as the legal system.
For the purposes of this study revictimisation is defined as secondary sexual abuse
experiences in adulthood which follow after child sexual abuse. The perpetrator may be
different, as may be the nature of the sexual abuse. The definition of child sexual abuse
has been explained above, however, the secondary sexual abuse experience is even
broader involving adults as victim and perpetrator, and may range from contact or non-
contact sexual harassment or coercion, to sexual assault, rape, date rape, spouse abuse or
the involvement in an ongoing sexually abusive relationship and elder abuse (Allers,
Benjack and Allers, 1992; Himelein, Vogel and Wachowaik, 1994). Thus sexual
42
revictimisation includes any secondary experience where the survivor of child sexual
abuse is involved in any form of sexual interaction which is perceived as coercive or
where the victim is taken advantage of unfairly or subversively, and may even include
situations where it appears that the victim is initiating the abusive interaction.
Research on the risk of revictimisation for women who have been sexually abused as
children has been relatively consistent. Fromuth (1986) investigated the relationship
between a history of sexual abuse in childhood and later nonconsensual experiences in a
survey of 482 women. A significant relationship was found between a history of child
sexual abuse and rape as adults. The prevalence of rape and other acts of sexual assault
among adults has received great attention in the literature. Much of this research has
documented the likelihood that survivors of rape have frequently experienced previous
incidents of sexual abuse as children or adolescents (Briere and Runtz, 1988; Gershenson,
Musick, Ruch-Ross, Magee, Rabino and Rosenberg, 1989; Jackson, Calhoun, Amick,
Madderer and Habif, 1990; Kendall-Tackett and Simon, 1988; Russell, 1983; and Wyatt
and Newcomb, 1990). Russell (1986) in face-to-face interviews with 930 female
residents of San Francisco documented that 65% of women victimised by incest and 61%
of women victimised by child sexual abuse were revictimised as adults by rape or
attempted rape. This was in comparison with a control group where 35% of women with
no sexual abuse history were victimised as adults. Koss and Dinero (1989) confirmed
this, indicating that 66% of adult women revictimised by rape or attempted rape, also
disclosed some degree of child sexual abuse, as compared with 20% of non-victimised
women. Although definitions and methodologies have differed, similar results have
been reported by other researchers (Alexander and Lupfer, 1987; Atkeson, Calhoun and
Morris, 1989; Messman and Long, 1996; and Wyatt, Guthrie and Notgrass, 1992). A
consistent finding also appears to be that a higher incidence of revictimisation occurs
among childhood victims of severe and contact sexual abuse, where there is direct
physical contact between victim and perpetrator, such as rape or assault, as opposed to
43
non-contact sexual abuse, where there may be no direct contact, such as visual exposure
to genitals or pornographic literature (Mayall and Gold, 1995).
In contrast, Mandoki and Burkhart (1989) found that 43% of college students who had
experienced adult sexual assault were also abused as children, compared with 31% who
were not. This difference in rates was seen as not significant by the researchers. Briere
and Runtz (1987) reported no significant difference in rates of adult victimisation
between those abused and not abused as children. The inconsistent findings appear to be
due to methodological differences in the studies such as, sample selection, data collection
methods and differences in definitions (Mayall and Gold, 1995). Despite these
inconsistencies, the majority of studies undertaken to find evidence for the link between
child sexual abuse and later sexual revictimisation have found a high prevalence of such a
phenomenon. This evidence has been confirmed for college student samples, clinical
samples and community samples (Messman and Long, 1996).
The literature with regard to the cultural contextualisation of revictimisation is sparse.
Urquiza and Goodlin-Jones (1994) compare prevalence rates of revictimisation for
African- American, Latina, Asian-American and white American women. The study
indicates that 61.5% of the African-American women were revictimised, compared to
44,2%, 40.0% and 25.0% for white American, Latina and Asian-American women
respectively.
Other studies have examined the association between sexual harassment and histories of
incest, child sexual abuse and adult rape (Frazier and Cohen, 1992; Russell, 1986 and
Wyatt and Riederle, 1994). Results have been consistent in that women with histories of
child sexual abuse are more likely to experience sexual harassment than those not abused.
Wyatt and Riederle (1994) report that of the women who experienced sexual harassment
in the workplade, 76% indicated a history of contact sexual abuse either in childhood or
44
adolescence, compared to 24% of a non-abused cohort. This study further showed that
survivors of both child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, were significantly more
negatively affected than those who only experienced sexual harassment in adulthood.
One important ethnic group difference emerged from the data White survivors of sexual
abuse were significantly more likely than African-American survivors to report sexual
harassment in the workplace by male superiors only, while African-American survivors
reported sexual harassment by male superiors, co-workers, subordinates and customers.
However, African-American women reported sexual harassment less frequently than did
their white American cohort. This appears to contradict prior research in which black
women experienced higher frequencies of sexual harassment in the workplace than white
women (Gruber and Bjorn, 1982; Mansfield, Koch, Henderson, Vicary, Cohn and Young,
1991). It is possible however that African-American women tend to underreport their
sexual harassment experiences, especially in a society where they have historically been
subjected to many, (often worse), forms of sexual violence and received little support.
This suggestion may have implications for the South African context in which women of
colour have also historically been subject to numerous forms of victimisation, and which
may have impacted on their tendency to report all forms of abuse, apart from those which
have led to physical injury requiring urgent medical attention.
Recently, however, research conducted at the University of Transkei indicates that once
students are informed as to their rights with regard to sexual harassment, it is perceived
as a serious problem, with 89% of women in the sample reporting experiences of sexual
harassment (Mayekiso and Bhana, 1997). This supports the view that once the lid is
taken off the secrecy of child abuse, incest, rape, date rape, sexual harassment or sexual
revictimisation, once the phenomenon of sexual victimisation is constructed and
acknowledged as a problem, and once women are empowered to disclose and voice their
secrets, the reality and magnitude of the problem is revealed.
45
Several studies have been conducted to address the possible effects of revictimisation on
adult functioning. Roth, Wayland and Woolsey (1990), investigated the psychological
aftermath of sexual assault in a sample of 542 university women. The sample consisted
of women who had experienced both child sexual abuse and subsequent revictimisation,
by either the same or different perpetrators. The researchers recognised the difficulty of
separating the effects of child sexual abuse from revictimisation but concluded that
42.9% of all victims exhibited significant levels of psychiatric difficulties. They also
suggested that victims of incest with repeated assault were among the most distressed. A
community study by Murphy, Kilpatrick and Amick-McMullen, Veronen, Paduhovich,
Best, Villeponteaux, and Saunders (1988), divided subjects into groups according to the
nature of their victimisation (i.e., child sexual abuse only, adolescent sexual abuse only,
adult sexual abuse only, multiple sexual abuse, abuse both before and after age 18, and
nonvictims). Results indicate that the multiple abuse group differed significantly from
the other groups in that they appeared more likely to experience severe depression,
anxiety, hostility and other difficulties. This study indicates that the effects of
revictimisation tend to complicate and worsen the severity of the effects of previous
sexual abuse.
A study by Wyatt, Guthrie and Notgrass (1992), assessed the differential impact of sexual
abuse that begins in childhood and occurs more than once over the life course. A
community sample of women who ranged in their revictimisation experience was used:
Those who experienced contact and non-contact sexual abuse before and after age 18,
thus the abuse occurred over their lifetime; those who experienced at least one incident of
contact or non-contact abuse before age 18, but none as adults and those who experienced
adult sexual assault but were not sexually abused as children. The cumulative effect of
victimisation on relationship problems, sexual dysfunction and psychological well-being
were also examined. The research methodology was that of a quasi-longitudinal
approach in a multi-ethnic community based population consisting of 248 African-
46
American and White American women . The results indicate that women who were
sexually abused during childhood were 2.4 times more likely to be revictimised as adults
than those not abused as children. Furthermore, women who were revictimised had
significantly higher rates of unintended and aborted pregnancies than other groups. This
group also tended to engage in self-stimulating sexual behaviour as well as sexual
practices which increase the risk of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) such as anal
sex, group sex and partner swopping on a frequent basis, whereas those who were not
revictimised were less likely to engage in these practices. Other researchers (Himelein et
al., 1994 and Mandoki and Burkhart, 1989) also found greater numbers of sexual partners
and heightened sexual activity among women who experienced more than one abuse
incident. Wyatt et al., (1992) suggest that it is possible that aspects of the sexual
relationship, such as the survivor perceiving herself as powerless, may contribute to
difficulties in anticipating the need to plan pregnancies. In addition, they may perceive
sex and it's consequences as separate issues and decision making around when and how
to engage in sex is impacted by sexual revictimisation. Although the results revealed
little association between sexual revictimisation and psychological outcomes, the authors
do not suggest that women's psychological well-being is not effected by revictimisation.
It is rather suggested that these results are due to either methodological flaws in the study
or the development of coping strategies among survivors which may diminish the effects
of sexual abuse. Boney-McRoy and Finkelhor (1995) cite studies where survivors of
multiple abuse in childhood and adulthood show more negative symptomatology and
suggest an additive effect, however they also concede that it is possible that there may
also be an "inoculation effect" (p. 1416), in which the coping skills learned from a first
assault seem to make subsequent assaults less impactful in certain ways.
The conclusion may be drawn that studies on the effects of revictimisation on the life of
the survivor have been fraught with methodological difficulties, especially with regard to
separating the differential impacts of early sexual abuse experiences and later ones.
47
Some results indicate that there is an "additive effect", and that the functioning of a
multiple abuse survivor is impaired to a greater extent than a single abuse survivor.
Other results indicate an "inoculation effect" which bears evidence of the survival
strategies used by victims of revictimisation (Boney-McCoy and Finkelhor, 1995).
These studies also reflect the linear approach to the study of sexual revictimisation, in
that a cause-effect assumption is made. This linear approach assumes that child sexual
abuse experiences cause further sexual revictimisation. A circular and contextual
approach is missing wherein the plethora of mediating variables and constructed
discourses have been excluded from the frame of reference. Some of the theoretical
issues which have been highlighted in the literature may contribute towards a better
understanding of how revictimisation may impact the life of an abuse survivor.
3.2. THEORETICAL ISSUES
A number of explanations have been suggested to explain why women who are sexually
abused in childhood may be at greater risk for revictimisation. Some research has shown
that a perceived inability to control what happens to oneself and the likelihood of
developing exploitative relationships contribute to the possibility of revictimisation
(Alexander, 1992; Browne and Finkelhor, 1986; Russell, 1984; Summit, 1995; Wyatt et
al, 1992; Wyatt and Riederle, 1994). Other explanations for repeated victimization
include "the crude social judgment that survivors "ask" for abuse" (Herman, 1992,
p.112). Suggestions that addiction to trauma, which implies that victims seek and derive
gratification from repeated abuse have consistently been refuted (Russell, 1984). More
commonly it is suggested that repeated abuse is not actively sought but passively
experienced as the price paid for a continued relationship. Alternatively, learned coping
styles which lead survivors to ignore social cues that would usually alert them to danger,
has been hypothesized (Herman, 1992).
48
Simon and Whitbeck (1991) offer a model distinguishing between direct effects of child
sexual abuse which result in the development of a personal style, self-concept and
personality which somehow attracts further victimisation experiences, and indirect effects
of child sexual abuse where the victim is situated within a context which increases her
risk for revictimisation. This model acknowledges that the cause of revictimisation may
not only be seen from the linear perspective of direct effects, but that contextual factors
also contribute indirectly, thus the process of revictimisation is more circular than linear.
3.2.1 DIRECT EFFECTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ON REVICTINIISATION
The concept of learning theory has been applied to explain how child sexual abuse has a
direct effect on revictimisation. Initial abuse may result in learned maladaptive
behaviours, beliefs and attitudes, and in a failure to learn adaptive behaviours. Thus, the
childhood sexual abuse victim may acquire an inappropriate repertoire of sexual
behaviours through the perpetrator's modelling, instruction, reinforcement and
punishment. Rutter (1989) suggests that incest victims may internalise the belief that
they need to act seductively to receive attention and they learn that seductive behaviour
may result in certain rewards and offer them a sense of control. In addition, the child
may learn inappropriate beliefs and constructs of love through verbal and nonverbal
messages, which may contribute to the victim's vulnerability to adult victimisation
(Messman and Long, 1996). "Survivors of childhood sexual abuse unconsciously or
subconsciously engage in behaviours that are perceived as vulnerable ... diminished sense
of efficacy, low self-esteem, self-blame, shame, guilt, and unmet needs for attention and
approval: all potential 'cues of vulnerability' to sexual offenders" (Wyatt and Riederle,
1994, p.242). It is suggested that the victim has learned that sexual abuse is the price that
is paid in order to receive support and approval. For such women revictimisation is not
unusual, but rather a "learned expectancy" (Messman and Long, 1996, p. 399). Other
researchers have labelled this a "masochistic tendency" (van der Kolk, 1989, p.402),
49
which has tended to feed into the stereotypical assumption that women enjoy and seek
out victimising experiences. Some researchers have suggested that there appears to be a
tendency for victims to oversexualise all relationships with men, and become repeatedly
involved in relationships with men who misuse women (Jehu et al, 1985; Russell, 1996).
Another factor used to explain revictimisation, is sex-role stereotyping within the
learning history of the victim. Messman and Long (1996) suggest that women are taught
to be dependent on others for their sense of security, well-being and self esteem. Child
sexual abuse may affect a woman by making her less skilled at self-protection and less
sure of her own worth. Extending this explanation within the constructivist paradigm, it
is suggested that female survivors of child sexual abuse may be more apt to construct
views of female identity which accept victimisation as part of being a woman. This
learnt self-image and construction of reality may be particularly true of women who have
experienced other forms of victimisation as well, such as financial, political, cultural and
social disempowerment and oppression.
Himelein (1995), has suggested that the effects of child sexual abuse, such as depression
and anxiety, may account in part for future vulnerability to revictimisation, regardless of
any cues picked up by potential perpetrators. Learned helplessness has also been used as
an explanation for revictimisation. Peterson and Seligmann (1983) suggest that
victimisation may lead to the development of learned helplessness and an internal, global
and stable attributional style for negative events. The victim blames herself for the
sexual abuse and believes it is due to some enduring characteristic in herself.
Revictimisation is thus just another deserved assault in a long series of traumas.
Resultant feelings of worthlessness and helplessness may lead to increased dependency
needs and decreased assertiveness, which puts them at further risk to being taken
advantage of sexually (Mandoki and Burkhart, 1989).
50
Within the direct effects model, van der Kolk (1989) has suggested that biological
processes within the victimised individual result in further revictimisation. "Chronic
physiologic hyperarousal to stimuli reminiscent of the trauma is a cardinal feature of the
trauma response, well documented in a large variety of traumatized individuals, including
victims of child abuse, burns, rape, natural disasters and war" (van der Kolk, 1989, p.
395). He cites studies of humans and other mammals which are biologically similar in
respect to flight, fight and freeze responses to aversive events. Exposure to inescapable
aversive events has physiological and behavioural effects including: deficits in learning
to escape, decreased motivation for learning new options, chronic subjective distress and
immunosuppression. Dysregulation of the serotonin and endogenous opioid systems is
thought to be implicated, in that such dysregulation effects the organism's capacity to
modulate the extent of arousal. In terms of revictimisation, the individual who has
experienced child sexual abuse may be biologically and physiologically re-wired as a
result of the trauma. This may lead to an inability or decreased motivation to learn ways
to escape future trauma, and thus may provide a biological explanation for the learned
helplessness which may lead to a higher probability of being unable to avoid
revictimisation.
van der Kolk (1989) further speculates that victims may become addicted to trauma -
both to the abuse itself; and to the abuser/s. Severe and ongoing childhood abuse may
cause a long-term vulnerability to be hyperaroused. "On a continuum from low to high
physiologic arousal there is an optimal level for every organism. The shape of an
individual's optimal stimulation curve may depend on the level of stimulation received
during early experience" (van der Kolk, 1989, p. 401). As a result, people who are
abused as children may require a much higher external stimulation of the endogenous
opioid system for soothing than those whose endogenous opioids can be more easily
activated by the conditioned responses based on good early caregiving experiences.
These victimised people neutralise their hyerarousal by a variety of addictive behaviours
51
including compulsive re-exposure to situations reminiscent of the trauma.
Finkelhor's (1986) "Traumagenic Dynamics Model" has been proposed as a model that
describes the process through which revictimisation may occur (Messman and Long,
1996). The four dynamics of traumatic sexualisation, betrayal, powerlessness and
stigmatisation can all be used to explain the phenomenon of revictimisation. Learning to
exchange sexual behaviour for affection, attention, or other privileges teaches the child to
use sexual behaviour to manipulate others. Thus traumatic sexualisation results in
children emerging with sexualised behaviour patterns which extend into adulthood and
influence future victimisation experiences.
Betrayal refers to the process whereby children realise that someone on whom they were
completely dependent caused them harm. This can translate into an intense need to
regain trust and security and result in impaired judgement about the trustworthiness of
others, or a desperate search for a satisfying relationship - all of which may be
contributing factors to future victimisation. Stigmatisation refers to the negative
connotations (badness, shame, guilt) which are communicated to the child with regard to
sexual abuse experiences, either at the time of the abuse, or afterwards, and which then
become incorporated into the child's self-image. This negative self-image may result in a
greater risk for later revictimisation. Powerlessness includes the process in which the
child's sense of will and self-control are continuously contravened. This results in the
absence of preventative action, leading to dynamics similar to learned helplessness. The
traumagenic dynamics model appears to encompass a wide range of explanations for the
concept of revictimisation (Gidyzic et al., 1993), however it, together with learning
theory and biological explanations situate the reasons for revictimisation within the
victim and does not take into consideration contextual and indirect effects, developmental
processes and social constructions of revictimisation.
52
3.2.2 DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
Mayall and Gold (1995) and Alexander, Anderson, Brand, Schaeffer, Grelling and Kretz
(1997) have applied developmental theory to explain the phenomenon of revictimisation.
Mayall and Gold (1995) speculate that the following sequence may lead to
revictimisation:
lack of parental support > child sexual abuse > global, stable, internal attributional style >
high level of sexual activity > increased risk of revictimisation.
Alexander et al., (1997) use attachment theory to describe "lack of parental support" more
fully. They suggest that the cognitive distortions and relational imbalances explain the
individual and family dysfunctions which frequently precede and set the stage for child
sexual abuse. It is insecure attachment which then mediates both child sexual abuse and
adult revictimisation. However, in their study of 92 incest survivors, it was unclear
whether insecure attachment preceded the incest or was a result of the incest. It may be
that the original mother-child attachment relationship may influence the subsequent
trajectories of involvement in intimate relationships, which could then either reinforce or
alter previously established attachment behaviours. It is known that child abuse
perpetrators seek out victims who appear to have insecure attachment bonds, and use
their need for love and attention as a means of "grooming" the child for sexual abuse
(Salter, 1995). Alexander et al., (1997) report that many women in their sample
described long-term, pervasive histories of neglect, abandonment and emotional rejection
prior to their sexual abuse, and which often made their experiences of sexual abuse pale
by comparison. The sexual abuse experience serves then to reinforce any insecure
attachment dynamics and may therefore influence current adult attachment, resulting in
revictimisation. Some researchers have noted the influence of a supportive spouse in
buffering the effects of a women's insecure attachment in marital interactions (Alexander
et al., 1997). However, by the same token, sexual abuse survivors are more often than
53
not, deprived of the experience of a supportive relationship (due to interpersonal
avoidance as well as life-style effects, choice of partners etc.), and therefore may not
have the opportunity to alter their attachment histories (Alexander et al., 1997). They
conclude that revictimisation, and other pervasive effects of child sexual abuse are due to
the family context and the meaning attributed to intimate relationships overall. It is
important therefore, that the existence of sexual abuse not be taken out of context of the
women's total experience, including early attachment experiences.
3.2.3 INDIRECT EFFECTS ON REVICTIMISATION
An alternative explanation is provided by the life-style/exposure theory which suggests
that the life-style that a class of people display, largely determines their probability of
suffering victimisation. Whether freely chosen or structurally induced, the daily routine
of activities which are characteristic of certain groups exposes them to greater risks, than
do the life-styles of other groups (Mandoki and Burkhart, 1989; Simon and Whitbeck,
1991). Thus the association between early sexual abuse and revictimisation later in life
may simply be a function of the fact that sexual abuse increases the likelihood that a
young woman will participate in a dangerous life-style. It is this involvement in risky
activities and interaction with abusive characters, and not any residual psychological
effects of child sexual abuse, that increase her risk of being revictimised. This theory
would therefore allow for indirect, as opposed to direct effects of child sexual abuse.
This theory was tested by Simon and Whitbeck (1991) in a study of 40 adolescent
runaways and 95 homeless women. The results suggest that early sexual abuse increases
the probability of participation in prostitution and other forms of deviance, and these
behaviour patterns expose one to hazardous individuals and events. Victimisation,
therefore is more a product of being in a social context conducive to victimisation, rather
than of victim personality characteristics. However, the authors do concede that they
provide no explanation for why victims of sexual abuse either choose, or find themselves
54
in, a dangerous life-style. In addition, this research is limited to women who fall within a
social context defined as "deviant", and makes no attempt at comparing this group with
other "non-deviant" groups, but are nevertheless revictimised. They suggest that there
is a need for research that investigates the manner in which sexual abuse leads to
perceptions and behaviours that expose one to risky situations and events.
Perhaps a combination of the indirect and direct effects would answer this dilemma (see
Fig. 3.1), in that biological processes, learning theory and traumagenic dynamics may
account for the behaviours and perceptions which predispose victims of child sexual
abuse to be further exposed to dangerous life-styles, which then further contribute to
revictimisation.
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Indirect effects Direct effects
Lifestyle effects •
Social discourses
Biological and
physiological effects
Cognitive, behavioural,
emotional effects
Traumagenic dynamics
SEXUAL REVICTEVHSATION
Figure 3.1
A combination of direct and indirect effects on sexual revictimisation
(Simon and Whitbeck, 1991)
55
3.2.4 I HE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REVICTIMISATION
Himelein, (1995); Kritzinger, (1988) and Wyatt and Riederle, (1994) suggest that the
social construction of reality is an important mediating factor in the process of
revictimisation. Kritzinger (1988) suggests that the way that society views victims of
child sexual abuse, and especially the dominant views which perpetrators hold about their
victims are more relevant to revictimisation than either direct or indirect effects. "The
sexually victimized child may be viewed neither as a child nor as an adult but rather as a
piece of 'damaged goods' lacking the attributes of both childhood and adulthood ....
sexually victimized children ( and adult survivors) may become 'walking invitations' "
(Sgroi, in Kritzinger, 1988, p.80). According to this construction, the fact that a woman
has been abused as a child means that she no longer deserves respect or protection.
Russell (1997) describes the case of an incest survivor who is revictimised by her
therapist who read her sexualised behaviour as a cue or invitation for sex. In addition,
this must be seen against the background of dominant discourses about women in
general. In many societies where patriarchal practices are dominant, women in general
are viewed as 'sexual objects' (Foucault, 1979). Himelein (1995), in her study of risk
factors for sexual victimisation in dating, suggests that women who adopt a discourse of
permissive sexuality are seen by the group of which they are a part, as being devoid of a
rationale for refusing sex. Part of what contributes to their permissiveness is their
experience of child sexual abuse, and this behaviour is then perceived as an open
invitation for further abuse. Wyatt and Riederle (1994) further hypothesise that when
children experience childhood sexual abuse, especially by a family member, their
construction of social reality may become one in which victimisation is expected. They
have therefore adopted the discourse (resulting from what their abuser has told them,
responses to disclosure, the common ideology of 'she must have asked for it', and other
'stories' and 'myths' they have heard about sexual abuse) which says "you are a victim"
and revictimisation simply serves to confirm this.
56
3.2.5 1HE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF REVICTINRSATION
Urquiza and Goodlin-Jones (1994) and Wyatt and Riederle (1994) highlight the
importance of a broader perspective of revictimisation, which incorporates the role of
ethnic and cultural factors. Factors such as acculturation, religion, cultural values and
family structure, which go beyond differences in prevalence rates between ethnic groups,
need to be included in research which attempts to understand sexual revictimisation.
Wyatt and Riederle (1994) state that "Women of African descent have encountered
numerous forms of sexual victimization since the 16th century when they were first
brought to America. Today their descendants continue to face sexual violence in various
forms, including childhood sexual abuse, rape in adulthood, and sexual harassment"
(p.233). While the frequency rates of revictimisation between race groups may have
been inconsistently reported in the literature, it may nevertheless be possible that
experiences of revictimisation may be qualitatively different for different race groups.
Within the scope of this study historical, cultural and ethnic differences are particularly
important towards the understanding of the process of revictimisation.
Since this particular study focuses on the specific experience of revictimisation from the
perspective of coloured women, an understanding of their historical and cultural roots
and identity is relevant. In order to understand why coloured women experience
revictimisation, and how they make sense of and survive their experiences, an
understanding of their historical roots in the history of South Africa is of much
importance. The following chapter will deal with this in some detail.
3.2.6 CONCLUSION
Although the occurrence of revictimisation has been recognised, attempts to empirically
evaluate the theories regarding the etiology of revictimisation have proved that the
phenomenon is fraught with complexity. Perhaps the application of a more integrated
approach, such as chaos or complexity theory (Lotter, 1997) would provide a cohesive
57
framework within which to understand the complex nature of revictimisation. Briefly,
chaos theory deals with postmodern concepts of nonlinearity and interdependence among
systems where input is not proportional to output. Interdependence pertains to the mutual
effect of things upon each other where the unexpected, the paradoxical and the unstable
are the norm (Van der Ven, 1994). A main feature of chaos theory is a move away from
the overreliance on one particular model or theory to explain a concept, towards an
ecological and constructivist approach which "picks up all elements of the complex
system that contains the problem" (Van der Ven, 1994, p.33). Figure 3.2 attempts this
integration and is suggested as one way in which all the different, and equally valid,
theories of revictimisation, may be integrated.
In this figure the story of revictimisation begins with the historical and cultural variables
which may influence the future development of the child. These may include cultural
views on sexuality, and historical dynamics which provide the context for future abuse.
Additionally, developmental trajectories such as insecure attachment and the sexual
abuse and revictimisation experiences are included. These experiences and influencing
variables contribute to numerous dynamics, including emotional responses, cognitive
constructions of the self and of reality, influencing the development of a particular world-
view, and learned behavioural responses. In addition, there may be physiological and
biological effects or predispositions present. The indirect effects of family, social,
cultural and life-style influences play a part in the explanation of revictimisation, as well
as the social constructions of sexual victimisation as formulated by society and
perpetrators. All these factors are both influenced by, and influence each other in a
dynamic process which is more circular than linear.
58
Biological and physiological effects
School / Work Family, social, cultural. life style effects
Viewed by the perpetrator -
Dominant discounts
Behavioural effects
Emotional effects
Paradigm - individual's view of the world
Revictimisation experience/s
z Cognitive effects Constructions of self Construction of reality
Child sexual abuse
Insecure attachment
Birth
Historical variables
Cultural variables
Figure 3.2 An integrated model of the phenomenon of Revictimisation
(Adapted from L'Abate, 1991)
59
POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
CHAPTER FOUR
THE STORY OF THE "COLOURED" PEOPLE OF
SOUTH AFRICA
"A people without a past is a people without a future"
(Van der Ross, 1993, p.2)
4.1 THE HISTORY
The history of the "coloured" population of South Africa is central to a definition and
understanding of their origins. It should be noted that contrary to international usage the
term "coloured" in South Africa does not refer to black peoples in general. As Adhikari
has defined the term "coloured": "It alludes to a phenotypically diverse group of people
descended largely from Cape slaves, indigenous Khoisan peoples and other blacks who
had been assimilated into Cape colonial society by the late 19th century. Being also
partly descended from European settlers, coloureds are popularly regarded as being of
'mixed race' and hold an intermediate status in the South African racial hierarchy, distinct
from the dominant white minority and the numerically preponderant African population"
(1992, p.95).
Adhikari refers to the 'Khoisan' people in his description of the ancestors of the-
"coloureds". This term, and others that will be used in the following text bears some
explanation.
60
Historians have used numerous terms to refer to the group of people that populated the
Cape of South Africa when it was first "discovered" by Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese
trader, in 1487 (Elphick, 1985). They were known as the San, the Khoikhoi, or Khoisan -
a collective term for both groups. Later the San were referred to as Bushman, and the
Khoikhoi as Hottentots, by the early settlers (Jaffe, 1994). In this study the terms San
and Khoikhoi will be used, unless otherwise quoted in references.
The word "San" is presumed to derive from a root word "So" meaning "hunters of small
animals and gatherers of small plants" (Olderogge, 1981, p.279). The source of their
migration has been a matter of conjecture for centuries (Jaffe, 1994). Historians also
continue to debate the origins of the Khoikhoi people who were also present at the Cape
coast of South Africa when the Portuguese and Dutch first arrived (Elphick, 1985). Some
historians believe that the Khoikhoi - meaning "Men-of-men", emerged from within the
physical and social midst of the San (Davenport, 1989; Jaffe, 1994), while others suggest
that they were from a different origin, citing linguistic and social practices as different
(Olderogge, 1981). The San were hunter-gatherers, while the Khoikhoi were herder-
cultivators (Jaffe, 1994). However, it appears that these two groups lived peacefully with
each other and even inter-married (Jaffe, 1994). This is validated historically since it was
only realised much later during the time of Simon van der Stel's command of the Cape •
colony that the San and Khoikhoi were two distinct groups (Danziger, 1979).
In 1652, the Dutch sailor Jan Van Riebeck arrived at the Cape to set up a new
refreshment post for ships on their way to Asia. Initial relations between the Khoi people
and the new settlers was tense and mistrustful, as a result of Portuguese stories of their
viceroy Francisco de Almeida and a number of companions who were killed by the
Khoikhoi whom they had robbed in an earlier foraging expedition (Omer-Cooper, 1994).
These relations deteriorated, especially as the "burghers" (the Dutch term for farmers)
61
expanded further into the interior. The San and Khoikhoi fiercely resisted intrusions on
their hunting land and waged a war, to which the "colony" retaliated by exterminating
large numbers of San and Khoikhoi communities (Elphick, 1985). San and Khoikhoi
prisoners were brought to the Cape to endure a life of servitude, many of them being
incarcerated as prisoners on Robben Island (Jaffe, 1994). It was against the policy of the
colony to use indigenous people as slaves (Worden, 1985), and the San people
particularly resisted all forms of enforced work or labour (Danziger, 1979). The
Khoikhoi people were less resistant and a few of them entered into "employment" with
the settlers (Danziger, 1979).
As the Cape colony expanded and the development of farming grew there was a greater
and greater need for labour. Since it was against the policy of the colony to use
indigenous labour as slaves, and they were generally resistant to labour, Van Riebeck
requested the Dutch East Africa Company to supply the new colony with slaves and in
1658 the first shipments of slaves for private ownership were landed at the Cape
(Elphick, 1985). The Dutch East India Company brought slaves from the Guinea Coast,
while other slaves from Angola had been captured from the Portuguese (Robertson,
1945). By 1700 there was a total of 838 slaves used to support burgher agriculture in the
Cape (Worden, 1985).
Slaves continued to be brought into the colony from a diverse range of African and Asian
societies - Madagascar, Angola, Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The growth of
the Cape economy depended on the use of slave labour and the slave numbers rose
steadily. By 1743 there were three times as many slaves as colonists at the cape
(Danziger, 1979). In 1795 the official census figure of the slave population was 16839
(Worden, 1985).
62
Thus the Cape population grew and became a "melting pot" of Dutch, German, Danish,
English, Portuguese and Hugeunot immigrants; Indian, Malay, African and Madagascan
slaves as well as the indigenous San and Khoikhoi communities. However, the San
people were virtually exterminated when the Dutch government offered a reward of R6 in
1792 for the capture of any San to be sent as a prisoner for life on Robben Island,
(Danziger, 1979) - their crime was cattle raiding. The farmers had been waging a war
against the San since their landing at the Cape. Any San who escaped the slaughter of
war or imprisonment on Robben Island fled to the northern mountain ranges and wastes
of the Kalahari Desert, to which they have been confined ever since (Danziger, 1979).
During the course of the 18th century, the Khoikhoi were reduced from a state of
independence, which they fiercely fought for in the early days of the Dutch East Africa's
rule in the Cape, to dependence on farmers as permanent labourers. They became
increasingly subject to the same kind of restrictions and treatments as slaves (Worden,
1985). In addition their numbers were seriously depleted as a result of the smallpox
epidemics from 1713 to 1767 (Danziger, 1979) and the continued "Land Wars" between
the Khoikhoi inhabitants and the farmers as they moved into the interior of the Cape
(Jaffe, 1994).
4.1.1 Social attitudes and activities at the Cape colony
Social attitudes were evident in the sexual contacts between inhabitants of the colony.
Inter-racial activity was an important aspect of any colonial slave society and the Cape
was no exception. "Female slaves were obliged to submit to their owners sexual
appetites if so ordered, and risked beatings if they refused" (Worden, 1985, p.105). The
access of a master to his female slaves' sexual favours meant that "slavery and a high
degree of racial mixture inevitably (went) together" (Fredrickson, 1981, p.95).
63
Historians differ in their descriptions of inter-racial liaisons in the Cape colony. Worden
(1985) and Elphick (1985) indicate that although white settlers had sexual relations with
slaves it was not acceptable. White and Khoikhoi liaisons were considered more difficult
since Khoikhoi women were not as easily co-ercible (Elphick, 1985).
Other historians indicate that miscegenation between Khoikhoi women and white men
was acceptable (Cairns, 1976; Schreiner, 1976; Danziger, 1979; Du Pre, 1992) and
illustrate the most famous of these unions in the case of Eva - a Khoikhoi woman and
Peter Van Meerhoff - a Danish surgeon, who were married in the governor of the Cape's
own home (Danziger, 1979).
"There were also cases, though rare, in which love and genuine respect found the gulf
which divides race from race not wide enough to prevent their crossing, and in which
white men took as their lawful wives women of dark race" (Schreiner, 1976, p.142).
Many of the children of the more "legitimate" mixed marriages between Khoikhoi or
slave women and white men were absorbed into white society. This accounts for the fact
that very few "white" indigenous South Africans today are in fact "pure white" (Cairns,
1976; Schreiner, 1976; Du Pre, 1992, p.13). One of these is Eva and Peter Van
Meerhoffs daughter, Petronella whose descendants now live in Stellenbosch (Elphick,
1985).
The offspring resulting from "illegal liaisons" between white masters and their female
slaves, or Khoikhoi labourers, as well as the offspring of male slaves and Khoikhoi
women were called "bastaard hottentots" (Worden, 1985, p.58). These children were
then subject to the indenture system - they were legally bound to their parent's owner up
to the age of 25, and so were added to the slave population. They were then assimilated
into the slave class (Worden, 1985).
64
Even though initially there appeared to be no prejudice against mixed marriages, it soon
set in. In 1685 Baron Von Rheede, then Governor of the Cape, introduced a colour bar in
a law which forbade "illicit intercourse between European males and female slaves or
natives." He ordered that "the marriage of our Nederlanders to freed slave women must
be prohibited." (Jaffe, 1994, p.44). After these laws public European opinion hardened
against "mixed marriages" and "miscegenation" (Jaffe, 1994, p.44). Slaves and people
of colour were increasingly being looked upon and regarded as inferior beings and were
treated as chattels (Ross, 1979; Du Pre, 1994). However, it is clear from the historical
literature that these "illicit liaisons" continued (Cairns, 1976; Schreiner, 1976, Ross,
1979; Du Pre, 1992; Jaffe, 1994). "Rather more slave women were more actively
exploited sexually. It was, so it would appear, far from unusual and not considered
reprehensible (by the white community) for a young white man to begin his sexual
activity by seducing slave women, and the women in question no doubt had little choice
in the matter" (Ross, 1979, p.429).
In 1834 the emancipation of slaves took place and the term "coloured" was used for the
first time (Du Pre, 1992, p.280). However the emancipation of slaves was merely a
transition from chattel slavery to wage slavery. In the Cape the "tot system" (which still
exists today) has resulted in the coloured people becoming a "nation" of drunken
layabouts - slaves to alcohol. (The "tot" or "dop" system, is a method of payment
commonly used on Cape wine farms, where labourers are paid with bottles of alcohol
(wine, brandy, etc.) rather than in cash. Although many Cape wine farmers have
abandoned this system of payment, it is still in existence today.) (Carte Blanche, 1997).
4.1.2 Recent developments
In 1950, race classification was introduced under the nationalist government with the
Population Registration Act. This entrenched the idea that a "coloured" population group
existed. Before that the only thing that "coloureds" had in common was their shared
65
experience of discrimination, segregation and oppression - "victims cowering together in
the face of a common enemy" (Du Pre, 1994, p.23). Some historians (Du Pre, 1994;
Jaffe, 1994) contend that if it had not been for segregation and racist practices, legislation
and social attitudes, the majority of the "coloureds" would have gravitated towards the
group with which they most identified - English, African or Afrikaans. Du Pre (1994)
states that "the white and coloured groups are in fact one nation, bounded by the same
culture, language, religious and geographical blood ties" (p.94).
Miscegenation and inter-racial sexual activity over 300 years, "discouraged under Dutch
rule, tolerated under British rule and prohibited under Nationalist rule from 1949, has
produced a nation of South Africans, very few of whom are racially pure" (Du Pre, 1994,
p.69). As a result of racial classification there were "outcasts, bastards, mixed breeds, the
left-overs of South African society" (Du Pre, 1994, p.90).
Thus, the history of the "coloured" people of South Africa began as many of the
indigenous women of Africa and slave women of divergent origins were coerced into
sexual liaisons with white European settlers. This "rape" continued politically,
economically and physically into the nineties. And now in this "new South Africa" they
are still caught in the cross-fire: - not white and not black enough to benefit from
affirmative action and other benefits available to black South Africans (Du Pre, 1992,
Jaffe, 1994). How this has affected this group of people, with particular reference to their
identity will be examined in the next section.
66
4.2 THE IDENTITY OF THE "COLOURED" PEOPLE OF
SOUTH AFRICA
"Coloured people are coloured when they are born, when they go to
school, when they marry, and when they die. Whites are pink when they
are born, green when envious, purple when enraged, yellow when scared
blue when depressed and black when they die. And they have the cheek to call
us coloured!"
(Du Pre, 1992, p. 278)
It has been said that of all South Africans, the coloureds have the least sense of identity
(Van der Ross, 1993). This is the result of so much racial mixing which made it difficult
for the coloureds to define their limits. In the absence of a common cultural or ethnic
identity, the coloured people began to band together because of their common experience
of discrimination, segregation and oppression. The "Coloured nation" or group was
officially created by law - the Population Registration Act (No. 30 of 1950). The
definition therein of "coloured" was: "one who is not White and not a Bantu". This
definition was extended somewhat in 1973 to include ... "and do not form part of the
Chinese, Indian or other Asiatic group either" (Du Pre, 1992, p. 9-10).
Studies on coloured identity are sparse, however a review of the literature reveals a
developmental path and an evolution in the formulation of coloured identity.
4.2.1 THE INFLUENCES OF SLAVERY AND POLITICS
The previous section has traced the origins of the coloured people to slavery in the early
Cape Colony. During this time people of mixed race where known as "half-castes" or
"bastards". Adhikari (1992) makes the point that the influence of slavery on the making
67
of coloured identity merits consideration because slavery was a key element of the
economy and culture of the Cape Colony for one and a half centuries. He identifies three
ways in which slavery contributed to the growth of coloured identity.
4.2.1.1 The common bond of servility and disempowerment
Firstly, slavery contributed in creating a sense of community amongst the culturally
diverse peoples who were brought to the Cape as slaves. They shared a common bond of
servility and were subjected to a common socialising experience. This socialising
experience must be seen against the background of the wider social context which was
predominantly patriarchal.
Feminist approaches (Blumberg, Swart and Roper, 1996; Russell, 1997) have extensively
cited patriarchal ideology as an important determinant in the sexual abuse of females.
The patriarchal system appears to have legitimised abuse (Russell, 1997), and puts
women more at risk for victimisation. The resulting disempowerment of women has
implications for the concept of sexual revictimisation. This theme has been taken up by
numerous researchers (Peterson and Seligmann, 1983; Finkelore, 1986; Mandoki and
Burkhart, 1989; Wyatt and Riederle, 1994; Messman and Long, 1996), where cultural
and political disempowerment of women is seen as a predetermining factor in the
victimisation and revictimisation of women.
In colonial South Africa in particular, the strongly held belief in patriarchy was supported
politically and religiously, and male supremacy dominated society at all levels from the
microcosm of the family to the macrocosm of greater society (Russell, 1997). It is
interesting to note that the coloured family structure has been described as matriarchal
(Terreblanche, 1977). It is suggested that this form of matriarchy is functional and that
coloured women learned to survive in a patriarchal society by expressing their power in
motherhood.
68
Historically, there is evidence in early slave communities, that family ties and
generational cohesion was maintained through the maternal line since male slaves who
were fathers were often denied paternity (van der Spuy, 1993). Children born to slave
men and women automatically became slaves themselves, whereas children born to slave
women and slaveowners had the opportunity to apply for manumission. It appears that
many slave women used this power of bearing children to their owners to buy both their
own and their children's freedom. This opportunity was not available to male slaves,
which may have resulted in a process of demasculination, which persists today in the
coloured population (van der Spuy, 1993). It appears that the patriarchal societal system
among slave owners and the possible development of a matriarchal family system within
coloured families may have served to disempower coloured men, who resorted to the use
of physical means to regain their power base. There is evidence of widespread rape and
sexual violence perpetrated against slave women both by their natural husbands and
slaveowners, thus perpetuating the revictimisation process (Blumberg, et al., 1996; van
der Spuy, 1993). While the matriarchal family system may have empowered women as
mothers, it did not seem to alleviate the struggle against a patriarchal and male-dominated
social system (Wilson, 1993).
Gilroy (in Wilson, 1993) connects the issue of child sexual abuse with the history of
colonisation. "Historically, since slavery and other forms of colonisation, black men
have felt a need to exhibit male strength and power which is denied them in the wider
community, and to compensate by demanding it within their own communities, by
whatever avenues seem appropriate to them. 'Men work out their fury on the helpless,'
said Gilroy" (Wilson, 1993, p. 23). Abuse against women and children has been justified
as a reasonable outlet valve for stresses caused by racism, but there are other
complicating issues ... "The world is so hostile to Third World (colonised) people that it
seems much less painful to remain quietly ambivalent. I struggled with how to illuminate
this dark secret about our homes and ourselves. Disclosure is so easily confused with
69
treason!" (Richie-Bush, 1983, p.16). Women and children who betray the closely
guarded taboo of sexual abuse within non-white communities often pay the price for
betraying their kin and kith, which may account for why the disclosure rate of sexual
abuse is much lower for whites than non-whites (Wyatt and Riederle, 1994). And thus
disempowerment and revictimisation of coloured women is inextricably bound up with
history and culture (Wilson, 1993).
4.2.1.2 The common bond of oppression
Secondly, as indigenous and "free blacks" were drawn into the colonial economy, a close
identification between the black "labouring poor" and the slaves and their descendants
was forged due to their common experience of oppression (Adhikari, 1992, p. 97). After
emancipation, this common bond facilitated the social integration between many of the
freed slaves and elements of the assimilated black labouring class. This may well
account for the heterogeneity in culture, custom, language and religion among a large
section of the coloured group.
4.2.1.3 The common bond of dehumanisation
Thirdly, the legacy of slavery persists to this day and has contributed to the negative
stereotyping of coloureds by other groups (Adhikari, 1992). Like other formerly enslaved
people around the world, coloureds were (and may still be) generally despised for both
their slave and mixed ancestry (Root, 1996). Part of this legacy is that of racial
domination, because virtually all masters were white and all slaves were black or of
mixed race. "The sanction of ownership and the attendant depersonalization of slaves
facilitated extreme contempt for, and violence against, slaves" (Adhikari, 1992, p. 97).
Although slavery was abolished in the 1800's, racial fires against blacks and those of
mixed race who were tainted with impure blood, continued to be lit by scientific
conspiracies. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and Francis Galton's theory of
eugenics fed the idea that only superior racial stock should survive. These concepts
70
spread quickly around the world, (Hitler was deeply influenced by eugenicist thought)
and thus modern science was used to justify oppression and annihilation of those peoples
considered inferior by eugenicists (Citizens Commission on Human Rights, 1995).
Recent history has shown the devastating effects of dehumanization on both the
perpetrators and victims of violence. Miller (1982) discusses this with reference to the
Second World War and subsequent examples of ethnic cleansing, where the loss of
restraint in the treatment of the "other" has led to atrocities sometimes beyond
comprehension, cyclical violence and revictimisation. The ongoing violence on the Cape
Flats, and reports that the Cape has the highest rate of rape in the world (Allwood, 1987),
perhaps bears testimony to this process. Like other formerly enslaved people around the
world, coloureds were (and still may be) generally despised for both their slave and
mixed ancestry.
4.2.2 THE CHANGING NATURE OF IDENTITY
Simone (1995) suggests that the identity of the coloureds has not remained static, but has
changed and undergone a process of metamorphosis following political changes. During
emancipation the process of social amalgamation was not so easy to control, and some of
the indentured slaves began to form more definite groups such as the Griquas, Malays
and the Basters of Rehoboth (on the border of Namibia), who perhaps to their benefit,
retained a narrow ethnic identity (Edelstein, 1974). At the same time, the economic
boom fostered by the new mining industry, thrust assimilated colonised blacks and
coloureds into a highly competitive and labour intensive environment. This environment
tended to force different groups together and against one another and by the 1890's the
South African society, both in the Cape and further north, had changed from a two-tiered
into a three-tiered racial society, made up of Whites, Africans and Coloureds. By this
time, coloured identity was firmly entrenched (Adhikari, 1992), and the 1950 Population
Registration Act, merely served to legalise that which was already in existence.
71
The Group Areas Act (1950, 1957 and 1966), served to further racially segregrate groups,
while the township scheme was used to stratify according to class as well (Simone,
1995). The designation of the term "coloured" to an arbitrarily chosen group of people
therefore became both a social and political construction. "A coloured nation was to
cohere and be assigned a territory, but there was little basis for coherence" (Simone,
1995, p. 10). In the Apartheid political system, coloureds were more important for what
they were not, than for what they were, and indeed, what they were could not be
identified with any sense of coherence. "Always present, then, was a sense of absence, of
not being a part of something larger that could explain, however inadequately or
stereotypically, what one was" (Simone, 1995, p. 12).
4.2.2.1 The advent of the "so-called coloureds"
A response to this socially constructed label was the advent of the term "so-called
coloured". This has possibly stemmed from the ambivalence among coloureds about
where they belonged socially. Many found themselves attached to the white world - they
spoke their languages (Afrikaans and English), they adopted their religious practices,
ideologies and cultural pastimes, as well as attempted to obliterate their blackness with
skin colouring and hair straightening. It was considered an achievement when a coloured
could "pass as white", and lighter skinned coloureds were considered more attractive than
darker skinned people (Edelstein, 1974). However, no matter how "white" coloureds
might become, they were still too "black" to share common membership with whites in
any institutional or political sphere. Simone (1995) states that "The "so-called" also
represents coloured unwillingness to assist whites in "cleaning up the messiness of a
messy history of racial interactions" - of which apartheid was the instrument ...To affirm
that this "messiness" is a coherent, stable ethnicity is then to deprive the resistance to
apartheid racial simplicities of a symbolic, yet highly visible, contravening occurrence"
(P. 13 ).
72
The "so-called" also emerged as a by-product of the black consciousness movement and
provided the impetus for joint political action with black Africans that might hasten the
demise of apartheid (Edelstein, 1974). This joint political action, especially prevalent
among politicised youth, led to a greater identification with "blackness". This was not an
identification with Africans, but rather with the African-Americans whose similar history
of oppression and racial mixing could provide them with a sense of connection (Simone,
1995). Thus, although the black consciousness movement provided a point of departure
from the vacuum of identity experienced by many coloureds, it did not result in much
integration between coloureds and Africans. They may have come together in political
resistance, but remained largely separate in other aspects of their everyday lives, and
there was always a sense of superiority of the coloureds over the African majority
(Edelstein, 1974). In addition, coloured activists, states Simone (1995), have frequently
felt "marginalized and infantilized by their black African compatriots. There exists a
persistent feeling that Africans are unwilling to acknowledge the sufferings of coloureds
under apartheid and After all, as one coloured activist argued, the coloured
communities in the Cape were the ones to deliver the death-blow to apartheid by making
the region nearly ungovernable during the mid and late 1980s" (p. 16).
4.2.3 POSITIONING THIS STUDY WITHIN A LINGUISTIC CONTEXT
Recently, the use of the term "coloured" has become problematic especially among
academics. Ozinsky and Rasool (1993) preface their article with the following caution:
"There is a problem with the terminology that we are forced to use in this paper. In
particular, the word "coloured" and the idea of a cohesive racial or ethnic group or even
community is contentious. In this paper we use the term "coloured" not to identify a
specific homogenous community defined by one culture, language or set of values.
Rather we use this term to assist us in talking about a set of communities spread across
the Western Cape region in particular, (but throughout South Africa as well) who have a
similar experience of apartheid. They have been defined by apartheid (or perhaps more
73
so by colonial history), and have been forced to live together. The effects of racial
classification have been real and, in some ways, there is a consciousness amongst people
that in these communities they form a defined community. At the same time, the short-
hand term "coloured" should not deceive us about the marked differences that exist
within this group of people. Nor does the term imply that such a community should be
developed" (Preface, brackets mine).
Simone (1995), offers a sampling of coloured notions of identity that bears testimony to
the heterogeneity of this group. The notions include: what is left after Africans, whites
and Indians are taken away, in-between black and white, the result of an ancestral
moment of miscegony, part of the "hip-hop" culture (which identifies with American
"niggaz"), not coloured but Muslim, of mixed race, blended, brown, Third World and
marginalized (p. 22). Edelstein (1974), further identifies Griquas, Malays, Cape
Coloureds, Bastards of Rehoboth, the Minority of South Africa and plurals. Erasmus
(1998), suggests that all those who have survived white oppression, whether they be '
coloured, black, Indian or Chinese be defined under the rubric "black". Much of the
literature reflects this, particularly in America where there is often no distinction made
between those of mixed race and those who are not white European-Americans (Root,
1996). Daniel (1996) indicates the numerous designations which people of mixed descent
are adopting in America - rainbow, brown, melange, blended, mixed, mixed-race,
biracial/bicultural, interracial/intercultural, and multiracial/multicultural.
Apart from illustrating heterogeneity, these many names indicate the dissatisfaction that
is evident among many coloured people for the socially constructed label that has been
given them. The debate about what to call coloureds in South Africa, and people of
mixed-race in other parts of the world has been taken up by many authors, with very little
evidence of consistency and coherence - this is perhaps quite understandable and reflects
the difficulty in unifying diversity (Root, 1996; Zacharias, 1994). In order to take
74
cognisance of this continuing debate, the term "coloured" will be used for the remainder
of this dissertation.
4.2.4 MARGINALISATION
What is perhaps of greater importance is the effect of marginalisation on communities
and individuals. The years of racial discrimination, oppression and marginalisation
have left the "coloureds" with a massive inferiority complex. They may have been
emancipated from physical, economic and political slavery, and yet many are still trapped
in the suffering of psychological slavery.
"Unfortunately, coloured people have no confidence in themselves...they haS7e a poor
sense of self-worth" (Du Pre, 1994, p.252). There is a section of the "coloured" people
who are caught up in what is known as "the sub-culture of poverty, where people have a
negative self-image, and have "given up" in the struggle for survival. They seem to have
lost out, to be not only helpless, but also hopeless. They live poor, die poor, and continue
the cycle of poverty" (van der Ross, 1993, p.17). When people have lived in great
poverty for generations, and suffered oppression and abuse for so long, they seem to
accept their position in life. "Their whole life seems to be hard, unattractive, miserable,
even dangerous. They lose the motivation to better themselves.... They are helpless
against the power-structure around them. They lose hope" (van der Ross, 1993, p.17).
However, the very roots and origins of the "coloured" people were birthed in sexual
victimization and this "identity" has fostered the attitude of subservience and inferiority
which has retarded their liberation. Many have become victims and have bought into the
grand narrative which has dominated their lives for generations. While this discourse
appears to have dominated South African thought with regard to the "coloureds", and
while it may be true for many, not all "coloured" people see themselves as "second-class
citizens" - a great many of them have risen to the top echelons of politics, business and
75
society. Some research has indicated positive levels of self-esteem among "coloured"
university students (Howcroft, 1991). Nevertheless, despite the changes in South Africa,
the effects of marginalisation continue to impede progress. Edelstein (1974) states that
some of the effects of marginalisation include, hostility, aggression, violence, despair,
apathy, and mental escapism into alcohol and drugs. The DSM IV diagnostic category of
Durational, Exposure to Stress Not Otherwise Specified, (DESNOS) may be
appropriately applied here (APA, 1995).
The link between the roots of sexual victimisation and marginalisation, oppression and
societal humiliation of the "coloureds" must be made. Thus, the subject of sexual
revictimisation among the "coloureds" must be seen within this context.
4.2.5 CONCLUSION
It appears that a consistent and coherent definition of "coloured" identity has been
avoided. However, perhaps since "coloureds" have always been defined by what they are
not, rather than what they are, this is not surprising. This non-identity may have led to
the tendency for "coloureds" to identify with numerous groups outside of their own
framework (Simone, 1995). A number of subsystems have therefore evolved with some
groups identifying more with blacks, some more with African Americans, some more
with Arab Moslems, some with Afrikaaners, and some with whites. However, there does
seem to be a move afoot in South Africa for individual and group identities to be
assimilated into one rainbow nation. The "coloured" people appear to be emerging as a
kind of prototype for this acculturation process - a "fraying of boundaries be they
colonial, conceptual or ethnic. Differences will remain recognisable, perhaps salient, but
ragged at the edges, no longer capable of 'carrying a charge' and charged with a
reassemblage of circuitries" (Simone, 1995, p. 26).
76
Daniel (1996), writing from a more global perspective suggests the following patterns of
identification by peoples of mixed descent. Firstly he notes an identification with one or
other "race", such as with whites and their culture, or blacks and their culture, where
there appears to be a denial of their bi- or multi-raciality. Secondly, there seems to be an
identification with a primary reference group on the basis of geological location,
community interests, physical similarities, education, politics, religion or economics.
This may include groups such as the Griquas, Muslims, members of particular political
parties, or academically advantaged groups. Finally, there is a rejection of any group
identification, apart from that of identification with the human race. This position has
been defined as "supraracial" (Weisman, 1996, p. 154). This position appears to be
informed by the postmodern concepts of multiple realities, truths, positions and
displacing boundaries (Daniel, 1996). "Mixed race people are viewed as a form of the
"citizen of the world" model, along with others who are transnational, multilingual,
multicultural, transgendered, and so on; they move back and forth across the various
borders, existing above the limitations of having only one culture or language or
government or gender" (Daniel, 1996, p. 90). For this group their identity is formed
through building connections on the basis of shared humanity.
This move appears to be a positive step towards combating the perpetuation of the cycle
of dominant group oppression and marginalisation. However, it appears to be a view
held by those who are academically advantaged, and may not have filtered down to grass
roots level where positive changes are stifled by the cycle of poverty, violence and
revictimisation.
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POSITIONING THE STUDY WITHIN A PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXT
CHAPTER FIVE
THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
The epistemological framework of this study is integrative and holistic. In this view man
and the world is seen from multiple perspectives in order to gain a broader and more
complex representation of humanity. This view is informed initially by modern
Newtonian philosophy, and then more extensively by postmodern quantum theory,
second-order cybernetics, constructivism and social constructionism. In order to
understand these terms, a brief historical overview is provided, tracing the changes from
the objective stance of Newtonian physics and modern science, to the subjectivity of
quantum physics which influenced second-order cybernetics and constructivist thought,
which may all be contained within the postmodern rubric.
Philosophical reflection about knowledge, the nature of man and science has developed
over the centuries as far back as the recorded history of humankind. The epistemology of
the Greek philosophers Plato, Aristotle and Socrates was succeeded by the scientific
revolution generated by Copernicus, Galileo and Newton. These ideas and scientific
discoveries led to renewed insights into the nature of human knowledge and science by
Bacon, Descartes, Hume Locke, Berkeley and Kant. The nineteenth century's advances
in biology, chemistry and physical sciences and Einstein's revolution in physics in the
early twentieth century led to new philosophical theories. Logical positivism appears to
have the most enduring influence throughout the twentieth century. Throughout its
endurance however, logical positivism has been a target for both influence and attack
from numerous philosophers such as Popper, Kuhn, Russell, Wittgenstein. Feyerabend
78
and Lyotard, among many others (Lotter, 1997).
The dominant approach to problem-solving and research in philosophy and science since
the advent of Newtonian physics is characterised by the activity of reducing complex
phenomena into their simpler, constituent parts that might be more easily understood.
The solutions to the simpler parts of the original problem are then re-assembled into an
answer to the problem. This reductionist approach proved extremely effective for the
solving of many problems, the results of which can be seen in the incredible industrial
and technological advances which our world has witnessed (Berman, 1998). The
research methodology which found its application through Newtonian physics was
empiricism, and thus empirical observation became the dominant and acceptable
scientific methodology of the modem era. David Hume, known as a "skeptical, empirical
philosopher" extended the experimental procedures of Newtonian physical science to the
study of human nature (Berman, 1998, p. 2). Other philosophers, such as Berkeley,
Hobbes and Locke, known as the British rational empiricists, contributed to this approach
in the understanding of human nature. Newtonian physics, logical positivism, empirical
observation, reductionism, linearity of cause and effect, objective measurement of aspects
of nature, ideas that reality is fixed, determined and measurable, that there is a single
unitary truth and our knowledge of that truth can match reality, are all ideas which have
come to be understood under the rubric of modernism (Lotter, 1997).
However, in the twentieth century disillusionment in some circles with the social
consequences of a society in which science and technology predominate, provoked a
critique of this fundamentally empiricist outlook, perhaps more because of the Zeitgeist
of the times than for reasons of philosophical rigour. This new critical view of scientific
advancement appears to have been precipitated by the Second World War (1939-1945),
and was further fueled by the Vietnam War (1960-1975), (Berman, 1998). It is of interest
that in one decade, the same technology which contributed to the development of
weapons of mass destruction used in the Second World War and in the Vietnam War,
79
also contributed to the development of space programs which landed the first man on the
moon in 1969. It is perhaps at this point in our history that it became possible to
conceptualise a world where both good and evil exist together, where clearly progress
and technological advancement have both positive and negative effects. It is through this
both/and; rather than an either/or conceptualisation that it is possible to view the world
from an integrative and holistic perspective. However, as the world has become a
smaller place due to globalisation and the expansion of information and communication,
the task of providing a unitary explanation of science has become almost impossible.
The multitude of highly specialised scientific disciplines and research fields and the
exponentially increasing number of sciences rendered the task of an adequate overview of
philosophy and the nature of the world an extremely complex one.
Another assumption which has been questioned within scientific and philosophical
realms is the role of physics as a model for all sciences. The idea that physics and other
natural sciences provide an objective or adequate description of reality, and that this can
be applied to other fields of problem-solving, particularly in the areas of the human
sciences, has been challenged (Putnam, 1990). "There is no one methodology for the
sciences ... no one fundamental discipline, no one set of principles, and no one set of
equations that gives adequate and appropriate knowledge of all matters important for
human beings" (Lotter, 1997, p. 5). The move in the twentieth century has been towards
an alternative philosophy of science as a complex system which rests on the assumption
that philosophers of science can no longer prescribe normative models of science, but can
only try to interpret the processes through which scientists understand and describe
reality (Lotter, 1997). Physics, however continues to play a dominant role in the
understanding of reality, although a revolution occurred within the domain of the natural
sciences with the advent of Einstein's theory of relativity, Planck's quantum theory and
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle (Rapmund, 1996).
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The limitations of modern logical positivism led to a growing belief that "truth" is a
matter of perspective and that systematic and reductionistic thought is not the only way to
gain knowledge of the world. The notion of objective reality was questioned and a
different way of viewing the universe was espoused. This view saw the world as "an
indivisible whole, whose parts are interrelated and can be understood only as patterns of
an ongoing process" (Fourie, 1991, p. 2). This new view emphasised wholeness,
circularity, subjectivity and offered another reference point which expanded on
Newtonian notions of reductionism, linear causality and objectivity. There evolved a
move towards description rather than explanation, towards taking context into account,
and towards a broader more holistic view of interrelatedness and patterned events. This
shift evolved when quantum theory, general systems theory, second-order cybernetics,
constructivism, social constructionism and ecology were becoming dominant discourses
and were challenging the single meaning of reality (McClean, 1997; Rapmund, 1996).
These alternative methodologies within the physical, biological and human sciences
provided evidence of a postmodern turn in the culture of society (Gergen, 1992).
5.1 Structuralism and post-structuralism
To cross the divide from scientific and philosophical understandings to psychological
understandings about the nature of man and the world, an interesting and important
influence is that of structuralism and poststructuralism. Structuralism is a method of
studying language, human behaviour and society in a way that provides an organic rather
than an atomistic account of reality and knowledge. Structuralism claims to discover
permanent, fixed and unchanging structures behind or beneath activities or things
(Palmer. 1997). Structuralism has been most influenced by European rational
philosophers, rather than British and American empiricists. Two such thinkers are Karl
Marx and Sigmund Freud, who although viewed as scientists and therefore empiricists in
some sense, were much more influenced by rationalism (Palmer, 1997). There is,
according to Marx, an underlying structure that determines social reality, and this must be
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grasped if social reality is to be understood - this underlying structure for him was an
economic one. For Freud, the structural organisation of the unconscious mind is beneath
and therefore drives conscious activity. However, it was the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de
Saussure whose science of linguistics entailed a whole new picture of the human mind.
For him, the mind is not, as the empiricists (e.g. Locke, Berkeley and Hume) believed, a
receptacle for sense-data (the tabula rasa) from which it constructs a picture of the world
piece by piece. Nor is the mind merely a system of innate ideas that are activated by
sense-data, as the pure rationalists (e.g.. Descartes and Kant) thought. Rather, the mind is
a system of operations that generate structures of similarity and differentiation. It is
because of these operations that meaning is possible - that one thing can signify another
(Palmer, 1997). Claude Levi-Strauss, a social anthropologist with interests in music,
literature, psychology and geology picked up the challenge in the search for a theory of
the state of nature. He claimed that universal human truths and essences exist at the level
of structure, but are camouflaged at the level of observable fact unless one knows how to
decode those facts. The influences of Freud, Marx and geology are clear and Levi-
Strauss later called them his "three mistresses" (Palmer, 1997, p. 30). Structuralist
approaches have dominated Western culture for .the past century and have shaped how
the world and man has been understood. From this perspective, man is seen as an onion
layered construction, with unconscious impulses, forces, drives, needs and personality
attributes at the centre; and behaviours are surface manifestations of what is truly at this
centre. In order to understand these motivating energies, some form of analysis and
interpretation is necessary (White, 1997). The majority of personality theories in the
domain of psychology have been informed by the structuralist paradigm (Levine, 1992).
Poststructuralism, by contrast does not ask questions about the essential nature of man
and the world, but rather asks "What are we today?" (Palmer, 1997, p. 145). Through
poststructuralist inquiry there is a break from the mission to discover something about a
'given' nature, towards some attempt at understanding and exploring the ways in which
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identity; subjectivity and relationship are all products of cultural knowledges and
practices. Instead of the search for an essential self, human nature is seen as a product of
systems of interpretation, and lives are shaped and constituted by these forces of
socialisation (White, 1997). While structuralism uses metaphors of machinery and
hydraulics to explain human functioning, poststructuralism uses metaphors of language
and discourse (Palmer, 1997). Michel Foucault and Jaques Derrida - both
poststructuralist linguistic philosophers, challenge the power differentials which are
inherent in structuralism (Palmer, 1997). They use the poststructural and postmodern
practice of deconstruction to dismantle "first principles, origins and absolutes" in order to
make visible dominant discourses which have been adopted by society, and thus expose
the intentions of the author or label (Palmer, 1997, p. 139). Clearly, poststructural
thinking has influenced constructivist and social constructionist ideas about the nature of
reality. Both structuralism and poststructuralism have influenced epistemology and
provide for a better understanding of modern and postmodern thinking.
5.2 MODERNISM AND NEWTONIAN PHYSICS
Cartesian-Newtonian philosophy has been the bedrock of scientific research since
Newton's (1642-1727) mathematical formulation of the world and nature as a machine.
The world according to Newton was a material one, governed by unchanging laws and
where a linear view of causality was espoused. This encouraged empirical investigation
to discover truths and to determine cause and effect relationships between phenomena.
The underlying assumption is that a reality exists which is independent of the neutral
observer, and which can be objectively investigated and proved.
According to this view, it is possible to reduce phenomena to their basic building blocks,
thereby drawing conclusions about their interaction, which provides an understanding of
the whole. Empirical science has been dominated by this view and Newton's genius was
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one of the major driving forces which precipitated the industrial and technological
revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries (Marx and Hillix, 1979). Another concept
which Newton and other modern thinkers adopted was that of Descartes' dualism
between mind and matter. This separation of mind and matter informed the scientific
method and provided the way to the "truth", which could be investigated by a neutral
observer.
Naidoo (1992, p. 44-45), delineates a useful shortlist of some of the underlying rules
which govern modern, Western, scientific thought:
Rule of a single fixed reality;
rule of objectivity;
rule of separate and infinite time and space
rule of separate mass and energy
rule of linear time;
rule of linear causal process;
rule of understanding by analysis
rule of hierarchy
rule of name as thing
rule of idea as thing
These mechanistic, reductionistic and dualistic views of science were adopted as the
correct and only valid view of reality by the classical and pure sciences, and became
known as logical positivism (Marx and Hillix, 1979). In order to gain credibility as a
scientific discipline, the social sciences embraced the modern view of man, the world and
science (Marx and Hillix, 1979).
Thus, the rules of the scientific method have filtered into the study of psychology with it's
inherent mechanistic, reductionistic, linear and dualistic epistemology where phenomena
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can be studied and reduced to their elements. Empirical research attempts to be free of
researcher bias and a linear cause and effect sequence is attributed to most behaviour.
For example, pathology from this perspective, is believed to reside in the patient, has
identifiable causes, and can be isolated, quantified, measured and predicted. Modernist
assumptions about psychology include the acceptance of basic subject matter which
possesses universal properties. It is therefore possible to discover universal principles or
laws governing the subject matter. It follows that the world is knowable, and through
diagnostic tools such as the DSM IV, controlled experiments and systematic study it is
possible to increasingly reveal the true (structural) cause behind the behaviour of the
subject (McClean, 1997). However, more recently, classificatory systems such as the
DSM IV have been criticised for narrowing the explanation of human behaviour to the
level of the individual while obscuring other factors (McLean, 1997). In this
reductionistic process, valuable information and cognisance of multiple variables is lost
and the choreography of events is less meaningful" (Naidoo, 1992, p.45). While
modern logical positivism may provide quantifiable results and contribute to some
knowledge of the subject of study, it offers a particularly narrow and limited perspective.
The postmodern challenge has opened up space for broader perspectives and emphasised
the possibility of viewing a problem from multiple positions, leading to a deeper
understanding of complex phenomena (McClean, 1997).
5.3 POSTMODERNISM AND THE NEW SCIENCE
"The universe is made of stories,
not atoms"
(Muriel Rykeyser, Poet)
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A realisation that the Newtonian world view had limitations, particularly when
investigating more complex phenomena than the subjects of classical physics, resulted in
alternative theories being espoused to describe the world, including the theory of
relativity, quantum theory and complexity theory - these have come to be known as the
"new science" (Lotter, 1997; Rapmund, 1996). The idea of a single objective reality was
questioned and different ways of viewing the world were offered. Within the social
sciences, as more complex problems were encountered, and with the advent of family
therapy, modern thinking and the application of empiricism to the study of human nature
in psychology was challenged. There resulted a move towards including qualitative and
descriptive accounts of phenomena, and towards the understanding of meaning within
the particular worldview of the subjects under study. From this perspective pathology is
seen as occurring within a system, and both contributes to, and is influenced by, the
system of which it is a part. The idea that it is possible to know the true cause behind
behaviour was questioned since it became increasingly impossible to separate the
problem from the system of which it is a part. In addition to this, assumptions about
normality and pathology were questioned, particularly with the study of cross-cultural
and contextual psychology (Seedat and Nell, 1990). In order to understand this shift
toward postmodern thought, the most important influences which include; quantum
theory, general systems theory, second-order cybernetics, constructivism, social
constructionism and ecology bear some definition, which will now be attempted.
5.3.1 POSTMODERNISM
The term 'postmodern' can be confusing with several meanings being possible.
Postrnodernity refers to a postmodern age; postmodernism describes the cultural
expression of a post modern age, and postmodern thought refers to critical reflection or
discourse on the postmodern age or culture as a whole (Kvale, 1992). It is important to
note that postmodernism is a cultural phenomenon, not a new or alternative philosophy to
displace modernity. It is a critical reaction which highlights the limitations of modern
86
thinking (Roussouw, 1998). Postmodernism developed as a result of the major strides
that were taking place in quantum physics, from which the formulations of quantum
theory, complexity or chaos theory evolved (Capra, 1997).
Quantum physicists began to challenge the belief that all physical phenomena could be
reduced to atoms and molecules. It has been found that at the subatomic level matter
dissolve into wave-like patterns of probabilities (Capra, 1997). "The subatomic particles
have no meaning as isolated entities but can be understood only as interconnections, or
correlations, between various processes of observation and measurement as we shift
our attention from macroscopic objects to atoms and subatomic particles, nature does not
show us any isolated building-blocks, but rather appears as a complex web of
relationships between the various parts of a unified whole" (Capra, 1997, p. 30). This
conceptualisation of interelatedness, and a move away from the study of parts to a
perception of life (including the biological, physical, psychological, societal and
ecological systems) as a pattern of meaningful organised wholes did not only occur in
physics, but has been matched by shifts in the understanding of the universe in other
disciplines.
In psychology Gestalt psychologists led by Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler have
pioneered a more holistic approach to psychology which emphasises the integration of
personal experiences into meaningful wholes (Capra, 1997). In biology, chemistry and
ecology, organismic scientists opposed mechanism and vitalism and began to reflect upon
the organisation of systems. According to the systems view, "the essential properties of
an organism, or living system, are properties of the whole, which none of the parts have.
They arise from the interactions and relationships between the parts. These properties are
destroyed when the system is dissected, either physically or theoretically, into isolated
elements...In the systems approach, the properties of the parts can be understood only
from the organisation of the whole" (Capra, 1997, p. 29). Von Bertalanffy's (1950)
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SUPRA NATIONAL SYSTEM
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATION
GROUP
ORGANISM ORGAN CELL
General Systems Theory was conceptualised by Schoeman (1991) as an hierarchically
ordered structure, which is represented schematically in Figure 5.1.
Fig. 5.1 Schematic representation of hierarchically ordered living
systems (adapted by Schoeman, 1991).
5.3.2 CYBERNETICS
An important element within systems theory is the notion of cybernetics. Cybernetics is
defined as "a theory of interaction between open systems and subsystems" (Fourie, 1991,
p. 5). McClean (1997) distinguishes between first-order cybernetics and second-order
cybernetics. First-order cybernetics refers to the 'observed system", where the observer
describes the system as though she were located outside of the system. Her view was
88
accepted as objective and her presence had no influence on the properties of, or activities
within, the system. Second-order cybernetics refers to 'observing systems' and developed
as a result of the realisation that the system cannot be objectively assessed since the
observer was part of the system which was being observed. Thus, the system is being
subjectively described from the perspective of the system itself, and how the observer
observes will influence what will be seen (Rapmund, 1996).
In psychology, particularly family therapy, second-order cybernetics developed as a
result of the realisation that the family system cannot be objectively assessed, since the
observer was part of the system that was being observed. Both first-order and second-
order cybernetics offer different but complementary ways of seeing, allowing a both/and
perspective of the system. For example, a system can be described as autonomous
because the system is described from the perspective of the system itself (second-order
cybernetics), or as interdependent with other systems because the system is described
from an observer located in another system (first-order cybernetics) (Rapmund, 1996). It
is within the arena of second-order cybernetics (among other influences) that
constructivism developed.
5.3.3 CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivism is associated with the work of Maturana and Varela (1980), Von Foerster
and Von Glasserfield (cited in McClean, 1997) and was developed from a biological
framework which challenges the idea that an external reality is knowable. Other theorists
within other disciplines who have contributed to the constructivist paradigm, include
Piaget and Kelly (McGibbon, 1997), from cognitive psychology; Gadamer and Ricoeur
(Stivers, 1994), both hermeneutic philosophers whose work grew out of the traditions of
existentialism and phenomenology; the philosopher and linguist Wittgenstein (Carson,
1996); the philosophy of science of Kuhn, Polanyi and Platinga (Stivers, 1994); French
post-structuralists Derrida, Foucault and Lyotard (Palmer, 1997) and American neo-
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pragmatist Rorty (Carson, 1996).
Although it may be said that constructivism falls soundly within the postmodern rubric
(Carson, 1996), this view has been debated (Levine, 1992) and it is suggested that
constructivism may be viewed along a continuum from conservative constructivism to
radical constructivism which is paralleled by a modem to postmodern continuum:
Conservative constructivism Radical constructivism
Modernism Postmodernism
On the conservative pole is the view that sensory data is thought to undergo several
transformations of assimilation and accommodation as it is received and processed,
which is determined by the perceiver's ordering and organising of the information. This
means that rather than our perceptions being a reflection of reality, they are our own
constructions and representation of reality (McClean, 1997). Constructivist theory
therefore holds the view that humans are active rather than passive creatures in
constituting meaning out of experiences, so that "what we know now is anchored only in
our assumptions, not in the bedrock of truth itself, and that the world we seek to
understand remains always on the horizon of our thoughts" (Kelly, 1977, p.6). Kelly
(1977) purported that the world in which individuals live, is understood by them through
their own cognitive schema (or constructs). Without these constructs, the world would
not make sense, and so in this sense reality is constructed for each individual. In
addition, the culture in which an individual lives influences her way of constructing
reality. The individual's views are influenced by the way she thinks and observes, which
are also informed or limited by the cultural and social context in which the individual
finds herself (Rapmund, 1996).
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Critics suggest that constructivism implies relativism, solipsism and idealism (McClean,
1997, McGibbon, 1997), as reasonable consequences if all realities are to be accepted and
tolerated. However, constructivism's claim is that knowledge is dependent on the
perspective the individual has taken, determined by their ethics or values, which makes
that individual responsible for their own perceived reality. It is thus a shift from an
"authoritative meaning" (Bruner, 1990), to an "interpretive meaning" (McClean, 1997, p.
11).
5.3.3.1 Radical Constructivism
At the other end of the pole, Maturana and Varela (1980), scientists in the biological,
mathematical and neurological sciences, discovered that it was the organism (or
perceiver) that determined what was perceived. Maturana (cited in Rapmund, 1996)
maintained that in a five member family, it is possible that five different families can be
described and not five different views of the same family. Different family members
depict different realities, these realities cannot be combined to give a clearer picture of
the family, and thus an objective family does not exist. Each family member's view of
the family or their construction of reality is valid. For each one of them "family" results
in a different set of meanings, and it is at this point that the observer becomes part of the
observed. The observer creates reality through the act of observation, which is almost
like saying that reality does not exist without an observer. In this scheme the
recursiveness involved in the creation of reality is emphasised, a belief in the autonomy
of systems and that organisms are structurally determined is espoused (Capra, 1997).
The two basic principles of radical constructivism (also known as cognitive science)
appear to be firstly, that organisms do not passively receive knowledge, but actively
create or construct knowledge through cognition. Secondly, that the process of cognition
is adaptive and serves to organise the subject's experiential world, rather than discover an
objective reality (Rapmund, 1996). Therefore, reality is constructed through a person's
active experience of it - the reality we create is what we know. We cannot know the
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world in an objective sense. While radical constructivists do not deny the existence of an
ontological reality, they deny any meaning in the reality of an external world
independent of human mental activity. Meaning thus is reality, and in the words of
Maturana and Varela, "to live is to know" (Capra, 1997, p. 260). However, it appears
that radical constructivists failed to account for the effects of social realities that
influence and perhaps dominate the creation of meaning (Rapmund, 1996). In addition,
radical constructivism's position that knowledge is only constructed through the process
of cognition may be questioned, and it should be acknowledged that there are other ways
of knowing which may be equally valid, such as empirical observation, rational thought
and intuition (Marx and Hillix, 1979).
5.3.3.2 Social Constructionism
Kotze and Kotze (1997) distinguish between social constructionism and constructivism,
whereas other authors have used these terms interchangeably. Although both emphasise
cognition as a dominant way of knowing, constructivism developed from a biological
and individualistic vantage point, while social constructionism took its vantage point in
the social and language domain, including social learning theory and critical linguistic
theory (Palmer, 1997). The two viewpoints are, however, mutually compatible.
Social constructionism is "the claim and viewpoint that the content of our consciousness,
and the mode of relating we have to others, is taught by our culture and society: all the
metaphysical quantities we take for granted are learned from others around us ...
understandings are socially constructed by a group of believers" (Owen, 1992, p. 386).
In other words, through social interaction within the family and society, many beliefs
about the world are taught and learnt. These beliefs are shared and agreed upon, and in
this sense are accepted and adopted by different groups. This view contends that reality
is socially constructed through the shared and agreed meanings that are communicated in
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language - thus the shared beliefs about the world are "social inventions" (Speed, 1991, p.
400). For example, the concept of pathology may not exist in an objective sense, but is a_
socially constructed concept which is adhered to mainly by psychiatric practitioners and
many of those whose behaviour has been pathologised by the society in which they live.
In the context of this study, there is a belief that a sexually abused woman is "damaged
goods" (Kritzinger, 1988, p. 80). This belief does not exist in an objective sense, but is a
socially constructed concept which is adhered to by those who subscribe to this view as if
it was the "truth". To use the description of "damaged goods" for a woman who has
been sexually abused, may have been used as an excuse for revictimisation by those who
believe in the truth of this description. In addition, the abused woman herself may have
accepted the idea that she is "damaged goods" and as a result loses any sense of self-
worth. This socially constructed reality of "damaged goods" may not be objectively true
in that it does not describe the whole person, but it is accepted as "true" by those who
have constructed this narrow description of her personhood. When this description
becomes a shared and agreed meaning within a system, it contributes to a commonly
accepted and therefore dominant discourse about sexually abused woman. This may in
turn promote many other problems for the woman concerned including, marginalisaiion
and continued revictimisation.
White and Epston (1990), concur that the specific meanings that are imposed on
behaviour are prescribed and arranged by the dominant discourses or interpretive
frameworks which currently prevail. This view suggests that "ultimate truth stories"
(White, 1990, p. 26) which are the dominant social and cultural discourses about people
and events, promote the development and course of mental illness, family dysfunction
and stereotyped belief systems (Levett, 1988).
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"Peoples personal stories are subjugated and denied in favour of the dominant belief
system which tends to pathologise those who do not meet its expectations. As a
consequence, people begin to think about themselves and their relationships in ways that
are consistent with problem-saturated stories" (Rapmund, 1996, p. 93). Social
constructivism therefore, takes cognisance of the dominant social discourses which
contribute to different constructions of reality:
5.3.3.3 Co-constructivism
Speed (1991) introduces the concept of co-constructivism which is the view that what
we know arises in a relationship between the knower and the known" (p. 401). This view
recognises that a structured reality does exist independently of the constructions thereof,
but that people focus on different facets of this reality according to their own, as well as
the cultural, social and contextual meanings which influence them. Because a structured
reality exists, it is possible to choose a best fit between different ideas about that
structured reality, although it may not be possible to know absolute truths about such a
reality. This view adopts a both/and rather than an either/or stance, in which reality
exists as well as constructed and co-constructed or shared meanings about reality. In
other words, although reality may be filtered through our perceptions, this does not mean
that a real world does not exist, neither does it mean that our perceptions do not reflect
the real world in which we live. For example, child sexual abuse exists, it is not simply a
perception which is constructed in the mind of the victim. However, how the abuse is
viewed by the victim, by the perpetrator and by others will depend on their perceptions.
For the very young victim, sexual abuse may be experienced as love, particularly if the
perpetrator justifies his actions this way. However, with sexual maturity, the victim may
begin to view sexual abuse from a different perspective, and may then begin to construct
a different reality for herself and about herself
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Conservative constructivism Radical constructivism
Co-constructivism
That each person's reality is his or her own unique construction does not mean that there
cannot also be a shared reality. Maturana calls this a "domain of consensus", and
Bateson an "ecology of ideas" (in Rapmund, 1996, p. 99). "The reality which is co-
constructed in a system cannot be just anything, it has to fit with the ideas which the
participants have about themselves, about each other, about the problem and about the
world in general" (Fourie, 1991, p. 8). Thus the continuum of conservative
constructivism and radical constructivism may be extended to include four rather
than two poles, and conceptualised as a circular matrix:
Social constructivism
5.3.3.4 Language, Narratives and Constructivism
Language, linguistics, narratives and stories play an important role in the constructivist
paradigm. "Reality is co-constructed in language by the observer internally to him or
herself, and externally, through the observer's communication with others" (Rapmund,
1996, p. 96). Language both represents and creates or constitutes realities and in this
sense it can be said that reality is constructed through social discourse (language) and is
95
agreed upon through conversation. According to Maturana, "To be human is to exist in
language. In language we coordinate our behaviour, and together in - language we brine
forth our world" (Capra, 1997, p. 282). In other words, as a story about a particular
experience is told, interaction with others about the experience is mediated through
language. In so doing, other stories and other dimensions are created which constitute
more than the original story - in this poststructuralist sense language does not only
represent reality, but constitutes other dimensions of reality shared in stories and
conversations (Palmer, 1997).
Language, and the stories people tell, are therefore important dimensions of socially
constructed realities. Howard, (1991) claims that if science can be seen as a form of
storytelling offering different realities, then it follows that the stories people recount have
equal validity. Explanatory theories can be construed as narratives which attempt to
explain current reality, but which can change. "Each story is the storyteller's own
construction of reality, and no single story is superior to another" (Rapmund, 1996, p.
98). These stories or narratives are co-constructed through language and conversation
and are embedded within a particular context. This emphasis on local knowledge and
personal narrative, rather than fixed categories of health and pathology, frees client and
therapist, or researcher and participant, to construct stories that correspond with the
participant's own realities.
5.4 TOWARDS AN HOLISTIC INTEGRATIVE CONCEPTION OF
SEXUAL REVICTIMISATION OF "COLOURED" WOMEN
Different theoretical models help to organise the observer's own perception and
understanding of a participant's reality. The theoretical language and content
conceptualisations around the issue of sexual revictimisation may be viewed as
metaphorical representations which explain and organise the way women who have been
96
sexually revictimised experience their world. These representations may not be "the
truth", may contribute to a grand narrative of sexual revictimisation, and at this point do
not include the participant's own story or local knowledge. The explanations for sexual
revictimisation within the "coloured" context may be explored from the perspective of
two different paradigms.
5.4.1 THE MODERN VIEW
The first paradigm is the modem, logical positivist view which attempts to investigate the
underlying causes of sexual revictimisation from the perspective of linear causality. The
assumption is that there is a "true" reason why "coloured" women are revictimised and
that an investigation into these causes will result in a solution to the problem. Although
this view may take into account multiple causes, it situates the subject as a victim and the
perpetrator as the victimiser. This view would take the symptomatic approach into
account, where possible causal processes may be defined (Simon and Whitbeck, 1991),
for example:
child sexual abuse > psychological effects > "victim personality type" >
revictimisation
This view would include all the possible explanations for sexual revictimisation
including: addiction to trauma (van der Kolk, 1989), learned helplessness (Seligmann,
1983), learned coping styles (Messman and Long, 1996), deviant choice of lifestyle
(Simon and Whitbeck, 1991), early attachment history (Alexander et al., 1997), early
parental influences (Mayall and Gold, 1995), or traumagenic dynamics: traumatic
sexualisation, betrayal, powerlessness and stigmatisation (Finkelhor, 1986), and so on.
97
In the area of child and adult sexual abuse, most research to date has been dominated by
this linear approach. Although it is acknowledged that many if not all of these
explanations may be valid, and that together they may offer a picture which may be close
to the truth to which they strive, it must be conceded that these explanations are often
decontextualised and do not take cognisance of the part played by dominant discourses,
socially constructed realities and circular causality. The difficulty is that the stereotype
of sexually abused women as "powerless victims" becomes the dominant discourse,
which is accepted unquestioned by both theorists and practitioners. The problem with
linear concepts of revictimisation is that the cause of the "dysfunctional" behaviour is
either situated within the victim , or within the perpetrator, family, culture or society. In
this structuralist and dualistic epistemology, someone or something has to be blamed for
the problem (Naidoo, 1992). Causal attribution is given to factors that occur temporally
prior to the revictimisation, that occur within the victim or perpetrator, and is defined as
having a unidirectional influence on its occurrence (Naidoo, 1992).
There has been little attempt in the research of sexual revictimisation to paint a picture
which takes consideration of all the numerous variables which influence its origin,
development, function, process and meaning in the life of the survivor. With respect to
"coloured" survivors of revictimisation, there has been no research which attempts to
understand their experience of this concept. In addition, most attempts which focus on
sexual revictimisation have tended to establish pathological responses and there has been
98
no attempt to understand how these women have overcome and survived sexual
revictimisation.
5 4 2 1HE POSTMODERN VIEW
While this section will look at revictimisation in the light of dominant discourses, socially
constructed reality, systems and contextual viewpoints it is acknowledged that this is
merely an overture, and that much work has to be done in order to unravel the complexity
of the concept of revictimisation, especially with regard to "coloured" women. In
addition, Keeney (1983) states that it is unlikely that anyone has fully realised a non-
linear epistemology. One of the greatest obstacles to this way of thinking is due to our
own linguistic limitations - language is linear and static, and it is within these limitations
that our explanations become inadequate.
Capra (1997) has noted that science in the postmodern era has similarities with the
systems view in that it focuses on interconnections and relationships rather than isolated
entities, and sees these relationships as being inherently dynamic. In this view, an
important aspect is that no one person can exert unilateral control over the system of
which she is a part. The reason why this control is impossible is that human relationships
are always embroiled in cybernetic circuits in which each participant is an inevitable part
of a circular or recursive dance in relation to the other participants (Naidoo, 1992). The
move from first-order to second-order cybernetics has been discussed above, and it can
be seen that second-order cybernetics offers a certain freedom in that it adopts a meta
position. From this position it is therefore possible to include linear causality, first-order
cybernetics as well as ecosystemic and contextualised paradigms. Observers are free to
speak in the language of simple cybernetics, and divide the whole (meaning the entire
system) up into parts for pragmatic reasons. However, this can only be valid when it is
remembered that the distinctions drawn represent part of a larger recursive whole. From
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this position, either/or distinctions and reductionistic analyses are avoided. The both/and
position has the advantage of providing a broad lens which sees a diversity of views and
perceptions which are individually constructed, socially constructed and co-constructed.
In this way the survivor of revictimisation may contribute to an understanding of her
experience, which may have equal standing with the theoretical conceptions of "expert"
researchers from different social science disciplines. This entails widening the focus
from behavioural explanation and description, to the interactional context which frames
the problematic behaviour, to an understanding of the wider social and political ecology
which requires descriptions of the patterns of social choreography (Naidoo, 1992). Such
a frame will contextualise behaviour in a manner which constantly increases the number
of options that are open to the researcher for holistic understanding, and to the therapist
for effective intervention (Keeney, 1993). Thus the quest for an understanding of the
whole may require an analysis of the parts, which then has to be re-integrated into the
whole again, resulting in a more holistic meaning of both. This meaning may then be
integrated into the whole, through an analysis of the parts which finally leads to a better
understanding of the whole.
In the study of revictimisation, numerous researchers have indicated the importance of
the context within which the revictimisation experiences occur. Kritzinger (1988) and
Wyatt and Riederle (1994) have highlighted the importance of the cultural context;
Urquiza and Goodlin-Jones (1994) focused on the significance of the family structure;
Blumberg et. al., (1996) and Russell (1996) introduced the influence of patriarchal
systems; and Levett (1988) emphasised the effect of dominant social discourses and the
influence of language on sexual revictimisation. In the literature review on the history
and identity of the "coloureds", numerous researchers highlighted the influence of slavery
and the dehumanisation of people on their identity (Adhikari, 1992); the significance of
oppression and marginalisation (van der Ross, 1993); the impact of politics and
economics (Simone, 1995) and the problems of dominant social discourses and language
101
(Root, 1996) .
However, while there has been some attempt to integrate the linear perspectives into
some kind of conceptual whole - the traumagenics model (Finkelhor, 1986), the direct
versus indirect effects model (Simon and Whitbeck, 1991) and developmental theory
(Alexander et. al., 1997), there has been little attempt to integrate both linear and circular
concepts of revictimisation. A model utilising complexity theory (Van der Van, -1994)
has been suggested, however there are many variables and dynamics which have been
given no attention. For example, although the influence of the history of slavery on the
identity of the "coloureds" has been extensively highlighted, how this influence has been
transmitted across generations has not been thoroughly considered.
Carl Jung (1875-1961) in his search for an understanding of the human psyche, began to
apply psychoanalytical insights to ancient myths and legends. He claimed that a
powerful source of unconscious forces exists in the collective unconscious that contains
inherited contents shared with other members of an ethnic or racial group. This
collective unconscious has archetypes, defined as primordial images evolved from a
primitive tribal ancestry of specific experiences and attitudes passed on over centuries. It
is this collective unconscious in personality that provides the individual with
phylogenetically inherited frameworks, stereotypes and mental structures (archetypes)
which determine patterns of behaviour and predispose the individual to perceive, think
and act in certain ways (Marx and Hillix, 1979; Brennan, 1991). Jung's emphasis on
mysticism and cultural and religious experiences were in sharp contrast to those of
empirical psychology. He challenged Freud's theorising as too reductive and mechanistic
and suggested a principle called synchronicity for those events which occur together in
time but which do not cause one another. His archetypes were supposed to fulfill
themselves psychologically and physically within the real world at the same time without
the different manifestations being causally related (Marx and Hillix, 1979). In applying
102
this theory to the concept of revictimisation in the context of "coloured" experience, it is
suggested that perhaps the "coloureds" carry the legacy of slavery within them as a type
of archetype. This archetype contains inherited response tendencies which are primordial
images that are deeply unconscious, and yet exert energy which drives behaviour in the
present. Although the "victim" or "slave" archetype does not cause further
revictimisation, it exists as a predisposing force which may be awakened by other
victimising experiences. Jung would perhaps agree that it would be impossible to
"prove" these suggestions through traditional scientific experimentation, and indeed he
lost interest in empiricism (Marx and Hillix, 1979). However, the view that science
provides numerous narratives may prove to be a more useful method of revealing and
understanding human behaviour, particularly with regard to sexual revictimisation of
"coloured" women and their survival.
Is it possible that for "coloured" survivors of revictimisation, there is enormous
complexity in that victimisation has occurred at a number of levels? There appears to be
a triple exploitation of age, masculinity and race (Levett, 1988). They have been
victimised historically, socially, culturally, politically and economically as "coloureds",
and as if this was not enough, they have been victimised and revictimised sexually.
Figure 5.2 offers an holistic view and attempts to integrate the myriad of variables which
influence revictimisation of "coloured" women, and illustrates the complexity and
interconnectedness of these variables. Although this figure appears linear and two-
dimensional, the arrows indicate the cybernetic flow of energy and reflect the circularity
and synchronicity of the numerous known variables which appear to influence the
process of sexual revictimisation.
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Biological and / physiological effects
School / Work
Family, society,
culture, life style, religion, ecology
Behavioural effects
Emotional effects Cognitive effects
Constructions of self Construction of reality Paradigm - view of the
world
• Revictimisation experience/s
Identity development
Child sexual abuse •
Insecure attachment
Educational limitations Economic oppression Marginalisation . Political appression "Coloured" label-language Poverty Powerlessness Inequality „— --/IrRace
Gender
Historical / Cultural viable!:
Slavery
Politics
Culture
Lifestyle
ArelletYPes:"Victirn"
Religion .„.....„
"tainted"
Viewed by the
world -
social
construction of reality.,
dominant discourses
Viewed by
the perpetrator-
Dominant discounts
I
........ In utero influences
Family variables: Victimisation Genetics Matriarchy Patriarchy
Pre-conception variables
Figure 5.2
An integrated model of a "coloured" woman's revictimisation
(Adapted from L'Abate, 1991)
A caveat with regard to the author's constructed reality of "coloured"
revictimisation
Although this diagram may account for the known variables, dynamics and stories that
influence and contribute to the complexity of revictimisation, there is much that is not
known and many questions that remain unanswered. Perhaps this is because the story of
the sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women has not been told and the voices from the
past have been silent. It is the postmodern task to question and critique dominant
discourse, and as a result many questions are posed and alternative viewpoints are
espoused. It is thus appropriate to embark on a study of revictimisation of "coloured"
women with questions, rather than to confirm conclusions, which create the opportunity
for numerous possibilities and the promise of alternative answers.
However, the author's story must also be told, but, and here is the caveat, not in a way
that will silence other voices, but in a way that may open up space for other stories to be
told. The author's story, too is not her's alone, but is one that has been constructed as a
result of her experience of reading about the early history of South Africa. It starts with a
tentative idea that perhaps some of the "coloured" people of South Africa carry the voice
of the archetypal victim within them. Their very origins were embedded within an
exploited and victimised context. Perhaps this story may be told for those whose origins
are found in slavery in the early Cape settlement where they were used and exploited as
slaves - their offspring were often "bred" for the purposes of future labour (van der Spuy,
1993). Their labour included meeting the sexual demands of their owners. The
"bastards" which were born became the people of mixed blood and when eventually
"freed" by their masters banded together as people with a common heritage. Under
political, social and economic oppression, their cries were not heard and after a while
many stopped giving expression to the cry and the voice. They accepted their lot, as
lambs to the slaughter, and began to believe that they would forever be the victims (Van
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der Ross, 1993). Thus the revictimisation is perpetuated from one generation to the next
and begins to spread like a cancer into the deepest parts of their soul. They become
victims of their own pathology, their own aggression, their own passion, their own
apathy, their own silence and their own addictions. They have embraced the essence of
victimhood. They can no longer speak. The cry is buried so deep within that it is no
longer even a still small voice - it has been bashed and battered into silence, surrender
and incarceration.
Is this also their story? Is it possible to look into the lives of a few women who have
been so silenced and "re-member" this narrative? Can this voice be heard by invoking it
to speak again? Can the silenced victim be given the permission and the freedom to tell
her story? Will the telling of their story bring healing and new strength to pass sentence
on the perpetrators without and within? Can this story be co-constructed, deconstructed
and re-constructed in order to set right the wrongs of the past, and embrace more
consciously the alternative narrative of survival, which can then be told as another story
to future generations?
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CHAPTER SIX
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
6.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
In this study an attempt to understand sexual revictimisation from the perspective of the
survivor within the context of her worldview is the aim. This context is specific to the
participants of this study who are women in the "coloured" community of Eldorado Park
in South Africa.
The major objective of this study is toward a deeper and more meaningful understanding
of how these women subjectively conceptualise and survive their revictimisation within
their specific context. Because the context within which these women live is such an
integral part of who they are and how they experience life, constructivism, which focuses
on how a person perceives or makes sense of her world and how her views are informed
by her social, cultural and historical context, dominates the approach (Mahoney, 1996).
The implication of this approach is that each person has a unique way of constructing the
world, which is her reality and which is valid for her (Rapmund, 1996). In this study it is
aimed to enter into this constructed reality by means of a narrative approach, which offers
an unique method of questioning within the constructivist paradigm, in order to answer
questions such as how and why sexual revictimisation could happen.
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Other objectives which are researched in this study include some quantitative questions
about the prevalence, effects and demographics of child sexual abuse and revictimisation
within a small population of "coloured" women. In addition, some understanding about
the identity of "coloured" women is recorded.
6.1.1 TERMINOLOGY
Quantitative research terminology has tended to dominate social science research, and
terms such as "researcher", "sample", "subjects", "data", "data collection" and "data
analysis" are commonly used in the discussion of research methodology and results.
There has been some attempt to break from this modernist tradition in qualitative
research through the use of different terminology, such as "research participants", as
opposed to "research subjects". However, in much qualitative research modernist terms
are still frequently adhered to when referring to the research methodology and results. In
order to reflect the different assumptions and views of reality represented by the
qualitative research paradigm of this study, which is from a postmodern perspective, the
terminology in the qualitative phase of this study will differ from traditional research
terminology.
The researcher will be referred to as "co-author"; the participants will be referred to as
"narrators"; data will be referred to as "the story", data collection will be called "re-telling
the stories", data analysis will be called "re-authoring and co-constructing the stories",
and the comparative analysis will be called "re-constructing the story" of revictimisation.
Exceptions will be made when other authors and researchers are quoted or paraphrased.
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6.2 INTEGRATION OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methodology a more holistic and
integrated understanding of the context as well as the unique discourse emerging from the
interaction between narrator and co-author becomes apparent. In addition to answering
the questions of how and why, in this study it is also attempted to understand how these
specific women have survived and have integrated their experiences into their lives in a
meaningful way. From this conceptual perspective, this process of integration however,
may take place during the interaction between the co-author and the narrators. As the
narrators unravel their stories this serves to create meaning and empowerment (Freer,
1997). As the co-author forms a relationship with each narrator and joins with her, co-
construction and co-creation of meaning occurs which then becomes part of the
integration process (Mahoney, 1996; Rapmund, 1996).
Quantitative research methodology is consistent with a modernistic Newtonian
epistemology which was briefly outlined in the previous chapter. Briefly, this approach
hinges on the belief in a reality which can be discovered and measured. Consistent with
this idea is the concept that research must be objective to arrive at the truth and thus free
from observer bias. Quantitative research belongs to the tradition that is concerned with
. objectivity, measurement and predictability. Underlying this approach is the use of an
experimental design which purports to measure something discrete. From this
perspective, researchers use data that can be measured, and they therefore reduce what
they are researching to units devoid of the subject's larger contexts in order to understand
reality.
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Most of the research with regard to sexual abuse and revictimisation has been coherent
with modernist Newtonian philosophy whereby the researcher, from her objective
vantage point, has been considered to be in the best position to describe the problem
(Jack, 1991). With the postmodern shift in thinking, towards subjectivity and second-
order cybernetics, these views are challenged and the focus turns to the revictimised
woman herself, who is now considered as being in as good a position to describe her
experiences within the context in which revictimisation occurs. Of importance is how
she perceives her experience, and not whether her story reflects "reality". In addition the
view of the co-author who is in the position of re-telling the story is considered to
influence the process of the story-telling, as well as both the story itself and the reader .
Allowing women to tell their stories gives them a voice which needs to be heard, in
addition to the other stories which have already been told in an objective sense by more
traditional researchers. The knowledge we gain from epidemiological and traditional
research can point to risk factors associated with sexual abuse and revictimisation, but
such research cannot explain how and why, in similar social and relational contexts, some
women survive, make sense of and overcome their experiences, while others do not. "To
know the response a woman has to her context, we need to know the meaning she makes
of that context - how she interprets her actions and evaluates herself and her worth within
her culture and her relationships" ...(Listening to survivors of revictimisation and hearing
their reflections about themselves) ... "paying attention to their words and recurring
themes, can help us to restore their experience from invisibility, to bring it out from
behind the screen of traditional interpretations" (Jack, 1991, p. 25, brackets mine).
Thus, quantitative and qualitative research paradigms generally make different
assumptions about the nature of reality and they have different research objectives.
Combining the two approaches therefore contributes to a more holistic and integrated
understanding of the phenomenon under study.
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The idea of combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches in a single study
is not new (Creswell, 1994), and various reasons have been suggested as to why an
integrative approach has some benefit (Greene, Caracelli and Graham, 1989):
for triangulation purposes, in the classical sense which seeks to converge research
results and neutralise any bias which may be inherent in data sources or investigators,
for complimentary purposes, in that overlapping and different facets of a phenomenon
may emerge,
for developmental purposes, wherein the first method is used sequentially to help
inform the second method,
for the purposes of initiation, wherein contradictions, paradoxes and fresh
perspectives emerge, and
for the purposes of expansion, where the mixed methods add scope and breadth to a
study.
In this study the main reasons which justify the choice of an integrative approach is that
quantitative data and qualitative narratives both provide different facets about, and add
scope and breadth to, the study of the phenomenon of sexual revictimisation. Creswell
(1994) suggests three models of combined quantitative and qualitative research design;
firstly, the two-phase design in which the quantitative and qualitative research designs
are conducted in two distinct phases. Secondly, the dominant-less dominant design, in
which the study is conducted within a single dominant paradigm with one small
component of the overall study drawn from the alternative paradigm. Thirdly, the
mixed-methodology design in which aspects of each paradigm are mixed at all or many
methodological steps in the design. This third approach adds complexity to the design
and mirrors the research process of working back and forth between inductive and
deductive models of thinking.
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Gogolin and Swartz (1992) suggest a concept map indicating the flow of qualitative and
quantitative ideas in their mixed-method approach to research. This is reproduced in
Figure 6.1. The ideas encircled by double lines indicate the major sections that unfold in
the study. The authors begin with an introduction, move on to related research, advance
the methods of both quantitative and qualitative data collection phases, discuss
quantitative results followed by qualitative results, present a discussion summarising each
separately, and then end with a discussion of the implications from both perspectives. In
almost all phases of the research, the authors include elements of both quantitative and
qualitative approaches to research.
Figure 6.1 A Concept map of the Quantitative and
Qualitative Study by Gogolin and Swartz (1992).
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This map will provide a conceptual approach for the integration of quantitative and
qualitative research in this study of sexual revictimisation, where some of the constructs
from Gogolin and Swartz (1992) will be adopted. In addition, different aspects of
Creswell's (1994) three models will be used. In the literature and theoretical review
the different paradigms which have been used to study sexual revictimisation have been
highlighted, with a clear indication that mostly quantitative research methodologies have
been utilised (two-phase method of literature review). Each phase of the research will be
conducted separately (two-phase method) with the purposes of the study being presented
in the language characteristic of both paradigms (mixed-methodology statements). In the
collecting of data, both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods will be used
simultaneously (mixed-method design), and while the quantifiable results of the
quantitative data will be reported separately (two-phase method), both quantitative data
and qualitative narrative will be analysed qualitatively (mixed-method).
6.3 QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY
6.3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION
It is important for this research that the general context within which the participants are
situated is understood. "Surveys give the researcher a picture of what many people think
or report doing" (Neuman, 1997, p. 31). The main question under inquiry in the
quantitative phase of this study is whether "coloured" women who have been sexually
abused as children, experience sexual revictimisation as adults. However, since the aim
of this phase of the research is to describe the context, as well as identify possible
connections, rather than to test hypotheses with independent and dependent variables, a
self-administered survey method of quantitative research was deemed to be an
appropriate method of data collection (Neuman, 1997). The survey is a process whereby
the researcher conceptualises and operationalises variables as questions and translates the
research problem into a questionnaire, which is then used with respondents to create data
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(see Appendix 1). The main reason for the selection of this methodology was due to the
sensitivity of the questions being asked, and the assumption that a self-administered
questionnaire would provide the greatest possible privacy to the respondents.
Respondents may decide whether they. want to answer questions and how much
information they are willing to give, and the confidentiality provided by such a method
may reduce anxiety and discomfort with regard to the information provided
(Neuman, 1997). The main advantages of self-administered survey questionnaires are
therefore that they offer anonymity and also avoid interviewer bias. The disadvantages of
such a research methodology is that the researcher cannot control the conditions under
which the questionnaire is completed and cannot visually observe the respondent's
reactions to questions. In addition, research has shown the low rate of return when the
responsibility of returning the questionnaire is left to the respondent (Neuman, 1997).
In order to minimise these disadvantages, the questionnaires would be distributed by
\ colleagues of the researcher who agreed to assist in maximising their return. In addition
to the main question to be answered, the questionnaire would be used to provide a
broader understanding of the context in which sexual revictimisation among "coloured"
women occurs. To this end, the following categories of investigation are included in the
research questions:
prevalence of child sexual abuse within the population of women targeted
prevalence of sexual revictimisation within this same population
who are the perpetrators
at what age/s did the abuse occur
in what form was the abuse
for how long did the abuse continue
what action was taken
what were the effects of the abuse
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what coping mechanisms were used
what help was offered
Other questions related to the identity and history of the population group targeted and
the content of these questions were biographical, demographic and attitudinal.
There has been a long debate about open versus closed questions in survey research
(Neuman, 1997). Closed-ended questions may be both quicker and easier for researchers
and respondents, yet something important may be lost when an individual's beliefs and
feelings are forced into a few fixed categories that a researcher has created. However,
sensitive topics, such as sexual abuse, may be more accurately measured with closed
questions (Neuman, 1997).
These problems may be overcome by mixing open-ended and closed-ended questions, as
well as the use of partially open questions which offer a set of fixed choices with a final
open choice of "other", which allows respondents to offer an answer that the researcher
did not include (Neuman, 1997). In this study use will be made of open-ended, closed-
ended and partially open questions, organised into response categories in order to obtain
the data. Within the scope of this dissertation, it is only possible to distribute 35 of these
questionnaires and so caution in generalising the results of this survey would be another
important limitation.
The final question of the questionnaire would request respondents to indicate whether
they would be interested in participating in further research. Those which meet with
specific criteria (as outlined in the section on qualitative research) would then be
approached for the next phase of the research.
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6.3.2 SAMPLE
The method of sampling selected for use in this study is nonprobability purposive
sampling (Neuman, 1997). This method of sampling is particularly appropriate since it
may prove difficultto obtain large numbers of sexually victimised "coloured" women,
who may be both hard to reach and unwilling to participate in research. Out of this
population, it may also prove difficult to randomly select a group which would be
entirely representative of all sexually victimised "coloured" women. However, it may be
possible to purposively select locations where victimised "coloured" women may be
located and investigate a sample of this group. In addition to purposive sampling,
snowball sampling may be used, where friends of the respondents are asked to
participate. The purpose of these sampling methods is less to generalise to a larger
population, than it is to gain a broad understanding of the context within which sexual
revictimisation occurs.
Although it may be considered that all categorising is arbitrary and that it may be
impossible to obtain a true cross-section of the "coloured" female revictimised
community, it is nevertheless necessary to take into consideration the multidimensional
nature of this sample (Mason, 1996). The dimensions which this study includes are:
Spatial or geographic dimensions - the location would be the Institute for Social
and Health Services in Eldorado Park Extension 4, where the community is
offered counselling facilities and where "coloured" women who have experienced
sexual victimisation may be located.
Cultural, historical, linguistic, social and community dimensions - due to the
Population Registration Act of 1950, many members of the "coloured"
community are located in this area of Johannesburg. However, their cultural,
historical, linguistic, social and community dimensions are fairly heterogeneous.
Experiential dimensions - although the "coloured" women who present for
counselling at the I.S.H.S. would not all be sexually victimised, it is likely that
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some of them may have been, and thus this may be a likely location for them to be
found. In addition, their experiences are likely to have similarities.
Gender and age dimensions - questionnaires would only be presented to
"coloured" adult women.
6.3.3 DATA ANALYSIS
In this study it is aimed that this research methodology generates data which will provide
a broad understanding of the context in which "coloured" women who have been abused
as children, experience re-victimisation as adults. In addition it is aimed that additional
data of a broad nature will provide information with regard to patterns, trends, prevalence
and attitudes towards child sexual abuse and revictimisation of women survivors in the
"coloured" community of Eldorado Park.
The data collected from these questionnaires will be analysed by means of descriptive
statistics in the form of numerically categorised and tabulated data. Tables which
indicate percentage frequency distributions will organise the data in graphic form. Due to
the small number of questionnaires which will be distributed, it is unlikely that the results
will be statistically significant and therefore generalisable to the broader population
(Neuman, 1997). In addition, the statistical analysis can only be done by using non-
parametric statistics and therefore the results are not generalisable. However, the results
are used in this study to provide some indication of the context of sexual victimisation
.within the "coloured" community. They are also used to provide a comparative analysis
with the qualitative research in this study, as well as with other research on sexual
revictimisation.
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6.4 QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGY - THE RE-TELLING AND
RE-AUTHORING OF STORIES
Qualitative research as opposed to quantitative research provides a rich source of data.
Rapmund (1996), in a brief review of social science research describes qualitative
research as more constructive, generative, inductive and subjective than quantitative
research. According to Moon, Dillon and Sprenkle (1990), qualitative research reflects
a phenomenological perspective and researchers (co-authors) attempt to understand the
meaning of complex events, actions and interactions in context, from the point of view of
the participant (narrator) herself They add that "these researchers look for universal
principles by examining a small number of cases intensively" (p. 358). In addition, the
qualitative researcher also tries to understand phenomena in a holistic way and may be
characterised by the following:
They are informed by a multitude of theories. A specific epistemology guides the
researcher, giving her a specific lens for looking at the world. A specific qualitative
approach, for example, a constructivist inquiry, also referred to as hermeneutics by
Crabtree and Miller (1992), is undergirded by an epistemology which is consistent with -
the methodology.
The purpose of the research is clearly stated before the research project is
commenced. Questions tend to be open-ended and discovery oriented and may change as
the study proceeds. Questions tend to focus on "what" rather than "why", and are more
suitable for telling and re-telling stories. The focus is not on linear causality but on
context, and events and actions are viewed integratively.
The role of the researcher is more active and participatory than in quantitative
research. Researchers develop close relationships with participants who also play a more
active and egalitarian role. Researchers clarify their roles and acknowledge their biases
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and the influences of their own stories.
Researchers prefer to look at a few select cases which highlight individual
differences and context.
Data is collected using both interactive and noninteractive methods. Data is usually
visual and/or verbal rather than statistical. Data is collected by means of interviews,
observations or document analyses, and can be in the form of transcripts, audio or video
tapes.
Data can be analysed in various ways so that patterns can be discerned. In some
cases elaborate coding systems are used. Patterns and themes emerge from, rather than
being imposed on data. The researcher needs first hand knowledge of the data, and this
approach is time and labour intensive.
The results are usually in the form of statements, assertions, discovered theory or
categorical systems.
The goal is to re-create the reality studied, and does not suggest that this is the
ultimate truth.
Reliability in qualitative research refers to trustworthiness and credibility of
observations and data. Stiles (1993) suggests that reliability of qualitative research can
be assessed in terms of the following strategies:
"Disclosure of orientation" which refers to the researcher's specific orientation
including expectations for the study, preconceptions, values or theoretical allegiance.
"Explication of social and cultural context" which refers to the investigation's
context.
"Description of internal processes of investigation" refers to the investigator's internal
processes or the impact of the research on the researcher.
"Engagement with the material" refers to the researcher's relationship with the
participants in the study as well as with the material. The researcher needs to establish a
relationship of trust whereby she seeks to understand the world from the perspective of
the participants.
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(e) "Iteration: Cycling between interpretation and observation" which refers to the
"dialogue" between theories or interpretations and the participants or text.
(0 "Grounding of interpretations" which refers to the linking of interpretations to the
content and context, for example, themes are linked with examples from the interview
text.
(g) "Ask 'what' not 'why' questions" which grounds experiences in a context and is more
suitable for telling stories (pp. 602-607).
(10) validity refers to the trustworthiness of the interpretations or conclusions which are
made. Stiles (1993) mentions the following strategies with regard to the validity of
qualitative research:
"Triangulation" which refers to information from multiple data sources, multiple data
collection and analysis methods, and/or multiple investigators.
"Coherence" which refers to the quality and consistency of interpretations.
"Uncovering; self-evidence" refers to making sense and the degree to which the story
bears fruit.
"Testimonial validity" refers to the validity obtained from the participants themselves.
"Catalytic validity" refers to the degree to which the research process makes sense to
the participants and leads to their growth and change .
(0 "Reflexive validity" refers to the way in which the researcher's way of thinking is
changed by the data (pp. 608-613).
Within the scope of this study, these guidelines for reliability and validity will be adhered
to as much as possible.
6.4.1 CONSTRUCTIVISM AND RESEARCH
While the quantitative analysis provides a broad understanding of the concept of
revictimisation, the qualitative approach takes a narrower but more in-depth view. This
re-telling of the story involves "creating a meaning for the whole, for grasping subtle
shades of meaning, for pulling together divergent information, and for switching
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perspectives." (Neuman, 1997, p.331). The quantitative methodology provides a broad
but predominantly modernist and linear view of the context, while the qualitative
approach leans towards a more postmodern view and provides an in-depth view of
personal stories, how specific individuals view their experience and how they construct
or create meaning and survive their experience (Mason, 1996). To this end, both the co-
author and the narrators are involved in the co-construction of reality. Shared meanings
which fit with the ideas of both co-author and narrators emerge, and these were informed
by ideas from both their historical, social and cultural contexts (Hoffman, 1990; Von
Glasserfield, 1984 in Rapmund, 1996).
A qualitative research approach is consistent with postmodernism and constructivism, the
dominant theoretical perspective of this part of the study, whereby the stories of the
narrators are told through the co-author's lens, whereafter the co-author gives her account,
and re-tells the stories. Rapmund (1996) outlines the implications of constructivism for
research in the human sciences:
The researcher is never free of her own bias, and includes herself in the description of
the system,
as the researcher interacts with the participants, she becomes part of what is being
observed. She therefore has some impact on their perceived realities, while at the same
time, the participants have an impact on the researcher's perceived realities.
both the realities of the researcher and the participants are informed by their own ideas,
as well as the ideas of their social and cultural contexts,
the researcher needs to be aware of how social and cultural discourses contribute to the
participant's and her own belief systems,
the researcher's epistemological frame and theoretical knowledge will colour what she
sees,
meaning is recursive in the language, conversation and storytelling between the
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researcher and participants,
the researcher constructs her reality of what she perceives life must be like for the
participants, and then proceeds to reconstruct that reality by imposing her interpretation
and experience of the participant on to the participant herself,
certain realities, such as physical sexual abuse, exist which are independent of the
perception thereof
6.4.2 NARRATING THE STORIES
Although it is acknowledged that there are many ways of telling stories, the co-author
subscribes to the view that no story is completely neutral and that the process of
storytelling is an active process which takes place between the narrator, the co-author, the
reader and the content of the story.
The role of the co-author is therefore "participant-facilitator" (Real, 1990, p. 259). This
perspective stresses that the position of the co-author is not outside, but inside the system
being investigated. Thus the role of the co-author both participates in and facilitates the
process of story-telling. The ethical stance required is one of respect and humility, to
take personal responsibility for oneself within the system, and the realisation that the
discourse is co-constructed rather than idiosyncratic (Real, 1990). This ethical stance has
particular relevance for the study of sexual revictimisation, which is sensitive in nature.
Research has shown that victims of abuse often experience secondary abuse during
criminal procedures (against the perpetrator) or during research (Wattam, Hughes and
Blagg, 1989; Collings, 1991). The aim is not to re-traumatise the narrators, but to co-
construct meaning with them. It is hoped and has been an endeavour, that this research
exercise also has therapeutic benefit for each narrator. To this end continuing therapy
will be offered to each woman.
The role of the author, reader and text are particularly different in postmodern social
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science. Postmodern literature refers to "the death of the author", and "the birth of the
reader" (Rosenau, 1992, p. 25). It is in this context that the reader and the text are
privileged as being part of the re-authoring and re-constructing processes, together with
the narrators and co-author. In other words, the reader will be involved in constructing
her own themes and interpretations as she reads the text. In addition, the text will play a
role in the dialectic - "the reader may construct the text, but the text in turn controls the
encounter" (Rosenau, 1992, p. 25). Thus the narrators, the co-author, the reader and the
text are inter-referential and switch places easily. The stories of the narrators manipulate
both the co-author and the reader, who in turn manipulate different meanings. The
meaning thus resides not in the text, in the narrators, the co-author, nor the reader, but in
the interaction between all the players.
"The postmodern reader enters at centre stage and assumes an unprecedented autonomy.
No longer is the reader a passive subject to be entertained, instructed or amused. S/he is
given the freedom to attribute meaning to the text without consequence or responsibility.
But postmodernists do not seek to constitute the reader as a new centre of author(ity).
Nor is the reader permitted to set up a meta-narrative or establish a new foundation for
knowledge because postmodern readers are equal in the sense that none can claim special
expertise or insight. In the extreme, all readings are equivalent" (Rosenau, 1992, p. 26).
In this sense the reader is invited to contribute to the process of re-authoring and re-
constructing the story of sexual revictimisation together with the modern research
subjects and data, and the postmodern narrators, co-author and the stories themselves.
6.4.3 SELECTING THE NARRATORS
Purposive sampling, unique case and convenience selection would be used in the
selection of the narrators. The narrators would be selected from the pool of people who
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participate in the quantitative phase of the research and who volunteer themselves for
further research. These narrators would be selected because they are able to provide rich
descriptions of their personal experience of sexual revictimisation within their context.
Three "coloured" women would be purposively selected according to the following
criteria:
They have been abused as children
They have been revictimised as adults
They have some knowledge of their historical background
They have or are undergoing therapy. It is important that the narrators have
attained a satisfactory level of functioning in addition to a degree of insight as
determined by themselves and their therapists.
Within the qualitative phase of the research, it is acknowledged that the narrators may not
fully represent all "coloured" female survivors of child sexual abuse who have been
revictimised, and all child sexual abuse experiences contain numerous variables, as do
revictimisation experiences. While the narrators may not represent all women who fall
into this category, their stories may encapsulate a relevant range of experiences and
interpretations which may find consensus among other similar groups. Each individual
narrator has a unique story which is not expected to be representative for other women
simply because they have had similar experiences. However, their meaning and
understanding of their experiences may serve to contribute to richer descriptions of
sexual revictimisation. In some cases pseudonyms may be used to protect the identity of
the narrators and to ensure confidentiality, in other cases narrators may choose to use
their real names.
6.4.4 THE INTERVIEW
de Sola Pool (1957) suggests that every interview is an "interpersonal drama with a
developing plot" (in Silverman, 1997, p. 120). This metaphor offers a more active
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approach to interviewing than the traditional approach - here the interview is more active
and seen as a means for constructing and not merely discovering or conveying
information. From this perspective, interview participants (including the co-author and
the narrators) are involved in interpreting and ordering their experiences into meaningful
wholes and each new situation and interaction is assimilated and accommodated with
existing structures and resources. Active interviewing therefore "is a form of interpretive
practice involving respondent (narrator) and interviewer (co-author) as they articulate
ongoing interpretive structures, resources and orientations ...(this) implies that while
reality is continually 'under construction', it is assembled using the interpretive sources at
hand" (Silverman, 1997, p.121, brackets mine). The narrator in the study is no longer
viewed as an object to be studied, but rather as an active interpreting participant, and the
co-author is not viewed as an objective observer, but rather as an interpreting co-
constructor of meaning.
A caveat - the interview does not become the sole means of interpretation. However the
interview provides the possibility that meanings relating to the particular research
concerns may be addressed, where alternative considerations or narratives may be
explored. "This is not to say that active interviewers merely coax their respondents into
preferred answers to the questions" (Silverman, 1997, p.122). Rather the co-author
makes suggestions, offers linkages, invites exploration and interpretation towards "thick"
rather than "thin" conclusions (White, 1997, p. 15). The object is not to control or dictate
interpretation, but to create an atmosphere conducive to the production of a greater range
and complexity of meanings.
The approach is a collaborative and active one where both narrator and co-author
exchange questions and answers moving towards shifting positions and alternative
narratives. The co-author sets general parameters, constraining as well as provoking
answers. The co-author does not "tell respondents what to say, but offers them pertinent
125
ways of conceptualizing issues and making connections - that is, suggests possible
horizons of meaning and narrative linkages that coalesce into the emerging responses"
(Silverman, 1997, p.124). While the narrator may at times stray from the topic of
research, is it the co-authors job to re-direct and contain the constructive storytelling to
the research task at hand.
This methodology may be criticised as being open to contamination and bias, however
because meaning making is unavoidably collaborative, it is virtually impossible to free
any interaction from bias or contamination. More importantly, because there is no search
for any authentic reality or scientific truth, the results of the interview are recognised as
indigenous and one possible or alternative way of articulating experience which may or
may not have commonality with other alternative narratives (Mason, 1996). In order to
facilitate the articulation of alternative narratives, Michael White's (1995) method of
externalising questions will be made use of.
The research questions which therefore undergird (but may not be directly posed) the
enquiry would include:
"How do these coloured women who have survived child sexual abuse, and who are
victims of further sexual revictimisation understand and make meaning of their
experiences"?
"What connections do they make between the child sexual abuse and later sexual
revictimisation experiences, and what other connections do they make with their culture
and history"?
"How do they integrate their experiences into their lives"?
Research has revealed the difficulty of imposing a structured interview format upon
participants (Hooper, 1992). Therefore an unstructured, story-telling approach in line
126
with constructivist and narrative thought may be adopted. This means starting the
interview with one standard question and following the narrator's lead from there. Story
telling as a method of interviewing gives more control over the process to the narrator
and also allows experience to be related in context, instead of fractured by the co-author's
questions (Hooper, 1992). "The switch from the personal testimony to the extravagant
tale is not difficult to detect, yet it provides the teller with a way of controlling the release
of information about herself In a situation of inequality, both honest stories and
fabricated tales are resources by which informants can redress the balance of power"
(Hooper, 1992, p.26).
6.4.5 RE-AUTHORING THE STORIES
"Analysis of qualitative data is always a personal activity involving interpretation as well
as the attempt to understand and represent faithfully the world of research participants as
they construct it" (Hooper, 1992, p.29). Data analysis (or the re-authoring of stories) is a
process whereby order, structure and meaning is imposed on the mass of data (or stories)
that have been collected or recorded. It is described as "a messy, ambiguous, time-
consuming, creative and fascinating process" (Marshall and Rossman, 1995, p. 111).
The interpretation of stories is related to hermeneutics, a theory of meaning that
originated in the nineteenth century. The term comes from the god Hermes in Greek
mythology, who had the task of communicating the desires of the gods to mortals. It
literally means making what is obscure plain (Blakie, 1993). Hermeneutics, as a method
of interpretation emphasises the human experiences of understanding and elucidation and
is presented as detailed stories ("thick descriptions"), which serve as vignettes of
everyday practices and "lived experiences" (White, 1997, p. 15). These practices and
experiences are identified, described and interpreted within their given contexts.
According to Neuman (1997, p. 68), hermeneutics "emphasizes a detailed reading or
examination of text, which could refer to a conversation, written words or pictures. A
127
researcher conducts 'a reading to discover meaning embedded within text. Each reader
brings his or her subjective experience to a text. When studying the text, the
researcher/reader tries to absorb or get inside the viewpoint it presents as a whole, and
then develop a deep understanding of how its parts relate to the whole". In other words,
real meaning is not simply obvious by reading the text. It is only through a detailed study
of the text, understanding it's many messages, and through seeking connections among
it's parts that real meaning of the whole is found.
Modem hermeneutics was developed by Heidegger (1962) and Gadamer (1976) as a
general philosophy of human understanding and interpretation. This method recognises
that people are embedded within a social, cultural and historical context which affects
how they make sense of their world. Hermeneutics is the method of story re-
construction selected for this study. It is coherent with a constructivist approach in which
a constructivist inquirer enters an interpretive circle and must be both apart from and part
of the discourse (Rapmund, 1996). This method does not have a set of prescribed
techniques, but does follow some basic assumptions and does involve some guidelines
which have been adapted from Rapmund (1996, p. 120).
The assumptions include:
the narrators give meaning to the stories of their lives
meaning is not only expressed verbally
the process of giving meaning is informed by the personal and social context, and
language
meaning is not fixed, but dynamic and changes over time and in different contexts
making sense of the world through interpretation involves the interpreter's values and
may not correspond to any notion of objective reality.
The guidelines for interpretation include:
128
• the co-author reads all the stories of each narrator to get a feeling for the whole. The
co-author needs to immerse herself in the narrators' world so that she can make sense
of it
the stories for each narrator are summarised and excerpts from the original text are
used to support the proposed themes that the co-author has identified
dialoguing occurs between what the co-author reads, the context of the narrators,
between the co-author and her supervisor and other colleagues, between the co-author
and the story, and between her own values, assumptions, interpretations,
understandings and her own story
the co-author maintains a constantly questioning attitude, looking for
misunderstandings, deeper meanings, alternative meanings, and changes over time, as
she iterates between elements of the text and the whole text, in many cycles called the
"hermeneutic cycle" (Tesch in Rapmund, 1996, p. 121)
the final result is a narrative account of the narrator's experiences which reflect the
whole story, shorter exemplars of the story and the identification of common themes
from the stories, with the use of excerpts from the stories to substantiate those themes.
In this study, it is aimed that the process of re-construction may occur in a number of
stages or steps:
Step 1.
Each narrated story is transcribed and read and re-read numerous times, then a summary
telling the main events of the story or narrative is compiled. This involves re-arranging
much of the story to follow a developmental path containing an introduction, a main plot
and a conclusion. This closely follows a framework borrowed from narrative
methodology known as the "landscape of action" (White, 1995, p. 31).
"All accounts serve a purpose, actively constructing a version of reality. Individual life
histories are rarely simply the recording of events, but involve the interpretation of the
129
past to make sense of the present. They therefore vary as the present changes, and
accounts need to be understood in terms of their current meaning in a person's biography"
(Hooper, 1992, p.29).
This step focuses on the unique stories and personal context, and may be referred to as
the co-author's "re-telling" of the story.
Step 2.
The second step is the re-authoring of the story and has been adapted from Miles and
Huberman (1994) and Russell (1997) where a case analysis format was used to identify
themes
impressions
patterns
connections
contextual considerations
social, cultural and historical influences
inferences
rules, norms or beliefs
within each narrated vignette. This is an ongoing process involving a great deal of
interaction between the co-author and the story, and in some cases further clarification
may be obtained from the narrators in follow up interviews. This step moves from the
"landscape of action" to the "landscape of Consciousness" where both co-author and
narrator are involved in an "externalising discourse" (White, 1995, pp. 22 and 31). This
is the co-construction of a narrative journey towards a deeper and more meaningful
understanding about the events or life-story of the narrator (White, 1995). This process is
extremely lengthy and difficult and it may not always be possible to translate the story
into neat, tidy, labelled variable& It is important to view the story within the unique and
personal context of the life of the narrator and if taken in isolation would not express the
complex interpretive concept in any meaningful sense (Mason, 1996).
130
Step 3.
The third step involves the generation of explanations, speculations and ideas about the
stories both within and between narrations. Once again this may be an ongoing process
which begins with the first story, involving the narrator's understandings as well as the
co-author's reflections. This step moves beyond the unique and personal context, to a
more general context where common themes are identified. This step involves the
process of iteration and moves towards locating alternative interpretations, explanations,
differences and similarities within and between stories. All the co-constructed stories are
then integrated into a conceptual whole where dominant themes, discourses, meanings
and connections are summarised (Maykut and Morehouse, 1994).
Step 4.
This is to integrate the various and numerous alternative possibilities of interpretation and
reflection about these stories, with other stories (quantitative research results, previous
studies and literature) that have been told about sexual revictimisation. This integration
would be towards a comparative analysis or re-constructed story and may provide an
alternative story about "coloured" survivors of sexual revictimisation. This may
contribute to the formulation of a conceptual framework within which it may be possible
to further understand sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women.
6.5 RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH
6.5.1 QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
6.5.1.1 Sample and data collection
Using purposive sampling and convenience selection, 35 questionnaires were distributed
to three psychology interns working at the Institute for Social and Health Services in
Eldorado Park. They were asked to request their female "coloured" clients who
131
presented themselves for counselling to complete the questionnaires. However, only 5 of
these 35 questionnaires were returned completed to the researcher. It was originally
intended that only members of the Eldorado Park area be included in this study.
However, the poor response necessitated the inclusion of a broader population group. A
further 35 questionnaires were then distributed through the use of a snowball sampling
method, through a "coloured" psychology student to members of her community both in
Eldorado Park and Riverlea (a residential area adjacent to Eldorado Park). Out of these
35 questionnaires distributed, 34 were returned completed. The population sampled
therefore represented a broader range of "coloured" women, 5 of whom had presented
themselves to the I.S.H.S. for counselling, and 34 of whom were found on the bias of
snowball sampling. Of the 70 questionnaires sent out, 39 were returned completed.
Table 6.1 gives a breakdown of the sample according to age, standard of education,
occupation, marital status and area of residence.
Standard li -r :17-5ie27-A `"'of '''- -- t
4
-,
... , . 'Occupation .„„ rair . __ ,
a
i:Itsif ' c- = statuses
,--2- 4A-realofe t''. 4 e 4 ,
-1-----t— M'e residence -41 -:--, -..-- __ —.y.
4— -- -- ucatieinl --, , ,--,-4.--.
_ =
. -....._. -. --/=---- ■-e----Th -az
Below 20
Below Std. 5
--3 Administration -48•ri =
Single ill ' • Eldorado Park
21=
21-30 -20f --3.- Std. 5 - 7 :::--'81 Technical _ A Married Riverlea N2-a - -.
31 -40 Std. 8 :- LOT- Sales - Separated 2 +- -
Ennerdale
41-50 7 = Std. 9 Professional - 74.-- ; Divorced -i3r2-° Braam- fontein
r i1.1
Std. 10+ 5 Student Living together -
Mayfair 4=1 i-----
Housewife Widowed Westbury -
Unknown 4 , .
Total '-39 Total ' -39 Total 39-. Total ;-,39- Total _ _
Table 6.1
COMPOSITION OF [In SAMPLE Of TERMS OF BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
132
6.5.1.2 Data Analysis
The data generated from the questionnaire was analysed by means of frequency
distribution tables. A plethora of data was generated from the sample, however only that
data which was relevant to this particular study was analysed.
6.5.1.2.1 Child sexual abuse, adult sexual abuse and sexual revictimisation frequencies
Of the 39 questionnaires that were completed and returned, 13 respondents were abused
as children, and 14 respondents were abused as adults. Out of the 13 abused as children,
9 were also abused as adults. Table 6.2 gives a breakdown of these figures in terms of
percentages.
Number abused as children
Number abused as Adults
Number revictimised (abused as children and as adults)
N: 39 13 14 9
% of total sample
N: 39 33.33% 35.89% 23.07%
N 13
% of abused group 100.00% 100.00%
69:23W
_.
Table 6.2
COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE IN TERMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE,
ADULT SEXUAL ABUSE AND REVICTIMISATION
133
Table 6.2 indicates that out of the total sample of 39 respondents, 33.33% were sexually
abused as children, and 35.89% were abused as adults. Of the 13 respondents who were
abused as children, 69.23% of them were revictimised as adults.
6.5.1.2.2 Child Sexual Abuse characteristics
Of the 13 respondents who were abused as children, 61.53% were abused by a relative
and 38,46% were abused by a stranger. (The term "relative" includes either an immediate
family member such as father or mother, as well as other family members such as uncles
or grandparents, outside the immediate family). A friend of the family abused a small
percentage.
The majority of respondents (61.53%) were sexually abused between the ages of 6 and 10
years old. Out of this group, 53,84% were abused for less than six months, and 15.38%
were sexually abused for more than two years. None of the respondents indicated that the
sexual abuse was continuing. However, 76,92% of those sexually abused as children
took no action, that is, did nothing about the abuse.
The effects of the child sexual abuse and how they coped, as reported by the 13
respondents were broadly described in response to an open-ended question. These
responses are included in Table 6.3. The coping strategies used by the 13 respondents
who were sexually abused as children are also indicated in Table 6.3.
134
_eors-ToE61illdr.Seiti ibtinetr-42 4-
fbaiinbtriwkiriei-perieneetTeffeet - --- -s----- -- =, :-r- ---
Anger, hate and aggression 5
Shame 4
Hurt 2
Lost schooling 1
Felt dirty 2
Withdrawal 1
Lost trust in men 5
Overprotective 2
Physical shame 1
Secrecy 5
Fear 1
C NatiliefitiffainPlerWli6Alsecr -opingstrategies ---._ — —nt"Mtrite4 4
Forgot 7
Prayed 6
Hurt back 1
Counselling 4
Accepted it 5
Table 6.3
COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE OF SEXUALLY ABUSED AS CHILDREN IN
TERMS OF THE EFFECTS AND COPING STRATEGIES
135
6.5.1.2.3 Adult Sexual Abuse characteristics
Of the 14 respondents who were abused as adults, 50% were sexually abused by an
immediate family member, in most cases their husband. The majority of this group
(57.14%) were between the ages of 18 and 25 years when they were abused. Table 6.4
indicates the types of sexual abuse experienced by those sexually abused as adults,
highlighting that the majority (35.71%) experienced sexual assault. Out of this group,
50% took no action, that is, did nothing about the sexual abuse, while 28.57% reported
the incidents to the police or sought counselling.
'li7ficroftsbrial —
: — il#: 14. - 1---L-...- '-'-='—' 1 .e..1 0 111k-m- berrofisamplem
,,,,an,••, ..,2 ,:mre. Reicentage:.or ____.
„___,,,:-.4,—*`-' -w--•?7 i-_nr -------a .--- _ twhorexpethencedghisi = _ rreiiibtuinsation - sample who --4-..r.....,.,--_---c.
zexperiencedithisitypez 1---.-1-n,.t. ...----::al ---- type Sexual harassment 2 14.28%
Sexual assault 5 3.5 7.1%
Rape 3 = 21.42%
Non-consensual touching
2 14.28%
Attempted rape 2 14.28%
Total 14 100.00%
Table 6.4
COMPOSITION OF THE SEXUALLY ABUSED ADULT SAMPLE IN TERMS
OF THE TYPES OF SEXUAL ABUSE
136
The effects of sexual abuse on the sample of abused adults are indicated in Table 6.5, and
this table also includes how these women coped with their experiences.
zEffettslaidtiltisexual Flgumbemwhozexperieneedf,-- ,_ { abuse a - __ , it ect, -..-,------ Anger 6
Divorce 2
Fear 2
Dislike sex 3
Mistrust 4
More alert 1
Avoidance 1
Badly 4
iCOratnglisiralegteicT-F --" 1- --• .... ._ ,..-- .--ttiL■Iiiiibereof:saniple:,WliK : -7=----- ' rtritir t — ,,,,,,temuse i a egyera,
Forgot 6
Accepted 3
Prayed 5
Revenge 1
Counselling 3
Table 6.5
COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE OF SEXUALLY ABUSED AS ADULTS IN
TERMS OF IHE EFFECTS AND COPING STRATEGIES
137
6.5.1.2.4 Comparisons of community responses to child and adult sexual abuse
According to the sample of women who responded to the questionnaires, both child and
adult sexual abuse, are mainly viewed by the community with anger and disgust. Table
6.6 indicates, from the respondent's perspective, how the communities view child sexual
abuse and adult sexual abuse.
*-Vitatalha----- Number of sample . • •
with this view ,k-Migiiii5Lthlrf-- Number of sample
with t is view =,:, t . i - r,s-r3.,eazuga,Lia-r,._. ., 90111n11•11qtyatowa_rdstitt icommunityAtoward0 thiEdfittilidraiiii-a tfr-‘,..,wid;--'5,- ---
NadultseThricarabiitin --, 4FAccordth4gitol factb-rcliE ato :
--,-,--,g- wings ----cr .t.samplei=-,, -„;,..y.-a.,-,-...._-,,, _sample-,
28 - 27 Fgrigir Anger =
24 21 t 4)IS - ibis s ----,c-- . --,„ -
1 3 %Thlail.1-4 -7t -L--7-/ =Tolerance -_-__ --_,-
Igh biiiii 2 3 _Ignore if=- --------,-- ..._;,_-_-_•,.„-: __
rd 2 1 Eear 4 o—n : - - _k - ----ki, _
_ —
1 .- - - iiiielifa- _ _ .i.
Table 6.6
COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE IN TERMS OF THEIR PERSPECTIVES OF
HOW THE COMMUNITY VIEWS CHILD AND ADULT SEXUAL ABUSE
138
Table 6.7 indicates, from the respondent's perspectives, what kinds of helping options are
provided for the victim of abuse by the community.
Number of sample with this view
IffelPtaffertift f-:.yibii -rfiSCT5frda
Number of sample with this view
AfelplOfferdct:toie-4-; ._ --- n---,-.-------: , ' .,vietiiiisieflehild:-. .--e.,-,-=--..-- rsexUakabliserbSiit e isexual abuse iy ther-, commum-tya. '-Ti ;corninuty.- --jadbotdnig,,toithe taccor riggoa
--- Tjsamplew,----.,_ ple -r - .sample
"'= _
- - - --- 16 Itornselliire :-Counsellin - - ----
14 12 5 ' athaligigistglie_ tsisa icaltassis ------,-
13 22 iPolcceilaillante-z ss - ?.Police:assistance-s--- - —._,.
_ _ _ - 7 _ . _ __ .. _
2 wLegal =.- istance 4 iLegaLassistancer-:,
4 5 -- - -einiinunitfan--- 'Community ' = assistance -: :assistance
16 'Taiiiil_kraii;itancei-- _ - , 15 iiiiilYiratitiliatiCet • ' --'t -• ,s --4--. - .---- .:_7,. 7 -
_ 1 — - - =Nothing- 3 Nothing
E a ika.161-17— ' _ -a 1 S
Table 6.7
COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE IN TERMS OF THEIR VIEWS OF
HOW THE CONLMUNITY ASSISTS VICTIMS OF CHILD AND ADULT
SEXUAL ABUSE
139
6.5.1.2.5 "Coloured" Identity
Out of the 39 respondents, 33 or 84,61% indicated that they would rather be called
"Coloured" in preference to any other label. Of the 6 remaining respondents, 1
indicated a preference for the label "so-called coloured", 2 indicated a preference for the
term "of mixed origin", and 3 indicated a preference for being called "South African".
In terms of their ancestry, 79.48% of the respondents had some knowledge of their
ancestry. 56.41% indicated European ancestry which accounted for their mixed racial
heritage, the most common being German ancestry. Only one respondent reported
knowledge of her ancestry to colonial history, where the family has been able to trace
their origins to a union between a Norwegian immigrant and a Malaysian slave girl.
6.5.1.2.6 Other variables
The questionnaire offered counselling to any of the respondents who required it. Out of
the 39 respondents, 10 requested counselling. One of these respondents indicated a
willingness to participate in further research and her story has been included in the
qualitative phase of this study.
Despite the sensitive nature of this research, and the fact that 33.33% of the respondents
experienced child sexual abuse and 35.89% experienced adult sexual abuse, 89.74% of
the respondents indicated that their family relationships were close, happy and stable. In
addition, 41.02% indicated that the consumption of alcohol caused numerous problems in
their family ranging from relationship problems, violence, sexual abuse and financial
difficulties. Furthermore, 23.07% of the respondents indicated that someone in their
family was or had been involved with drugs and 20.51% indicated that there was
someone else in the family besides themselves who had been sexually abused.
140
6.5.2 QUALITATIVE RESULTS
6.5.2.1 Selecting and interviewing the Narrator•
Locating narrators to partake in this phase of the research proved more difficult than
expected. The responses to the quantitative questionnaire did not generate the expected
volunteer participants, and so the process of locating and inviting narrators to participate
was done through the Institute for Child and Adult Guidance (I.C.A.G.) at the Rand
Afrikaans University. This meant that although all participants were coloured, they did
not all reside in the same geographical area of Eldorado Park. Therapists working at the
I.C.A.G. were approached and asked whether any of their "coloured" female clients had
experienced sexual abuse, and if they would be willing to participate in this research.
Those who were approached were offered free counselling as well as a fee for telling
their story.
Permission was obtained from each narrator to audiotape the interview. None of them
objected and signed consent was obtained. Each narrator was interviewed at their own
choice of venue, one took place at her work, one at the I.C.A.G. and one at the co-
author's home. The interview provided the context for a relationship to develop between
the co-author and the narrator, and the quality of this relationship contributed to both
therapeutic value and the validity of the research. The interview was flexible and was
adapted to each individual's situation. The narrators were invited to tell their stories.
This did not mean that they told the entire story of their lives, but recounted only those
parts which were relevant according to them. In addition, the co-author kept the story
within the boundaries of the subject of investigation, that of sexual revictimisation within
the "coloured" worldview. The process of the interview was coaxed along where
necessary with very open-ended questions or statements such as "tell me more", "how do
you understand that", "what happened then" etc. The first interview with the first narrator
took approximately 90 minutes and was tape-recorded. This interview was then
141
transcribed and read numerous times in order to identify preliminary themes, gaps in
events or in the plot or areas where further exploration would be necessary. This narrator
was contacted for a second interview where clarification of detail, as well as further
exploration and interpretation of the material, took place between the narrator and co-
author. This was important since the story needed to follow or trace developmental
stages or issues and accessed in a way which could be usefully woven together in
explanatory form (Mason, 1996).
At this point the interview phase and the analysis phase of the methodology became
blurred. It was important to begin to identify emerging themes, connections and clusters
in an attempt to create some order from the array of concepts and ideas extracted from the
narrator's story. These themes as well as the developmental course of the first narrator's
interviews were used to inform the next series of interviews with subsequent narrators.
This follows an idiographic approach to analysis, beginning with particulars and limited
knowledge and slowly working towards possible commonalties and comparing
similarities and differences throughout the interview process (Smith, Hare and Van
Langenhove, 1995). In this methodological framework, story telling, re-telling, re-
authoring and co-constructing are developed simultaneously in a dialectical process
combining both deductive and inductive reasoning (Mason, 1996). Meanings were
explored and the co-author's understanding was continually checked. In keeping with
constructivism, the co-author and the narrators co-created meaning through the language
and conversation. These stories provided the co-author with an idea of the narrator's
orientation to life, the effects of abuse on their lives and relationships, their characteristic
way of dealing with problems, how they have survived their experiences and so on.
Subsequent interviews were then conducted with the two other narrators, these interviews
ranged from 60 to 90 minutes and from one to two separate sessions.
142
6.5.2.2 The Narrative Process
The following steps, which are linked to Rapmund's (1996), Miles and Huberman's
(1994) and Russell's (1997) aforementioned practices of story analysis were taken.
Step 1 Each story was told, audiotape recorded and then transcribed.
Step2 Each first narrated story was read and re-read numerous times, then a summary
re-telling the main events of each story was compiled by the co-author, with some
attempt to follow a developmental path containing an introduction, a main plot and a
conclusion. These summaries constituted the "landscape of action" (White, 1995, p. 31),
and have been called "re-tellings".
Step 3 The second part of the narrated story went beyond the "landscape of action" to
the "landscape of consciousness" (White, 1995, p. 31), whereby there was a re-authoring
of the narrative journey towards a deeper and more meaningful understanding about the
events of the story. The unique themes and the effects and meanings of sexual
revictimisation for each narrator were explored, as well as survival stories. This step was
called "re-authoring" the story.
Step 4 The re-tellings and re-authored stories were then read and re-read again, by the
co-author, who then elicited patterns and themes which were common to all three
narrator's experiences. These common themes revolved around the effects of
revictimisation, how these women made sense of their experiences, how they connected
their experiences, and the cornucopia of survival strategies which were adopted. This
step was called "co-constructing" the story of revictimisation, and contributed to the
cultural context of the study.
143
Step 5 This step involved comparing the co-constructed stories which contain the
general themes common to all three narrators, with the stories resulting from the
quantitative phase (a further contribution to the cultural context), as well as with the
literature on sexual revictimisation. This step moves away from the personal and unique
constructions of sexual revictimisation towards comparing the general themes within a
more universal context. This step has been called "re-constructing" the stories, and is
included in Chapter Seven.
6.5.2.3 RE-TELLINGS AND RE-AUTHORING OF THE STORIES
These stories are based on the transcribed interviews between the co-author and the
narrators. In this section, the setting and lead up to the interviews will be sketched and the
story of each narrator's abuse will be told. This will be followed by a brief account of the
co-author's impressions of each narrator. A discussion of the emerging themes will
follow. Throughout the re-telling, the narrator's own words will be used to support the
co-author's impressions.
(1) THE RE-TELLING OF MOTRAH'S STORY
Moirah chose to use her real name. She was especially adamant that the name be spelled
correctly with the "h" on the end, and refers to herself as coloured!' However, she did
agree that the names of her family members could be changed to protect their privacy.
The Setting
Moirah was willing .to participate in this study and agreed to meet with the co-author at
the I.C.A.G. after her therapy sessions with one of the Intern Psychologists. The first
interview took place without difficulty, however the subsequent interview was
eventually arranged after a number of failed attempts. Although willing to tell her story,
Moirah found the process difficult.
144
The co-author's impressions of Moirah
Moirah is petite and very fine boned. Her colouring is like melted honey and she speaks
with a fairly high pitched sing-song voice. She uses her eyes to express herself and
sometimes just answers a question with a big eyed expression! Moirah was willing to
tell her story because of the healing benefit to herself, and was very open and honest
about her experiences.
The co-author's story of Moirah's story
Moirah is a 27 year old coloured woman who was married for one year, and has been
separated for five. Moirah was born in Natal to coloured parents who were both Zulu and
English speaking. Her father was born to an Italian father and a Zulu mother; and her
mother was born to a German father and a Zulu mother. In both cases, the children were
born out of wedlock and the relationships were illegal according to the law at that time.
Both fathers made use of the sexual favours of the young Zulu girls then disappeared and
were not involved in the maintenance or upbringing of their children. Moirah has no
knowledge of her Italian and German grandfathers and their history, apart from their
surnames. She appears to be proud of her mixed ancestry, and sees herself as better than
other coloureds who come from more inferior stock. Moirah did not think much about
her grandmothers' being single mothers since it was accepted by the community. Both
her mother and father were the first children of mixed race in their community, and they
grew up together. Because of this similarity, so the story is told, their marriage was
arranged. Moirah has strong and fond memories of her grandmothers, especially her
paternal grandmother, who was generous, kind and fun. Moirah's parents were happily
married, and Moirah has a particularly good relationship with her father. Although she
and her mother are alike, in that they both have tempers, Moirah has never had a good
relationship with her mother, as a child she was afraid of her, especially of the beatings
which she received often, for little reason.
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As a young primary school child, Moirah and her siblings spent much of their time after
school at her uncle's house. It was during this time, for the period of a year, that she was
sexually abused by her uncle. Although Moirah knew a little about sex, she did not know
enough about it at the time to know what was done to her was wrong. She was sworn to
secrecy by her uncle who would have sex with her in the back yard, and then clean her
up. He would brush her hair and tell her that he didn't hurt her and that was okay and
other people did this all the time. She cannot remember feeling anything, except that she
wanted to go home. Moirah endured this abuse for about a year until they moved away.
She tried to forget about what had happened, and as a young teenager only came to a full
realisation that she had been raped when she saw a movie about a gang rape. However,
she did not think anyone would believe her after so long so she continued to keep the
secret for another twenty years. She tried to put it behind her. Also there were .other
more serious things happening at the time with her family. Her mother was shot by the
police during a raid on their house in the eighties, and lost her arm as a result. This
changed their lives radically since her mother was in hospital for a number of months,
and during that time, Moirah, who was 11, had to look after her younger siblings. Her
father was also arrested and imprisoned for almost a year for alleged political
involvement, which proved to be false. Nevertheless, during this time, Moirah and her
siblings lived with relatives. Moirah had no choice but to take her two year old sister to
school with her, since there was no-one to look after her. On her return home, her
mother's disability only served to worsen her violent temper and aggression.
After finishing High School, Moirah used commuter taxi transport to get to college where
she was doing a secretarial course. On one occasion, the taxi driver, an elderly man who
was known to her and the community, drove the taxi to a secluded building site and
attempted to rape her. She managed to get away but only after being physically hurt and
having to really fight for her life. Once again, Moirah kept this secret since she was
afraid that no-one would believe her and that it was her word against his. However, she
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did not use public transport alone again, and avoided the taxi driver who had attempted to
rape her.
At the age of 21, Moirah met an Indian policeman, fell in love and fell pregnant. She
married without her parents knowing, but felt guilty since her father was not able to walk -
down the aisle with her. Moirah has many regrets about her marriage to Abraham since
she knew he drank and was violent before she married him, and didn't listen to her own
voice of fear. But she felt she had no other choice. Her marriage lasted for one year, and
it was a time of much pain and fear. She was beaten regularly, raped and held at gun ..
point. She attempted to open a case against him when he threatened to shoot her and
their child, but was foiled in her attempt by other policemen who stuck by him. As a
result of this, Moirah finally found the courage to leave him, and plans to divorce him
when she has enough money. Moirah feels she has been effected by the many
experiences in her life. Her bad relationship with her mother has made her look for love
in all the wrong places. She is very aggressive and when she was married, often. held a
gun to her husband's head when he was sleeping. She thought of suicide often, or of
killing her husband and her child. She learnt not to cry or feel, and became hard and
insensitive. Moirah is worried about her relationship with her child, and that she is
repeating history by treating him just as her mother treated her. She feels that the wheels
were falling off her life, and knew she had to come for counselling before she really lost
it. She wants to find herself and feels she is now on the road to recovery.
RE-AUTHORING THE STORY - EMERGING THEMES
Theme of Revictimisation
The theme of revictimisation is clear in Moirah's story. She was sexually abused by her
uncle as a young girl, she then experienced an attempted rape as a young adult, and she
subsequently entered an abusive marriage where she was subject to violent abuse and
rape. However, Moirah does not initially construct any connection between these events:
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I don't really connect them, I mean I didn't ask to be
abused as a child. I was just at the wrong place at
the wrong time. I wonder if he's still doing it, I get
afraid when I think his wife was pregnant and had a
girl. ... The attempted rape was, well also the wrong
place and time - I suppose he chose me because I
was the youngest in the taxi, none of it has ever been
my fault, he must have planned it - I trusted him. ...
Abraham too, I trusted him. Maybe that's why -
I trusted too much. Not anymore, nope no-one,
except my Dad.
It appears that Moirah makes some connection between the three events through the
common thread of trusting the untrustworthy. However, she has not lost trust in her
father, and it appears that she holds onto the idea that it was not her fault, in other words,
the locus of responsibility for sexual revictimisation lies with the perpetrator, not with
herself, even though she may have trusted too much.
Another kind of revictimisation is also apparent in Moirah's story. One of her greatest
fears is that she will hurt her own child. Although this is not sexual revictimisation, it
appears that there is a possibility of Moirah perpetrating physical abuse against her own
child, as her mother did to her. Thus the cycle of violence threatens to continue across
the next generation.
When I come here David is not even allowed to cough in the
car ... I have beaten him blue before. This is my greatest fear,
that I am becoming just like my mother. Many times he does
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the cutest things you know, and I just can't stop stressing and
I take out all my anger against him.
Theme of Secrecy
Moirah was told by her uncle who abused her not to tell anybody about what he had done
to her. Although Moirah knew what was happening to her was sex and that these things
were not spoken about, she did not really know that what he had done was wrong,
especially since she had been convinced by her uncle that other people did it and that she
had not been hurt.
He would come and take me to the back of the yard and
tell me to lie down and then take off my clothes and he'd
have sex with me and he'd tell me to get up. He'd dust all
the grass off my clothes and he'd brush my hair and tell me
he didn't hurt me and it was okay and I mustn't tell anybody,
and that he'd fetch me tomorrow. I did not know enough
to know what he did was wrong, because he swore me to
secrecy, and convinced me that people do it all the time.
Later, when Moirah realised that what had happened to her was wrong, the secret was
still kept but it changed in character. Now it became a secret about something that was
wrong, and Moirah felt that there was no point in telling anyone now, since it was too
long ago, and no-one would believe her.
I saw a movie. Have you seen the movie? We were not allowed
to see it we were in the new house, and the parents sent us to
the bedroom and they had a movie called "I Spat on Your Grave"
and we were peeping at the time when these six guys were raping
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one girl and they kept telling her to keep quiet and that it would be
okay, you know. That's when I realised, I still remember the title.
I just went to bed and I stopped peeping and thought who would
believe me if I say it now.
When Moirah was revictimised in an attempted rape, once again, the secret is kept and
she does not tell anyone. This time for fear that she would not be believed and that it
would be her word against the taxi driver's.
I knew what his intentions were, by the time I got home I had
blue marks on my arms. I got away. I think his age was counting
against him. I had a sense of urgency... My Dad asked me why
I was late from work and I just said to him I had no transport
and I wanted him to buy me a car 'cause I'm not going to travel
...so I had another secret. I trusted him on a first name basis
and he was well known in the community and he knows my Dad,
I didn't expect it from him, he was on in years. Who would have
believed me?
When Moirah begins to experience abuse in her marriage, once again she keeps the secret
from her family, and tells no one.
Even when I got married and I was pregnant, it was hell but I
never told my parents because I felt it was a decision I made and
I'm gonna have to live with it, whether he beats me, whether he
threatens to kick my child to death and things like that.
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However, the secret eventually became too unbearable for her to contain alone, and she
tells the one person in her life who she really trusts, her father:
I had to tell someone eventually, and it was going to be my
Dad not my mother. He listened, she wouldn't have cared
or believed me.
Theme of lack of emotional connectedness
While Moirah remembers many of the details of her childhood sexual abusive
experience, she does not remember how she felt at the time. She also appeared to make a
concerted effort to forget her experiences, and so while she relates the factual details of
her story, and can talk about how these experiences have affected her, she talks with little
emotion, as if part of her has died, and has little recollection of her feelings.
I can't remember if he hurt me or not, I can just hear him
say 'I didn't hurt you', so that's all I can hear ... I can't
remember what I felt, I just knew I wanted to go home..
After that I tried to forget and pretend it never
happened. I think it must have killed me on the inside
because for me to keep quiet for so long ..
Later, when Moirah sees the movie that triggered her realisation that what she had
experienced was sexual abuse, she cannot remember how she felt, yet she remembers in
detail the movie she saw, and the events surrounding the memory.
I can't remember, but that's when I realised and I just
remember it was called "I Spat On Your Grave". That's
, there, that's why I still remember the title. I can't remember
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how I felt, I just know I went to bed and I stopped peeping.
But I also didn't harp too much on it. When you do
nothing you do think about it, so you try not to harp on it.
So you try to forget and put it behind you and say it's part
of my past, it happened and I'm not going to let it worry me all
the time.
When Moirah is revictimised in the attempted rape, she once again remembers specific
details about the event, but has little recollection of her feelings.
... this driver dropped off all the passengers ...and he didn't
drop me off at my stop, he decided to go to a place where a
development was going to take place, to help the Council ...
And he opened the door and he pulled me out ... I knew his
intention was to rape me, because he told me. I just fought
him off and just ran like hell ...
I can't remember how I felt, I just know there was a sense of
urgency. I can tell you it happened on a Thursday night ...
they were going to Chapel at 7.15 ...
In her relationship with her husband, Moirah tries hard to forget her past. She, does
however have some sense of what her feelings were like during her marriage to him, and
what these feelings drove her to consider.
The first time with Abraham, I didn't even have a past to
think about, my life was just going the way I wanted it to.
I didn't want to remember anything. Now after Matthew,
everything fell apart like a puzzle... I have become very
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insensitive ... but I do remember wanting to kill myself or kill
him, I have been very desperate so you know it was
miserable.
While Moirah appears to be emotionally disconnected, her anger is very evident,
particularly when she refers to her relationship with her mother. Feelings of anger are
also expressed through her desire to hurt the abuse perpetrators or commit suicide.
I was frightened of her as a child, most of my anger comes
from my bad relationship with my mother.
If he crossed my path then he must say his prayers, I am
angry, I would hurt him. ..
I though either kill myself or kill him ...
Themes of contradiction
Throughout Moirah's story, there are many paradoxes and contradictions. These include
the theme of self-protection and self destruction, the theme of parental support and
neglect, and the theme of connection and disconnection.
Themes of self-protection and self-destruction
Moirah appears to have tried to protect herself against her husband, and her own feelings.
She became hard and insensitive, and expressed her own anger and aggression.
I wasn't happy anymore, I was constantly in tears, I'm
still constantly in tears, but I've become very insensitive,
abuse and married life makes you tough, especially if
you're married to Abraham. After all the beatings you
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learn not to cry anymore .. you draw the line, it kind of
makes you insensitive. My Dad said, 'maybe you're a
hard cookie from the outside but you've got a small heart
like this'.
At the same time as trying to protect herself, Moirah appears to have had thoughts of
killing herself, or her husband. Taking revenge was something which also crossed her
mind. It seems that these remained mostly thoughts and ideas which were never acted
upon.
I don't think I really want to see him (her uncle). I don't really
want to see him. I would probably ask how many other kids
did he rape and swear to secrecy. If he crossed my path
then he must say his prayers, I am angry, I would hurt him.
I just wanna - I've never been suicidal but after my marriage
with Abraham that is what occupied my thoughts, was suicide.
I thought if I wasn't going to kill myself I was gonna kill him,
and when he used to sleep at night I used to hold the gun to
his head but I couldn't pull the trigger because my child was
sleeping right next to him. I thought I'd shoot him in the
shower when he was absolutely defenseless and the shower
would wash away the blood but I always have this 'but', and
it always revolves around 'how am I going to explain to David
that I killed his father'. So you know it was miserable, I thought
either kill myself or kill him, and it doesn't have to be like that -
walk away, just walk away.
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Theme of matriarchy - support and conflict
The women in Moirah's life appear to have been strong. Her maternal grandmother was a
strong woman, but she lived far away and did not have much of an influence on Moirah.
Moirah remembers her paternal grandmother as being strong and stable, with whom she
had a warm and close relationship.
My father's mother was a sweetie, ja, I would say she was the
wild one, she loved to party. Whenever she would come over
she would never come empty handed ... I still remember her wet
kisses on my cheek. I really miss her, she died about eight years
ago. She was a strong person, the leader in the family, we all
listened to her, took her advice and looked forward to her visits.
She was a single mother, you know after the Italian ran off, it was
the way society was, he couldn't take a coloured child across the
border. If it wasn't for her strength my father wouldn't have been
who he is today. Gentle and understanding - I go to him with
everything, he's my best friend.
Moirah describes her relationship with her mother as being a bad one. She never felt
close to her mother, and they clashed since they both have similar personalities. But also
her mother was never there for her, or supported her. It was her mother's brother who
abused her, and this resulted in much mistrust and conflict. Moirah also felt abandoned
when her mother was in hospital for so long and the theme of neediness is a constant
thread throughout Moirah's story.
My mother's mother, the one who went with the German,
was of strong stock. She was Zulu and I knew her mother too,
they lived in a farm area which we went to a few times.
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But you know, most women are full of crap. My mother would
never spare the rod, we used to get it good and solid. And if
she sent you to the shop and you come back with change less
one cent, you go look for it, if it takes you the whole day -
you go look for it. I was frightened of her as a child, most of
my anger comes from my bad relationship with my mother.
If she says 'do A', I'll do B because even if I know it's going to
fail I'll try it cause it's not what she wanted you know. She
wasn't interested about us while she was in hospital, and I
was left to look after the children. ... She never believed it
about the abuse, and it was her brother you know. My
Aunt didn't know about the abuse, but if she did she
wouldn't care, she would say it was okay because she was
busy. Women are full of crap I told you.
Themes of connection and dis-connection versus re-connection
Moirah appears to be connected to her past through her paternal grandmother, and in
terms of what has been passed down to her from her blood ties with different racial
groups.
I had a connection with my grandmother, the wild one, she
was special and caring and she always fussed over us. I miss
her so much. It is funny though because I would say I have
more German blood in me, temper-wise. That I inherited
from my mother, unfortunately.
However, although she believes she has inherited her mother's temper, she does not
connect herself to her mother. She told her secret of abuse to her father, and there
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appears to be some splitting of her parents. In her mind her father is idealised as all good,
and her mother is devalued as all bad. One of her greatest fears is that she is becoming
more and more like her mother, especially in the way she relates to her child, and so she
wants to dis-connect herself from her mother.
Most of my anger is because of my relationship with my
mother ...
I had to tell someone eventually and it was going to be
my Dad and not my mother ...
This is my greatest fear, that I am becoming just like my
mother .
If she says 'do A', I'll do B, because even if I know it's
going to fail I'll try it cause it's not what she wanted you
know. I wouldn't bother me if I never saw her again in
my life.
Perhaps some of her anger and resentment towards her mother also stems from the fact
that it was her mother's brother who abused her, and she thought her mother would not
believe her if she told her. In addition, she felt abandoned when her mother was in
hospital and left her to look after her siblings.
... she wouldn't have cared or believed me.
... She wasn't interested about us while she was in
hospital, and I was left to look after the children.
I had to take my two year old sister to school with me.
She never believed it about the abuse, and it was her
brother you know.
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It is apparent that Moirah's feeling and thoughts are dis-connected, in that she speaks
about her abuse experiences with little emotion and in a matter of fact manner, and in that
she cannot remember her feelings, while she remembers many small details of the abuse
experiences. Further contradictions are clear in that she is constantly in tears, and yet has •
become hard and insensitive. However, it seems that she wishes to be re-connected with
herself:
I didn't have a past to think about I could see the
wheels were falling off the wagon. In my life . I wasn't
the type of person that I used to be. I was constantly
in tears, I've become very insensitive and hard. I just
want to be me again, to take back what has been stolen.
Theme of survival
Moirah has survived her experiences of sexual abuse. Throughout her life she has had
many dreams and visions of a better future. Some of these dreams have not been fulfilled
yet, but she has a sense of hope that she is on the way to recovery.
I always thought if I married my relation is going to be as
good as my mother's and father's maybe I should say
that I always wish I could marry a man like my Dad,
maybe that would be considered a good marriage.
I'm the eldest daughter, and I wanted him (her Dad) to
walk me down the aisle, he wanted to walk me down the
aisle too.
I used to worship the ground he (her husband) walked on.
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I wanted to have a family which means I won't be able to
party that much, I was willing to make those sacrifices.
I just want to be me again, if I can just stop stressing and
then I feel like I can actually talk to my child. If I just
listen to ...(her therapist). I think I'm on the, ja, the road to
recovery. David is cute you know, he's my child and he's
got part of me inside of him. I hope it's the good part, if
there's still a good part left of me. It's quite exciting,
there's such a variety, it just grows - my child has German,
Italian, Zulu and Indian blood in him.
However for Moirah mere survival is not enough, her goal is to live beyond survival. She
would like to join with other women who have experienced abuse, she feels very
protective of her young nieces - the daughter of her uncle who abused her, and her sister's
daughter. She would like to do something to protect other young girls - that would be the
more than surviving, that would be more like living.
I always think of me as a survivor ... but I want to
do more than survive, I want to live. Living is better
than just surviving. I am surviving now, it's like
when I left my husband - this was it, I stood my
ground, no more beatings, no more assaults .. I put
my foot down. It made me feel good, if you put
your mind to it you can do it - I wasn't prepared to
keep my mouth shut any longer. If I can make a
difference for others, with others, it will be more
like living.
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Moirah insisted that her real name be used in this story, she insisted that it be spelt with
an "h" at the end, and she was adamant that her identity is rooted in her name, not in her
colour or her race. Moirah is her own person, and this is perhaps the greatest testimony to
her survival.
(2) THE RE-TELLING OF NISHAAT'S STORY
Nishaat is not her real name, but was chosen by her after some thought, because it means
"a pure fountain of water which is like a pearl, clear, precious and elegant".
The Setting
A number of attempts were made to meet with Nishaat either at her home, her work or in
a neutral setting. After canceling three arranged meetings, Nishaat called the co-author to
arrange a meeting at her work. She did not feel comfortable sharing her story in her
home for fear of interruption. She may also have felt reluctant to share her story and
expressed a fear of opening up a can of worms. However, she also really wanted to tell
her story and finally convinced herself that she could do it and wanted to hear her own
story of survival.
The first meeting was brief and was conducted at Nishaat's office at work. There were
constant interruptions from the telephone and her colleagues. It was agreed to find a time
which would be more private. This took some time to arrange, but Nishaat was more
confident about her participation than before and expressed that she thought she could
talk more easily now. The second meeting was also brief and conducted at Nishaat's
work, once again there were constant interruptions. After this meeting, Nishaat
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expressed reluctance to continue with the interviews, since she was afraid of jeopardising
her job, and she did not have the time to meet elsewhere. However, she requested that
once her and her boyfriend decided when to get married, she would like pre-marital
counselling.
The co-author's impressions of Nishaat
Nishaat is an attractive young woman and looks younger than her twenty six years. She
has fine, delicate features, and her colouring is light. She speaks well and punctuates her
articulate speech with smiles and shy laughs. She appears vulnerable, and hides her
apparent strength behind this fragile exterior. In the setting of her job situation, Nishaat
appeared to handle her colleagues and customers with confidence and showed neatness
and orderliness in her working environment. She was relaxed in this setting, and
obviously very competent in her work. Her strength seems to lie in her faith, as well as
her hopes for her future.
The co-author's story of Nishaat's story
Nishaat is a 26 year old single coloured woman from mixed Malaysian and Norwegian
descent. The story which has been passed down through the generations is that a young
Norwegian colonist arrived in South Africa in the early 1800's together with his family
and eleven other Norwegian families. He met and fell in love with a young Malay
servant girl who, although from a lowly status, had tremendous strength of character, and
maintained her very strong Moslem faith despite her marriage across the colour bar. No-
one knows what happened to the young Norwegian, after the children were born. It is
thought that perhaps his marriage to the young Moslem girl, and their coloured children
was not accepted and that he went back to his family of origin. Nevertheless, according
to Nishaat this young Moslem girl passed down the seeds of culture and religion, as well
as a strong sense of survival to the following generations. It is interesting that both
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Nishaat's mother and father can trace their ancestral origins to these two young lovers,
and that Nishaat's paternal great-grandfather and maternal great-grandfather were
brothers.
Nishaat began her life in the township of Riverlea, the eldest daughter of her father's
second marriage and her mother's first. She has lived in Riverlea all her life and
describes the community as very close knit and neighbourly. Nishaat describes her first
experience of sexual abuse when she was about six or seven years old. She used to visit
their neighbour's home every now and then and it was him who first sexually abused her.
Although she was afraid, she was not aware of sexual abuse, but she did not feel right and
knew there was a difference between touching the body to wash and touching otherwise.
Nishaat kept the secret of this abuse because of self-blame, fear of punishment, fear of
exposure to the community, fear of upsetting her parents and not really knowing where to
turn. A few years later, Nishaat experienced sexual revictimisation at the hands of two
brothers of a friend. This was also kept as a secret because she thought it would have
been her word against theirs, and because she was afraid of the community's reaction
where some things do not get spoken about. Nishaat was sexually revictimised a third
time before her teen years by a stranger, but has little recollection of this incident. More
recently, Nishaat was sexually harassed on her way to work by a gang of men who
attempted to rape her. She screamed and swore at them and believes this scared them off
- they were also in a public place.
Nishaat's present relationship with her boyfriend, while not being sexually abuse, has
included elements of sexual usury and betrayal. Nishaat believes this sexual abuse and
revictimisation have had a marked effect on her, especially her relationships with men.
As a teenager, Nishaat was very aggressive, and built a wall of self-protection around
herself. She describes herself as a tomboy, and would not allow anyone to get close to
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her, especially boys. However, her first sexual relationship was very different. She
became very dependent on her boyfriend. She gave everything of herself to him and
initially trusted him, which in her eyes was a major step forward. However, this trust was
betrayed by his infidelity which precipitated what Nishaat called a "breakdown". During
this time Nishaat's mother became extremely ill, and Nishaat had to spend much of her
time taking care of her. This involved numerous hospital visits, as well as taking care of
her mother's personal hygiene. During this time Nishaat sought counselling which helped
her to understand herself much better, and led to the development of some effective
coping mechanisms. After much suffering and extreme hardship for Nishaat, her mother
died of cancer. On the same day of her mother's death, her boyfriend had a serious car
accident. As a result of these experiences, Nishaat began to suffer from migraine
headaches, and due to this, lost a promotion at work. Nishaat sometimes questions why,
she has tried to understand why someone would sexually abuse a child, why two brothers
of her friend would repeat the abuse, why her boyfriend betrayed her, why her mother
was so sick and died. She has seen the two brothers often and their lives are not going
well, she wonders whether they care about what they did, but thinks that God will deal
with them. Nishaat has thought about how she can break the cycle of abuse that may
have been passed down through the generations in her family. She is sure her own
mother was abused, and then abused herself, and her children, through neglect. Nishaat
thinks many coloureds do have a "slave mentality", and that it may be in their genes to
abuse. But the coloured women in her life have always been strong, even her mother was
strong from her sick bed. She feels the coloured women are always the ones to take
control of traditional and family affairs and that the men are the weak ones, always
drinking or on drugs.
At present, Nishaat's work situation is very stable, where she has achieved well and finds
the environment supportive and challenging. She and her boyfriend still have their
difficulties but are trying to rebuild their relationship and plan engagement at the end of
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the year. Nishaat sees herself as a survivor, but there are still some areas of her life
which she would like to improve such as her relationship with her boyfriend, whom she
still does not trust completely. She would also like a better relationship with her father -
more open and caring. However, Nishaat is proud of her achievements thus far and
looks ahead to the future with some hope - her dream is just to be happy.
RE-AUTHORING THE STORY - EMERGING THEMES
Theme of revictimisation
The theme of revictimisation is clear in Nishaat's story. As a child she was sexually
abused by four different perpetrators, and as an adult she was sexually harassed by a
group of men. In her relationship with her boyfriend, Nishaat has experienced being
sexually exploited.
The first incident occurred when I was about six or seven
years old I don't really remember the second time, but
he tried again and actually did it, you know, sexually abused
me.
When I was about eight or nine, it happened again
but this time it was by two brothers of my friend who I grew
up with. It happened at different times and I don't think
they knew about each other... They were in their 20's at the
time and they both sexually abused me. ...
I was walking in town near Library Gardens when four men
approached me and started rubbing their hands all over me.
I don't know where I got the courage, but I thought NO,
not again. I swore them badly and they must have got the
message because they left me. ...
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I felt he used me and had not really loved me as he said. I
don't know if you call that sexual abuse, but I would not have
gone with him if I thought there was love - I felt he betrayed
my trust and used me.
Theme of secrecy
Nishaat kept the secrets of her abuse experiences for many years, and has only ever told
her therapist and her boyfriend. When she was first abused, she had many reasons for
secrecy and silence. The secrecy and silence appear to flow out of Nishaat's construction
of fear; fear of upsetting her sick mother, fear of not knowing who to trust and tell, fear
of not being believed, the fear that it may have been her fault and she may be punished,
and fear of exposure within the community because there are some things which are just
not spoken about.
I did not tell anyone about what happened because I thought
it was my fault and I was afraid I might get punished. We are
also a very small community and everyone knows everyone
else and I suppose I was afraid everyone would hear about
it if I told. I also didn't know who to tell - my mother was
quite sick, my father was quite strict and the only other place
was the family planning clinic, but people there were not very
approachable especially for a little girl. So I just kept my
secret.
When she was revictimised later, she once again kept the secret, and this time unwittingly
seemed to enter into a socially constructed collusion of secrecy with the perpetrators and
with the community.
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... I couldn't tell anyone, I also thought it must have been my
fault again because why would they choose me? I have strong
suspicions that other girls may also have been abused but
these things do not get spoken about. I did not tell anyone
this time also because they would have denied it and it would
have been their word against mine - so I kept the secret again.
Themes of contradiction
Throughout Nishaat's story there are examples of contradiction and paradox. These
include self-protection and exposure to abuse, dependency and independency, and trust
and betrayal.
Themc of building walls of protection
From a young age, it was apparent that Nishaat built up walls of protection. She hid her
shame, her pain and her hurt behind walls of aggression and anger. She portrayed the
image of being a tomboy in order to protect her femininity and avoid intimate
relationships with boys.
I was quite a tomboy actually, but not butch or anything. I
built up a big wall around me and they were actually afraid
of me - I was very aggressive you know. They used to call
me 'the Russian' at school because I was very aggressive -
I never let guys touch me. In Standard Six I wouldn't let
my first boyfriend touch or stroke with my hands or anything.
Nishaat has also protected herself physically and emotionally. She carries a knife around
and has done self defense. and she doesn't cry.
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I have done self-defense and carry a knife... There is
still a wall around me, and I don't cry. I think that has
helped a lot, not crying - I don't cry anymore. I suppose
to keep from feeling too much. My boyfriend says 'go on
cry, but I tell him I won't. He says I am hard and maybe
I have become harder because it's safer.
It is apparent that Nishaat responded to being sexually abused as a child by building up a
wall of protection against further hurt. However, this wall did not prevent further
revictimisation. When Nishaat was revictimised, she reverted to her familiar
constructions and learned means of survival - once again building a wall of protection,
where she felt safer, and where she was protected from hurt and perhaps very
overwhelming feelings. However, Nishaat has chosen to expose herself to a relationship
where there is potential for further betrayal. She wants to trust her boyfriend, and plans
to remain in the relationship and marry him in the hope that he will not betray her again,
and yet she is not sure that she can ever trust him again.
Theme of dependence and independence •
Nishaat has had one serious boyfriend, on whom she relied upon for support. She
became very dependent on him and felt that she could trust him.
My first real boyfriend which I still have now - the first
guy I slept with - I don't know why, I sort of trusted him,
I became very dependent on him and was very jealous
and would not allow him to go anywhere or do anything
without me knowing. I gave everything to him and was
like a parasite. That is why I was so angry about the other
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girl - I felt he betrayed my trust and used me. I still can't
understand why the trust between me and him was broken.
I don't know why I became so dependent ... I was always
very independent it was my history from having to look after
my brother and sister, and my mother.
When Nishaat thought she had found someone in the world that she could trust, she gave
her all to him. It was almost as if she constructed a new and hopeful version of reality -
here was one person who could redeem her faith in an untrustworthy world, and she
became dependent on him to show her that this world was a different place. She perhaps
also needed to be loved, and give love, and in order to do that she needed to trust.
However her tentative steps towards trust and redemption were thwarted as she
experienced yet another betrayal.
Theme of trust and betrayal
There is a common theme of betrayal in Nishaat's life. Her innocence was betrayed by
the neighbour who abused her, and her trust was betrayed time and again by her friend's
brothers. Perhaps before that, she was betrayed by her parents who appeared to be
unavailable, and betrayed her need for protection. She was betrayed by society who did
not offer education, protection or recourse for her when she was abused. She was further
betrayed by her mother, who died and left her to look after her siblings, and she was
betrayed by her father who did not give her the support she needed when her mother was
so ill. She was finally betrayed by her boyfriend who was unfaithful to her.
I didn't know there was anything wrong since no-one had
taught me about abuse ...
I also didn't know who to tell - my mother was quite sick,
my father was quite strict and the only other place was the
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family planning clinic, but the people there were not very
approachable, especially for a little girl ...
My boyfriend has been really supportive lately, but it hasn't
always been like that. My mother was dying and I felt deprived
when I needed support - I got it from neither of them, I mean
my father nor him. No-one was there for me.
During this time he slept with another girl and I felt really
betrayed I think what made it worse was that he knew about
my abuse - he was the only person I told apart from „. (her
therapist). I felt he used me and had not really loved me as
he said ... I would not have gone with him if I thought there
was no love - I felt he betrayed my trust and used me.
Theme of pain's story
Nishaat suffered what she refers to as a 'breakdown' as a result of her relationship with
her boyfriend, and the demands which had been placed on her due to her mother's illness.
She also began to suffer from migraine headaches.
I think this and our sexual relationship precipitated my
breakdown - you know when I went for counselling - my
mother was very sick and we didn't know what was wrong
with her. I also basically brought up my younger brother
and sister ... I started with terrible migraines and also lost
a promotion at work ...
Perhaps, since Nishaat was not able to express her feelings and deal with her emotional
pain, it was her body that expressed it for her through 'breaking down' under the stress of
all the demands which had been placed on her. Her headaches may also have been her
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body's response to intense emotional and mental pain.
Nishaat's inability to tell the story of her pain, and the weight of the secrets of abuse
perhaps became too much to bear. Her body takes up the story of her pain, and tells it for
her in the dramatic form of migraine headaches. It is interesting that Nishaat's migraines
only start once her mother has died. Perhaps her mother was the receptacle of pain in
their relationship and contained the pain for them both. Once she died, Nishaat had to
contain her own pain.
Theme of guilt
Nishaat responded to her experiences of sexual abuse as a child by blaming herself:
I though it was my fault and I was afraid I might get
punished I also thought it must have been my fault
again because why would they choose me?
When her mother died, Nishaat, once again experienced feelings of guilt:
I still feel so guilty because I never told her 'I love
you' - we were close but I could never tell her that.
I was also quite rough and quick with her when I had
to bath and carry her. If only I had known she had
cancer it would have been different - I still feel guilty
today.
Nishaat's guilt about being abused, and about not loving her mother enough are perhaps
her way of responding to a world where she must take responsibility for herself entirely.
Her parents were both unavailable to her throughout her life, she was expected to look
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after her younger siblings, and take care of her own mother. It seems that perhaps
Nishaat has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, and that all her experiences are
constructed around this strong sense of self reliance. This may also be part of why she
has survived.
Theme of survival
Nishaat describes herself as a survivor, and her survival strategies revolve around this
strong sense of responsibility and self reliance. However, she also sees herself as coming
from a line of strong women who kept their faith, and this has also been part of her ability
to survive.
I, yes, I am a survivor. I don't always cope and I have to
continually prove to myself to wake up and get a grip on
myself. ... I have survived by pushing myself to the limits,
I didn't need anyone else - I did it alone - all my achievements
and the stability were done on my own, despite the migraines
I had to pull myself together.
I think I learned my survival skills from my mother - she was
very strong and big. She went from a size 38 to a size 8 or
6 when she died. I also think the survival skills came from
the Moslem servant girl who kept the faith and passed it
down through all the generations. The women in our family
are very strong. Coloured men are not as strong as coloured
women. The women do all the work when it comes to
traditional and cultural things like funerals and festivals - the
men do nothing, so you have to get a grip on your life and
be strong.
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While independence was a skill which she learnt as a young child, and as a teenager
while having to look after her siblings, Nishaat seemed to lose some of this when she
became very dependent on her boyfriend. However, it seems that she realised that she
could not lean on anyone but herself, and has since regained this sense of self reliance.
I did not like being dependent on (her boyfriend).
It wasn't the real me, now that I have got myself back
I cope much better with it. I was always very independent,
it was my history from having to look after my brother and
sister, and my mother ... I am quite relaxed with him now,
he can do his thing and I don't get so jealous or possessive
anymore - that's good. Sometimes I lose it, but I have really
achieved so much on my own, I have worked hard.
Nishaat's survival is apparent in that she feels she has found herself and regained that part
of herself which she felt she had lost through the abuse, and through her dependence on
her boyfriend. She also believes that God has given her a strong message about His care
and concern for her, in that he will be the one to deal with the wrongs of the past.
I also sometimes still have a need for revenge at the brothers
of my friend. I see them all the time I wonder do they
remember? I want them to know I am coping well, and
when I look at their lives I see they are paying the price of what
they did to me - they are not getting away - it catches up with
them. I think God is giving me a message that He will not
let them off free ... it makes things a bit better. I have written them
a letter, and it did help a lot, but I didn't send it, I tore it up.
God will take care of them for me.
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Nishaat believes counselling also really helped her to overcome her past. She has been
able to talk more easily about her experiences and would like to do something to help
others who have also experienced abuse, such as a support group. She has found much
stability, success and support in her work, and perhaps this has also contributed to her
survival. Nishaat has some dreams for her future, but looks ahead with realism, knowing
that she has some unfinished business to complete with regard to her relationships with
her father and her boyfriend. She acknowledges that overcoming her past is an ongoing
struggle, and that she will have to work hard to achieve her dreams.
No-one was there for me. That's why I got help -
actually before my mother died. It helped and I
am doing okay. I would like to do something to help
maybe a support group. .. I try and help my friends,
my boyfriend's brother is into drugs and I try to talk to
him about it
I can't wait to get to work - I even come in on my days
off and when I am sick. They are so cute here - they
look after me and get me coffee and you know look out
for me.
I also think maybe me and my boyfriend need counselling
together - there are lots of things before I can really trust
him again. ... we may be engaged or married by the end of
the year - he promises he will never do it to me again.
I would like do more though - like be more open with my
father - he is very quiet - I would like a better relationship
with him, but he's quite old now. I have worked hard and
I just want to be happy. That's what I pray for every night,
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not to be rich or anything, but just to be happy.
Nishaat has used some of the coping mechanisms of her past, such as independence, self
reliance and keeping her feelings under control. However, she has learnt some new
skills, like investing in her work, and in the lives of other people. She is more connected
with and acknowledging of the skills which have come down through the generations of
strong women in her life. She has kept and grown in her faith and leans on God to fight
some of her battles for her. She is realistic about her relationships and her goals, and the
need to work hard to achieve her dreams for her future.
Perhaps the greatest testimony to Nishaat's recovery is the name which she chose to use
for herself in this story. Nishaat means "a pure fountain of water, which is like a pearl,
clear precious and elegant".
(3) THE RE-TELLING OF RACHEL'S STORY
Rachel is her real name, although she was known by her second name Tracey all her life
until recently when she began her recovery from her past experiences.
The Setting
Rachel has recently moved to Eldorado Park from Umtata, Transkei. She requested that
the interview did not take place at her home, since she could not be sure of privacy. The ..
interview was conducted in the co-author's home. Rachel was only able to spare two
hours of a Saturday afternoon, during which time the interview was completed.
The co-author's impressions of Rachel
Rachel is an attractive woman, who is so light skinned that it is not surprising that she
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"passed for white". She has a strong accent, which gives away her Eastern Cape origins.
She appeared to be a very strong woman, both emotionally and physically, and she tells
her story with a great sense of drama, as if she knows the narrative value of it. In fact she
intends to write the story of her life. Rachel has a wonderful sense of humour and relates
some painful experiences with touches of humour, which she says she has acquired since
her recovery. Her story, the pathos of her childhood, and the power of her survival as an
adult was capturing. There was a sense that Rachel is one of the unsung heroines of our
time, and it was a privilege to be able to join with her in the re-telling of her story.
The co-author's story of Rachel's story
Rachel is a 46 year old mother of five children. She grew up in a small village in the
Transkei, both her parents were coloured and came from very poor and deprived
backgrounds. Her father had no education and grew up as a cattle minder. He was
considered an outcast since he was the bastard offspring of a rape. His mother was a
black woman who worked as a housekeeper in a hotel, and she was raped by the white
owner of the hotel. The family and the community rejected both the mother and the child,
who was made to look after the cattle and was never acknowledged as a member of the
community. Rachel's mother was also coloured, but Rachel did not know anything about
her origins, except that her grandmother died in a mental institution where she lived for
many years having been diagnosed as schizophrenic. Rachel's mother also suffered from
schizophrenia and was institutionalised for most of her life. Rachel is one of four
children and describes her childhood as being extremely poor and very abusive. Rachel
was first sexually abused by a crippled neighbour, who lured Rachel into a sexual
relationship from the age of seven until she was eleven. Rachel had witnessed her
parents having sex from a young age, since they all lived in a small shack which offered
no privacy. She initially experienced her neighbour's attention as a form of love, from
which she had been much deprived. Her family environment was a physically abusive
one, and Rachel found some comfort from her neighbour in the form of sex and the
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money which he regularly gave her. The family moved away when Rachel was eleven
and the abuse was put to an end. However, sex had become a way of life for Rachel who
entered into numerous sexual relationships with boys that she dated. Rachel believes that
men were mainly attracted to her because of her light skin, and she had many experiences
as a young girl being able to pass for white. However, Rachel grew up believing that she
was inferior to real white people, but that coloureds were slightly better than blacks.
However, she thinks that coloured people are very racialistic, and that class
consciousness amongst the coloured people is strong. Those coloureds who come from
slave ancestry, such as the Malay's, are considered to be more inferior than those of more
recent mixed relationships. Coloureds who are lighter and can trace their origins to
European ancestry are considered to be the most superior.
As a young teenager Rachel's lifestyle became one of partying, drinking and sex, and she
experienced much abuse and rejection. Rachel met and married her husband when she
was 18 years old, with the hope that she would be rescued from her abusive home and
lifestyle. He appeared to be different from other men, and came from a better family than
herself. However, she soon realised that he had a drinking problem, and she has suffered
much abuse during her marriage including rape. Rachel became very depressed and
suicidal as she began to question how could God allow this to happen to her. The
continual pregnancies did not help, although she believes that it was her children that
prevented her from actually killing herself. However, it was a religious conversion to
Christianity which finally changed Rachel's life at the age of thirty seven while she was
pregnant with her last child. Rachel's life continues to be difficult, with ongoing marital
and family problems and financial difficulties, but she is no longer suicidal and has
embarked on an educational program to learn to become a pastoral counsellor. She
would like to help women and children who have been hurt as a result of abuse and
marital problems. She has hope that her own marriage problems will be resolved, and
believes that she is more than a survivor — she is a conqueror.
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RE-AUTHORING THE STORY - EMERGING THEMES
Theme of revictimisation
It is apparent that Rachel was sexually revictimised on numerous occasions as a young
teenager by her various boyfriends. Rachel has also been revictimised by her husband.
Rachel provides a clue as to how she connects her sexual abuse experiences, and why this
revictimisation occurred.
I was so used to having sex for such a long
time, I thought nothing of having sex with
anybody and I suppose they could see that I was
available I was almost taught by this man that
sex was urn a way that urn I could earn money and
I could get things and he taught me so well that
I didn't see anything wrong with it until much,
much later and I guess having had that
experience as a teenager, people knew that's
all I was good for ... he kind of set me
up for, for a life of sexual abuse.
Rachel suggests that she may have been revictimised since she had been taught that this
was a way of life, and that sexual activity between sexes was part of any relationship. It
also appears that for Rachel, sex was a way of meeting her needs, her need for love and
provision. It is apparent that Rachel constructed an identity for herself as being a sex
object. This identity was further strengthened by the co-construction of Rachel's identity
as a sex object by her teenage boyfriends.
I was a very needy child ... this man showed me
attention and showed me love, and then he
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started giving me money ... I responded to it
because I thought this was a form of love and
of course I liked the gifts ... I think in a way
he really did love me, ... he used me, but he
also showed me love and I needed that love
so I responded.
... yet I also knew that my body was a weapon
that I could use against men ...
... people knew that's all I was good for.
The theme of need is clear in the above dialogue - the need for love, provision and
protection - and it seems that it is within the context of need that sexual abuse occurred in
Rachel's life.
Another form of revictimisation has occurred in Rachel's family — one of her daughters
was recently raped. Rachel makes sense of this by explaining that it was because her
husband was unavailable to her daughter as a father, and her daughter responded to the
unavailability and the abuse in the home by becoming rebellious. This rebellion led to
her going to discos and mixing with the wrong crowd. It was while she was at a disco
that her drink was drugged and she was raped.
She was very rebellious and in fact she never
used to hide it. She used to say, the way her
daddy treats us because he actually was an
unavailable father ... it looked like they
irritated him so my children actually resented
him, especially the one who was raped. She
even today struggles with that so many things
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and for my daughter to break the curse of rape,
with His help of course.
Rachel's story is told as a story that spans four generations. She has made sense of this
by constructing a whole externally locused reality. She sees both mental illness and
sexual abuse as curses, which have plagued the women of her family across these
generations. Not only has there been revictimisation within Rachel's own life, but the
story of revictimisation begins with the rape of her grandmother and has continued to the
present generation.
Theme of acceptance versus realisation
Rachel initially experienced and accepted the child sexual abuse as a form of love, she
had witnessed her parents having sex, and thought this was how people expressed love to
each other. It was only as she grew older that she realised that it was sexual abuse. This
same theme is reiterated in her marriage in that she did not initially realise that her
husband's sexual abuse of her was rape, she meekly thought this was what husbands did
to their wives.
I didn't know at the time that it was sexual
abuse, I just thought that this is how people
showed that they loved each other and so this
continued for quite a while and as I say I
responded to it because I thought this was a
form of love and of course I liked the gifts
that he gave me um as I grew older I realised
what was happening was wrong urn and that it was
sexual abuse.
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... even with my husband ... I just thought he was
different but I soon realised that he had a
drinking problem and he was extremely abusive,
in fact I realise what he did to me sexually it
was rape — I didn't know at the time, I thought
that's what husbands did to their wives and now
I know that it was actually rape.
Theme of depression and suicidal thoughts
It appears that Rachel responded to her childhood sexual abuse through a fear of love.
She was afraid that she would only be loved for her body and not for herself. It is unclear
whether her lifestyle of partying and drinking was in response to being abused, or
whether she would have engaged in this kind of lifestyle anyway. She expressed that her
crippled abuser set her up for a life of abuse. But perhaps unwittingly Rachel also began .
to set herself up in potentially abusive scenarios - the familiarity of which she required.
Or perhaps she believed that each abusive scenario would offer her a chance to change
her story. Whether Rachel consciously or unconsciously returned to potentially abusive
relationships, she did appear to respond to the continued sexual revictimisation by
becoming depressed and suicidal.
I think this has had a great effect on my
life, urn, I have a great fear of people who
love me. When I met my husband I so
desperately wanted his love but I was afraid
he wouldn't love me for what I was, that he
would just love me for my body and for what
I could give him ... when I met him I did not
want to tell him that I was not a virgin ...
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And I kept asking myself why, why did God
allow this to happen to me .. I many times
became quite suicidal urn it was just the
children, it was just they came one after
another and that's I think it was just them
who stopped me ... I really suffered from
depression and I think because my mother's
mother died in a mental hospital and my
mother had schizophrenia — it was always a
great fear of mine that I would end up in a
mental home ... there was a time in my life
that I thought no, 1 was not even supposed
to exist. It was those type of thoughts that
were going through my mind and everything
seemed to go wrong. Right from childhood,
things have never gone right for me .. what
is there to live for — the thought of suicide
came and friends of mine would invite me to
different churches meetings and I would attend
but feeling very, very empty and feeling, look
the world is just not for me, I just do not
want to be a part of what's going on in this world.
Themes of contradiction
Rachel's story contains numerous examples of contradiction. She experienced sexual
abuse as love and used sex as a way to meet her needs for love, and yet she did not want
to be loved only for her body. She both wanted love, and feared love. There is also the
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paradox of parental support and neglect. Rachel interpreted her parent's sexual
relationship as love, and yet grew up in a family where there appeared to be abuse and no
demonstration of love.
Theme of parental support and neglect
It seems that Rachel experienced both support and neglect in her family. She speaks of
the sacrifices her father went through in order to keep the family together. She has
memories of a time when her father refused to allow his children to be taken to an
orphanage, and how he used to work long hours with a meagre salary to provide for his
family. Yet, despite really wanting to take care of his family, Rachel remembers having
to go and live with her uncle and aunt, and remembers the ill-treatment she suffered. She
also speaks of wanting to get out of the house as soon as she was eighteen, because of the
abuse and unavailability of her mother and father.
Mommy got sick because she got mentally ill and
she had to be admitted to a hospital through
hardship because my father used to beat her ...
now I remember this one day two white men came
to the convent (where she was at school) and
wanted to take us to an orphanage and they had to
call my father in to sign papers and when he came
I can remember him saying "no, no these children
won't know me, you know I can't release them" .
and he refused for us to go. But my father took
us away from there and we had to live with my
uncle and his black wife... then she started ill-treating
us ... until my father found a little shack, it was a zinc
shack ... my father was only a painter ... and he was
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earning something like, csjoe' one pound ten a
month. It's something I can't accept because I
had a father who supported us even though he didn't
have an education he made sure he came home with
food for us.
And because of all the struggles and I think not
having enjoyed my childhood days I actually got
married very young ... I remember as a child standing
between my father and my mother and then I would
point my finger at my father and I would say "I'll
shoot you, don't do that to mommy" ... he used to
chase us around because we used to try to stop the
fights. I have never seen love demonstrated in
my own home and what I know ...
... I remember the one time, my mother and I were
outside and I was very little ... she walked up to
this flower and she said "oh my beautiful baby"
and she was patting this flower. I remember
looking at her and wondering why is she doing
that with the flower, why is she not doing it to
me, am I not her child, why is she saying baby
to the flower?
While it is apparent that Rachel's father attempted to provide for his family, he had many
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obstacles in his way; no education, being an outcast in his own family and a wife who
was mentally ill. Rachel appears to have accepted the paradox, which while he intended
to care for his family, and wanted to keep them together, he was physically unable to do
so adequately. However, while she seems to have accepted physical deprivation, she was
unable to accept the emotional deprivation that resulted from her mother's absence and
her father's inability to demonstrate love in a meaningful way. This confusion between
support and neglect, may have contributed to Rachel's confusion of love and sex which
began when she was abused by her neighbour, and was perpetuated into her later
relationships, including her marriage.
I always had such a dilemma in my mind
because he always did it with such love and
such gentleness and he was a cripple himself
so he, he never hurt me and he never forced me
and he always asked me and he always showed
me great love when he had sex with me ... so I
grew up with a lot of dilemmas with regard
to my sexual self. ... It's strange, a part of me
was sad to say good-bye to him because I think
in a way he really did love me but another
part of me was so relieved to get out of it
because I didn't know how to get out of it.
... when I met him (her husband), he was so
kind and loving and so he was so different,
he also came from a better, richer family and
I just thought that he was different we got
married and he found out a few things that he
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didn't know before we got married .. that
started destroying our marriage as well because
his attitude towards me started changing and
things started going wrong. I thought he loved
me for me, and I even thought he couldn't
control his love for me and so he had to "rape"
me.
Theme of survival
As a child, Rachel had dreams of a better life and part of that better life was a marriage
which could bring happiness. Rachel also used to pray for her mother's healing and
looked forward to a time when they could be close. However, her adult life and her
marriage offered her nothing but more pain and suffering. Although she was a regular
church goer, Rachel found no solace in her religion, until one day she dragged herself to a
prayer meeting at the invitation of a friend. It was at this meeting that her life began to
change.
I thought now if I left home early I could go and make
my own home and have a brand new life and live the
life that I have always desired to live even as a child.
In my mind I always thought marriage as a bed of
roses, I never knew that one could confront so many
problems within a marriage.
One day a neighbour invited me to their prayer meeting
and even though I had refused several times, this one day
I was so depressed, I thought oh well I might as well go.
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Really that was the day that I think God had ordained for me ...
I didn't know much about this born again story, but because
I was in such a state and I was so desperate for help, I
said, "if you say this is going to make a difference in my life
then I want Jesus to come into my life" and that's when I
surrendered and I gave my heart to Jesus. OK, the peace
flooded my heart but circumstances were still the same.
But I realised that even as a Christian you will never avoid
problems ... your attitude can change towards the problem
and there is a different way of handling problems and
looking at life. And that is what started helping me, even
those suicidal thoughts left me. I had something to live for
and then I experienced the reality of God in my life.
Rachel's conversion took place nine years ago, when she was pregnant with her last
child. It was then that she changed her name back to Rachel and gave birth to a long
awaited son. A year ago Rachel found the courage to leave her husband, and moved to
Johannesburg in order to attend Bible College. She is training to become a lay
counsellor, and may go on into MI time ministry. Her greatest desire is to help other
hurting women. At present Rachel and her husband are seeking reconciliation, and
although the separation made things in their relationship more difficult, Rachel has hope
for the future.
...for me to have compassion for people, especially for
hurting people, for instance when I look at my own nation
look at the women how they live, you know, I can identify
with them and I feel the way God feels about us ... I
think if I was any other colour or grown up better, maybe
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I would not have the wisdom I have today and also the
compassion for the hurting and my main desire is that God
will take me and lead me to a place where I can encourage
other women. ... Even if there are times that I feel down
... and I have this hopeless feeling and sometimes I think,
Lord, isn't this boat going to sink? But somehow deep
down inside of me there is hope. ... I am there to
discover His full purpose for my life ... I don't want to
limit Him, because at the moment when I look at myself
I see myself very small and I don't see myself doing those
big things, but I don't want to limit Him..
6.5.2.4 CO-CONSTRUCTING THE STORY OF REVICTIMISATION
In this section, the common threads which link the experiences of the three narrators will
be the focus. Although each story is unique and occurs in a particular context, certain
themes are evident in the stories of all three narrators, and the commonalties and
differences between them will be discussed. The co-author takes the position of co-
constructing new stories of revictimisation. This occurs as a result of the interaction
between the narrators, the text and the co-author.
6.5.2.4.1 Emerging Themes
The co-author has taken the liberty of co-constructing new stories around the common
themes in the three stories. These stories have been given names which aim to reflect the
content of the stories. In each case, in order to include the modernistic paradigm, and in
order that the next phase of integration will be more clear, the content of the story will be
noted.
The major common themes that emerge from the stories of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel
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are those of
- A deja vu of horror - Making sense of revictimisation
- The bondage of hidden secrets - Secrecy
- Looking for love - Deprivation and need
- Wounds of the heart - Effects of abuse
- Daughters of Ham - Being coloured and being abused
- Reclaiming our lives - Survival
A deia vu of horror
Although each case of revictimisation was different and unique for each narrator, their
stories clearly illustrate that all three of them experienced both the horror of child sexual
abuse and adult sexual revictimisation.
Sexual victimisation is also present in differing degrees in the history of all three
narrators. Moirah's two Zulu grandmother's were taken advantage of by men of
European descent who enjoyed their favours across the so-called colour bar at the time.
They did not take responsibility for their actions, and left the mothers and their families
to bring up the children. Although this appears to have been accepted by the family,
and the community as a common occurrence, it nevertheless stands as an example of
sexual use and abuse, the consequences of which were not experienced by the fathers.
That this occurred in South Africa during the time when relationships across the colour
bar were illegal, may perhaps have made it easier for the men to take these actions
without concern for the consequences. However, the illegality of the relationships may
have also made it more difficult for them to fulfill their roles as fathers. The possibility
of revictimisation extending into a third generation is also evident. Abuse of her own
child is a potential possibility that Moirah herself fears. She also has concerns for her
nieces and sees the possibility of the female children in her family being abused by her
uncle as great.
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Nishaat's story of her Norwegian and Malay ancestors reads more like a love story than a
story of abuse. However, the young Malay servant girl and her children were left as
unaccepted victims of this relationship and had to survive without the presence of their
husband and father.
Rachel's narrative tells the story of sexual victimisation and revictimisation occurring
across four generations. Her paternal grandmother was raped by a white hotelowner, the
result of which was a young coloured boy, who lived his life as an outcast minding cattle.
Rachel is uncertain about her mother because she was never able to talk about her past,
but Rachel was sexually abused and raped, and her daughter has been raped.
Rachel makes sense of and connects the sexual victimisation in her family by calling it "a
curse upon our family" which has been passed down through the generations. She
locates the source of the problem outside of herself and the family, to the spiritual arena
of curses which are visited upon her family by Satan. She believes that it is up to her and
her daughter to put a stop to this curse of sexual revictimisation (and mental illness)
through their faith and belief in God .
Moirah however, locates the source of the problem of revictimisation within her self, and
her inability to distinguish between those men who are trustworthy and those who are
not. She blames her naivety for believing the taxi driver was not capable of attempted
rape, and she blames herself for worshipping her husband blindly and not believing that
he could harm her.
Nishaat apparently does not see the connection between the experiences of abuse,
however she thinks it may be in the "coloured" male's genes to abuse. She also hints at
some underlying factor when she discloses that she felt deprived and lacked the support
she needed in her life. Nishaat was unable to tell her parents about the sexual abuse as a
child since they were both unavailable, and during the time of the sexual harassment and
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betrayal by her boyfriend, she had no-one to be there for her. This need for attention and
support as a child may have contributed to the perpetrator's misinterpretation of Nishaat's
needs. In Nishaat's case, the source of the problem may be located in the interaction
between Nishaat and the perpetrators, and in their misinterpretation of her vulnerability.
In each story, revictimisation occurs in different forms and in different contexts as the
"landscape of action" (White, 1995, p.31). Furthermore, each narrator makes sense of
her experience, referred to as the "landscape of consciousness" by White (1995, p. 31),
by locating the source of the problem differently. In Rachel's story where the source of
the problem is located outside of herself (in Satan's curse), the solution to the problem is
also located outside of herself (through God). She speaks of breaking the curse of rape
and mental illness through her faith in God and in not limiting Him in her life. In
Moirah's story, the source of the problem is located within herself, and the solution is also
located within herself. She speaks of wanting to be herself again, and of taking back
what has been stolen from her. She talks about listening to her own voice, and learning
to listen to her therapist, thereby learning to trust herself and the voices of hope and
survival within her. She wants to take responsibility for herself, and learn to be more
discerning in her relationships. In Nishaat's story, the source of the problem is located
in the way her behavioural messages have been misinterpreted by others around her. It is
in her relationships and interactions with others that the solution is located. Nishaat
speaks of developing a better relationship with her father, of being more open with him
and of being able to express her needs more clearly so that they are not misinterpreted or
denied. She would like to get involved in helping to prevent sexual abuse of children by
teaching them how to avoid people who are potential perpetrators. She. wants to rebuild a
relationship of trust between herself and her boyfriend, where she can express herself
independently, where she can meet her own needs without being dependent on him for
her own happiness.
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It is evident that the location of the problem is an important factor in the way these three
women have survived their experiences of sexual revictimisation. Their survival
strategies are multi-faceted, but there is a common theme of locating the solution to the
problem in the same area as the location of the problem itself The theme of survival
will be taken up again later as the story unfolds .
The bondage of hidden secrets
As children, neither Moirah, Nishaat nor Rachel told anyone about their childhood sexual
abuse. However, their secrecy was for different reasons. Moirah kept her secret because
she was told to by the perpetrator and because by the time she realised what had
happened to her was abuse, she thought no-one would believe her. Nishaat kept her
secrets mainly out of fear - she was afraid of upsetting her parents, she thought it was her
fault and was afraid of being punished, she was also afraid that everyone would get to
hear about it and she would be exposed in the community. Nishaat also did not know
who to tell and knew that there were some things which are not spoken about. Rachel did
not tell anyone about her secret because she did not initially think what was happening
was wrong, and she also had ambivalent feelings about the abuse. The perpetrator was -
also giving her money and nice things, and telling about the abuse may have deprived her
of these gifts. Although each narrator has different reasons for keeping their secrets, the
common thread running through each story is that of fear.
More secrets to hide
Moirah continued to hide the events of her sexual revictimisation experience, once again
for fear that she would not be believed, and it would be her word against the taxi-driver's.
She also maintained the secrecy of her husband's abuse since she felt she had made the
decision to marry him and that she must take responsibility for her actions. However,
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when things became too much for her to bear, she disclosed her secrets to her father. The
story of Moirah's abuse is no longer a secret, she has shared it with her father, her
therapist and in the telling of this story in the re-authoring of her life. For Nishaat the
secret of her childhood sexual abuse remains ever present when she is in the company of
her friend and her brothers. She sees them all the time and wonders whether they
remember, and whether their secret effects them. Her unposted letter to them has helped
her to come to terms with the abuse, but the secret still hovers between them. Having
shared this secret with her therapist, she has found it easier to talk about it now, and
although she may never erase what happened from her memory, she is able to remember
without feeling so afraid, guilty and angry. Nishaat did not keep the secret of her sexual
harassment, perhaps since she managed to prevent anything from happening, and so a
sense of empowerment prevailed. However, she once again could not share her
boyfriend's betrayal and relationship problems with either of her parents. Her mother's
illness, and the distance between her and her father once again contributed to her having
to carry her suffering alone. The theme of secrecy was not a dominant one for Rachel.
She did not speak of her husband's sexual abuse initially because she thought it was what
husband's did to their wives. Having come from a home where physical abuse abounded,
and perhaps from a community where spousal abuse was sanctioned, Rachel saw her
plight as being no different to other women. However, since she has become a Christian,
she has told and retold her story many times, in the hope that her testimony may help
others who have suffered abuse.
For each of these women, the telling and re-telling of their stories and the sharing of their
secrets seems to have brought some sense of healing, of being able to come to terms with
what has happened. The secrets have lost some of the power to inflict pain, and the
narrators have been able to make sense of their experiences through the relating of their
stories.
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Looking for love
All three narrators experienced different forms of deprivation as children.. Moirah was
deprived of a loving and supportive relationship with her mother. She describes her
mother as being aggressive and violent and experienced beatings for little valid reason.
She and her siblings were also left with relatives after school since her parents were
either at work or unavailable. When Moirah was a young pre-adolescent, her mother was
in hospital, and her father in jail, and once again neither of her parents were available to
meet her needs of security, support and emotional comfort. This emotional deprivation,
may have in some way contributed to Moirah's abuse as a child, in that she may have
unwittingly responded to her uncle's attention and sexual advances initially out of a need
for love. Her need for love may also have influenced her to enter into a premature sexual
relationship with her husband, leading to their unplanned marriage. Moirah may also
have endured the abuse from her husband as the price to pay for his love, until the point
came when she finally realised that the abuse was becoming harmful to both her and her
child.
Nishaat was also emotionally deprived as a child, which appears to have contributed to
her sexual abuse. Although Nishaat appears not to have experienced the early abuse as
meeting her needs for love, perhaps the perpetrators witnessed her deprivation, and took
advantage of her vulnerability in this area. As with Moirah, Nishaat's parents were
physically unavailable to her due to illness and work, and they were also emotionally
unavailable for her to share her problems with. The theme of neglect and lack of support
runs throughout Nishaat's story - her mother's illness, her father's distance and her
boyfriend's betrayal and lack of care are all testimony to her emotional deprivation.
Rachel's story is a story of deprivation and need which begins before her birth. Her
father was an outcast and deprived physically, emotionally and educationally. Rachel
grew up in her uncle's home to prevent a childhood in an orphanage. Here she and her
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siblings were deprived of food and warmth, as well as emotional comfort and care. Her
father's provision of a leaking shack offered squalor and no privacy. Rachel's mother
spent most of her life in mental institutions and was unable to offer Rachel any
nurturance - one of Rachel's most poignant memories is of her mother calling a flower
"her baby" instead of Rachel! It was against this background, that Rachel's neighbour
offered her sex. Rachel's need for love and affection was met in her relationship with a
cripple who offered her a cheap form of love, for which Rachel has long paid the price.
At the time however, the money, clothes, food, and gentleness provided Rachel with what
she had not found in her own family.
As an ongoing influence, physical and emotional deprivation played a dominant role in
the sexual abuse histories of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel. This theme of emotional and
physical deprivation and the unmet needs in the lives of the three narrators is closely tied
up with the contradictions and confusion in their stories. As children they depended on
their parents to provide for their needs, in each case one parent was the good provider and
emotional supporter, while the other parent contained all that was bad.
Good-bad splits - confusion between love and sex
All three narrators appeared to have polarised relationships with their parents. Moirah has
developed a close and open relationship with her father. She would have liked to marry a
man like him, and described her father as being more like a friend. Her father is the one
person that Moirah really trusts, and it was with him that she first shared her secret of
abuse. He is her confidante and in him she has found gentle support. In contrast to this
idealisation of her father, Moirah has a bad relationship with her mother. As a child,
Moirah experienced her mother as being aggressive and violent, as well as unavailable.
She appears to have polarised her feelings about her parents, in that she has idealised her
father as all good, while her mother is devalued as all bad. While both parents abandoned
Moirah when her mother was shot by the police and hospitalised, and her father was
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arrested; Moirah blames her mother rather than her father for deserting her and leaving
her to care for her younger sister.
Nishaat dreams of a closer relationship with her father. She describes him as being
elderly, very quiet and not there for her during her times of need. Although Nishaat's
mother was not available to her as a child, Nishaat has rationalised and understood this as
being a result of her illness. Although Nishaat describes her relationship with her mother
as being close, she was never able to express her love for her verbally. She now carries
the guilt of not caring for her mother properly, even though she nursed her right up until
her death. Nishaat has idealised the women in her family as the stronger ones. She
believes she has inherited this strength from her mother, who herself inherited it from the
Malay servant girl who kept the Moslem faith and passed it down through the generations
to Nishaat. A strong faith in God despite hardship and suffering, and being able to
overcome obstacles through sheer determination are the survival legacies which Nishaat
attributes to her mother.
Rachel's father was extremely abusive towards her mother, and although she often played
the role of referee in their fights, Rachel appears to have had a degree of closeness with
her father. She admires him for providing for herself and her siblings, despite his lack of
education and she expressed appreciation for the sacrifices he made for them. Her
fondest memory is when she heard him refusing to allow his children to go to an
orphanage, since they would not know their father then. Perhaps Rachel perceives her
father as a victim of his own past, and shows great sympathy for his suffering. She
related with pleasure how proud he is of her now, for being a strong Christian, and for
attending Bible College. Rachel speaks of her mother with both fear and sadness. Her
fear lies in the possibility of her becoming mentally ill like her mother, and her sadness
relates to the absence of any meaningful relationship with her as a child. She idealises
her father as the one who fought for them, and depreciates her mother as the one who
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abandoned them. However, in recent years, Rachel has been able to reconcile her
relationship with her mother, and experienced a short time of closeness before her
mother died. Rachel's story also illustrates the good-evil split, in that Satan is
responsible for the curse of mental illness and abuse; while God is the good benevolent
rescuer. It is interesting that the mental illness "resided" in her mother, while her father
was the one who rescued his children from the ills of the orphanage.
It is perhaps significant that in all three stories, all three mothers were unavailable to their
daughters due to physical illness - Moirah's mother was hospitalised for a lengthy period
after being shot, and was thereafter disabled. Nishaat's mother was ill throughout her life
and bedridden for the last few years, eventually dying of cancer. Rachel's mother was
institutionalised in mental hospitals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia throughout most of
her life. This maternal unavailability appears to have affected all three women, as a
context within which the sexual abuse occurred, also perhaps as an unmet need
throughout their lives, and thus contributing to the complexity of emotional deprivation
in all three narrators.
Wounds of the heart
The emotional effects of revictimisation are broad and in the three stories include, themes
of depression, anger, aggression, dependency, guilt, responsibility, mistrust, suicidal
feelings and denial of feelings which have all left their mark on the hearts of Moirah,
Nishaat and Rachel.
Although not evident in her tone of voice, Moirah perhaps expresses the greatest
degree of anger and aggression out of the three narrators. Her anger and aggression is
expressed forcefully in her description of her desire to hurt her uncle who abused her, if
she ever saw him. Her disclosure of her impulses to kill herself or her husband indicates
the depth of her anger. She is also afraid of her aggression against her child, and is
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fearful of becoming like her mother - she has already beaten him and sometimes loses
control over her actions. Her anger and aggression have also been inwardly directed
towards herself, she wonders whether there are any good parts of her left, and she has
considered suicide as an option to end the pain. She feels that the abuse may have killed
her on the inside anyway, and Moirah struggles to express her emotions other than anger.
She speaks of having become hard, insensitive, mistrustful and tough. She denies her
needs and feelings and has learnt not to cry anymore. Her emotionless descriptions of her
abuse, her matter-of-fact manner in telling her story, and her losing control of her actions
when she gets in a blind rage towards her son, all indicate some degree of dissociation
between her thoughts and her feelings.
Nishaat also expresses anger and aggression, which were quite overt as a young teenager.
She protected her femininity and vulnerability by becoming aggressive and a tomboy.
Now she carries a knife for self defense, and has built a hard exterior of self protection
around herself Here it is safer, and here she can keep from feeling too much. Her
boyfriend has told her she is hard and unfeeling, and Nishaat defies him by ensuring that
she does not cry. However, it appears that her body expresses her anger for her, she
suffers from migraine headaches, and has suffered an emotional breakdown. In order to
deal with her underlying feelings of fear, guilt, shame, betrayal and jealousy, Nishaat has
developed an overly strong sense of responsibility. She fights for her independence, as if
she let go of it, she would slide into parasitic dependency, of which she is so frightened.
Her place behind her wall of hardness, independence and self-reliance is a safe place to
be.
Rachel's story clearly indicates the marks which were left on her heart in the form of a
sexualised identity. Her confusion between love and sex is clear, and this contributed to
her sexualised behaviour during her teenage years. Rachel thought nothing of having sex
with her boyfriends, and did not experience her husband's sexual abuse as a problem
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since she was so used to it and thought that was how all women were treated. However
feelings of anger, fear, depression and emptiness led to the contemplation of suicide.
Rachel expresses ambivalent feelings with regard to her relationships, she is ambivalent
about whether to forgive or hate the perpetrator of the child sexual abuse, she is
ambivalent about her relationship with her parents, at times idealising her father and
devaluing her mother, she is ambivalent about her relationship with her husband, she
wants to love him, but is afraid of him loving her for her body only. She sees herself as
small and inferior, and oscillates between feelings of hopelessness, denial and hope.
Daughters of Ham
Connecting being "coloured" and being abused was not a concept which was easily
accepted by Moirah, Nishaat or Rachel. Neither Moirah nor Rachel can trace their
histories to the slave era in South Africa since they are the products of more recent mixed
unions. While Nishaat can trace her history to colonial times, it is uncertain whether her
Malay ancestor was a slave or an indentured servant. Although Nishaat thought that
many "coloureds" have a "slave mentality", and it may be in their genes to abuse, she felt
that "coloured" women were stronger than "coloured" men, and more capable of
surviving any form of oppression. Rachel connects her own, and the intergenerational
abuse experiences through a "curse of abuse" which may have originated in her ancestry.
Both Rachel and Moirah distinguish between "coloureds" who come from slave origins
and "coloureds" who have a more recent history of mixed blood. All three women
however, found the idea that "coloured" identity and the concept of revictimisation are
connected, and may find their common roots in slavery, questionable.
Moirah did not define herself as being "coloured", but rather identified herself as Moirah.
She speaks of having Italian and German blood with pride, and appears to see herself as r
better person because of it. She describes "coloured" people as being very racist,
especially against blacks, and she feels that life was better for "coloured" people during
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Apartheid than it is now. For Moirah, it is better to be "coloured" than black, and her
German and Italian ancestry have provided her with this higher status in South Africa. At
the same time, Moirah does not notice colour generally, and does not appear to judge
people on the basis of their colour, especially if they are of the same intellectual and
social level as she is. Moirah does not connect her abuse and revictimisation with her
race at all, and she has never taken cognisance of her racial history, and it's possible
impact on her life - it is accepted as being quite normal and ordinary.
Nishaat speaks of her Norwegian ancestry with great pride, and has been involved in
trying to trace her family tree with a relative. Although Nishaat calls herself "coloured",
she identifies more with the Moslem faith than with her race. She comes from a line of
strong "coloured" women who are the keepers of the culture, tradition and faith in her
family. She has inherited this strength and intends to follow in the footsteps of her Malay
matriarch despite hardship and suffering. Although Nishaat does not connect her abuse
and being "coloured", she does describe "coloured" men as being weak, and wonders
whether they may therefore express their manhood by preying on vulnerable women.
When' her boyfriend goads her to cry, she defiantly opposes him, and withdraws into the
safety of her protective wall. Nishaat wonders whether the strength of "coloured" women
is a result of, or contributes to the weakness of "coloured" men.
Rachel grew up believing that she was inferior to white people, and that black people
were inferior to her. She was taught that it was ordained that white people are better than
"coloureds", and "coloureds" are better than blacks. Even now that Rachel has_ .
experienced changes in South Africa, she still feels she has too much respect for whites,
and too little respect for blacks. Although Rachel does not connect being "coloured" with
being abused, she does believe that her inferiority about being "coloured" and her shame
about being abused have contributed to her inadequacy as a person. As a child, she had
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some white friends and experienced a taste of white life, and this has made her feel that
her own life is unacceptable. Being abused has only added to this questioning of her life
as being worthwhile. The origin of Rachel's skin colour was rooted in rape - that of a
black woman by a white man, yet Rachel was taught to believe it is better to be white
than black. Due to her light complexion, she was often able to "pass as white" and
aspires to her perception of the better life of whites.
While Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel showed some reluctance to the idea that their abuse
and their being "coloured" were connected, it is clear that both have contributed to their
stories. It is interesting that in all three stories, white men used, abused and abandoned
non-white women. In addition, men have abused, hurt and raped all three of them.
Although they speak of wanting to help others who have been abused, none of the three
narrators feel driven to take any social stand or action against the patriarchal practices of
men or against rape. It is as if the voices of injustice and indignity have been silenced.
Perhaps the enemy is too large, and their resources for attack have been depleted and
undermined by their humiliation as women. Perhaps it is for someone else to initiate the
battle - for Rachel perhaps it is God, for Moirah and Nishaat perhaps it will be through
joining with other sisters. Perhaps the battle will be fought more effectively on the soil of
their hearts as they recover and teach their children and other victims how to survive in
an unsafe and abusive world.
Reclaiming our lives
The theme of survival is a strong one for all three women. While all three narrators
construct a sense of meaning in their survival which revolves around the reclaiming of
what has been lost, the meaning of survival and the strategies used to survive are
different.
For Moirah survival means taking back that part of herself which was stolen by the
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sexual revictimisation. She wants to be herself again, and part of this means standing her
ground, putting her foot down, putting her mind to things and speaking up. She has
managed her powerlessness and lack of control through strategies of resistance, thereby
attempting to master her life and rejecting Abraham's control of her. Moirah sees herself
as a survivor, and she is on the road to recovery, but she wants to go beyond survival -
she wants to live. Living for Moirah means making a difference for others, being able to
enjoy her child rather than just bring him up. Living means being fully Moirah with an
"h" on the end!
Nishaat also sees herself as a survivor, she believes she carries the seeds of survival
passed down through the women in her family. Survival for Nishaat means getting a grip
on herself, telling herself to wake up, pushing herself to the limits, keeping the faith and
trusting God, being strong, independent and self-reliant and yet being prepared to get
help when she needs it. Like Moirah, Nishaat wants to go further, she wants to help
others and rebuild the relationships in her life. For Nishaat going beyond survival means
bearing the name of Nishaat and being worthy of it's significance - that of a pure fountain
of water, clear precious and elegant, like a pearl - this speaks of a life that has great value
and worth.
Rachel has survived through seeing life differently, through her faith in God. She has
purpose and meaning in her life through the reality of God. She has been able to identify
with the Christ of the Bible who was born in a stable, and has suffered like she has.
Survival for Rachel has meant accepting who she is and accepting that her life was. -
ordained for her from the beginning. Rachel has no desire to change her past or her
colour. It is through the story of her past that she is able to have compassion for others,
especially women from her own nation. Survival for Rachel has also meant getting back
her spiritual virginity, being cleansed and forgiven by God and understanding her need
for love as a child. With the knowledge that God has a plan for her life, Rachel wants to
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go beyond survival onto victory, and this means being able to conquer the demon of
alcohol in her husband, and be a blessing to others. She plans to follow the plan of God
in her life, which she is sure will be counselling abused women and children. However,
she does not want to limit God, and is available to discover His full purpose for her life
while she is in His service at Bible College. Rachel believes she is very close to God and
that He speaks to her in dreams and visions. She has re-constructed the story of mental
illness in her family and believes that God has taken the curse of schizophrenia and
turned it into a gift of prophecy in her life - she is not afraid of hearing His voice and
witnessing His presence through her dreams and visions, and is grateful for this special
gift. Throughout her life Rachel was known as Tracey, but when she gave her life to
God, she changed her name to Rachel, which was actually her birth name. Rachel means
"ewe", but as a tender term of endearment for one who is gentle, compassionate and
sensitive. For Rachel herself, the name is significant since Rachel of the Bible was
divinely guided and became known as the one who weeps for children.
For all three women survival has meant getting back what was lost. For each of them,
their choice of name has been significant as a symbol of reclaiming themselves and their
dignity. They have used different strategies to keep from being overwhelmed by
dangerous and threatening feelings. The role of religion, prayer and faith in God has
played an important part in their survival, particularly for Rachel and Nishaat. For each
of them going beyond survival means making a difference to others, they have embraced
the wounded healer for themselves. Rachel wrote these words as an ode to survival:
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AN ODE TO SURVIVAL
My hopes and dreams of life
Were stolen from my mind and heart
Crippled hands clutched my flesh
And tore away my innocence.
His touch grew kindly and I knew it well
But my heart grew cold within
I heeded not another love
I could not feel, nor hear the voice.
I learnt of One who was like me
Rejected, betrayed, beaten and denied
I opened my heart and felt true love
O Lord, my Lord, my search is through.
And now I reach out to those little ones
Whose innocence I will not betray
Like Him who was wounded for me
My wounds will set them free.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH RESULTS
In this chapter a discussion of the quantitative and qualitative results of the research will
be undertaken. Specific aspects of the quantitative results will be discussed and
compared with previous quantitative studies on revictimisation. Following this, an
attempt will be made to integrate the three different aspects of this study:
the quantitative results of the research,
the qualitative themes which emerged from the stories, and
the quantitative and qualitative components of the literature review.
7.1 DISCUSSION OF QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
The quantitative results of this study are not seen as empirical proof that sexual
revictimisation occurs in 69.23% of the population of "coloured" sexually revictimised
women. The results are rather seen as a dramatic story about the problem of sexual
revictimisation, the magnitude of which is possibly illustrated by the reported -
percentages.
The empirical validity of this research is further questioned by the small sample size of
the respondents to the questionnaire, as well as the manner in which the data was
collected. In the first attempt to obtain data through the I.S.H.S., the three psychology
interns may not have achieved success in collecting completed questionnaires for a
number of reasons. Firstly they may not have been considered part of the community,
and therefore viewed with some suspicion by the prospective respondents. Secondly,
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prospective respondents may not have perceived any benefits to themselves in
completing and returning the questionnaires. Although counselling was offered to each
respondent, this may not have been perceived as an added benefit, since a free
counselling service is already offered to the community of Eldorado Park by the I.S.H.S.
Thirdly, the sensitive nature of the questions may have been difficult for prospective
clients to face, and the interns may have wanted to protect their clients from secondary
abuse.
In the second attempt the success in collecting completed questionnaires may have been
as a result of other factors. Firstly, a "coloured" psychology student, well known to her
own community distributed the questionnaires. She may have been able to overcome any
suspicion from prospective respondents, as well as offer some benefits to them, such as
free counselling. In addition, being a psychology student, she has some status within the
community, and therefore may have been perceived as being able to understand and thus
not contribute to secondary abuse. Thirdly, she was paid for her assistance, and this may
have provided the motivation for her to obtain as many completed questionnaires as she
could.
It is perhaps noteworthy that in this particular community, trust and suspicion towards
researchers and research are important issues which need to be dealt with sensitively
before valid and reliable research data can be obtained. Perhaps the community needs to
"buy into" the research process, in terms of trusting the person collecting the data, as well
as perceiving some benefit to themselves.
It is significant that out of 39 respondents to the questionnaire, 33.33% experienced child
sexual abuse; and 35,89 experienced adult sexual abuse. What is more significant and
particularly pertinent for this study is that out of the respondents which indicated an
experience of child sexual abuse, an alarming 69,23% were sexually revictimised as
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results in this study and some of the literature are characterised by the postmodemist
paradigm. Methodological and linguistic differences between the two paradigms
provided numerous obstacles in the way of completing the task .
In order to overcome these obstacles, the co-author remained within the dominant
paradigm albeit a modernist paradigm, reflected in the literature review, and used this as
a backdrop against which to compare the qualitative research results. In order to simplify
this complexity it was helpful to conceptualise the research results and literature review
in terms of contextual positioning. Three main contexts may be identified:
the unique and personal context
the cultural context
the general or universal context
The individual stories narrated by Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel, which were re-authored
by the co-author, are contained within the personal and unique context. In this context,
each individual story has particular meaning embedded within the narrator's subjective
experience.
The co-constructed story of revictimisation, in which common themes emerged from the
three narrators' stories, is contained within the personal and unique context as well as the
cultural context. In this context, the three narrators share the common experiences of
being "coloured", of child sexual abuse and of sexual revictimisation. They also share
commonalties in the ways they have been effected by revictimisation, and in the ways
they have survived. This context was discussed in Chapter Six in the re-tellings, re-
authoring and co-construction of stories.
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The quantitative results from the questionnaire are contained within the cultural context
in which the story of sexual abuse and revictimisation is told within the context of the
community of "coloured" women who responded. This context was discussed in section
7.1 of this chapter. However, since the three narrators all come from within the same
cultural context there is some overlap, with both similar and different themes emerging
between the personal and unique stories, and the cultural context. An attempt to discuss
this overlap will follow.
The previous research on sexual abuse and revictimisation is reviewed in the literature
study in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. This is conceptualised as the universal context in which the
many different constructs used to describe and explain sexual revictimisation are
contained. The term 'universal context' is used here to refer to the more general context
where common themes have been identified across cultures and contexts, and does not
refer to universal truths.
It was thought that the task of integrating the personal and unique context, and the
contextual context into a more universal context may be less restricting. It is within the
general and universal context that it is possible to compare the differences between the
themes which emerged from the different phases of the research. However, it is only
through conceptualising both data and stories as different constructions about the same
phenomenon, that integration and a juxtaposition of modernist knowledge and
postmodern knowing may be achieved. This will be attempted in this chapter as a re-
construction of the story of revictimisation.
The dialectic process of iterating between the different paradigms proved complex, and
has been described as "a messy, ambiguous, time-consuming, creative and fascinating
process" where there are no neat, tidy, labelled variables (Marshall and Rossman, 1995,
p. 111). The linguistic and methodological differences between modernist research
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studies and postmodernist story construction around the phenomenon of sexual
revictimisation will be apparent, and will reflect this complex process.
7.2.1 RE-CONSTRUCTING THE STORY OF REVICTIMISATION
7.2.1.1 Definitional issues of revictimisation.
In Chapter 3 of this study, sexual revictimisation was defined as any secondary
experience where a survivor of child sexual abuse is involved in any form of sexual
contact which is perceived as coercive or where the victim is taken advantage of unfairly
or subversively, and may include situations where it appears that the victim is initiating
the abuse interaction. This may include sexual harassment or coercion, sexual assault,
rape, date rape, spouse abuse or the involvement in a sexually abuse relationship (Allers,
et. al., 1992; Himelein et. al., 1994 and Messman and Long, 1996).
Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel's revictimisation experiences, and the stories that were
constructed around the theme of a deja vu of horror, fall well within this definition.
They were all sexually abused as children, and later experienced either attempted rape,
spousal assault and rape.
The majority of the sample of revictimised adults who responded to the questionnaire
were sexually assaulted and raped by their perpetrators. A smaller percentage
experienced sexual harassment and non-consensual touching. Rape is perceived as a
violent assault which has more to do with power than with sex (Naidoo, 1992). Both
phases of the study indicate the prevalence of this problem within this particular
community. However, the stories told by Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel speak of the
impact of sexual revictimisation on their lives as survivors.
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7.2.1.2 The effects of revictimisation
Research studies abound with reports on the deleterious effects of sexual abuse and
revictimisation on the lives of abuse survivors. The difficulty of separating the effects of
adult revictimisation and child sexual abuse is acknowledged in the literature (Roth et al.,
1990). In this study, this problem of differentiation is no less problematic. In their
stories, the narrators' suffered multiple abuses and it would be almost impossible to
differentiate the effects. Studies of revictimisation have suggested that one of two
general outcomes is possible, that of an "additive effect" or that of an "inoculation effect"
(Boney-McCoy and Finkelhor, 1995). The additive effects of sexual revictimisation have
been highlighted in numerous studies. Table 7.1 offers a review of research results.
RESEARCH STUDY ADDICTIVE EFFECTS OF SEXUAL
REVICTIMISATION
Boney-McCoy and Finkelhor (1995) More Negative symtomatology found
Murphy et. al., (1988) Severe depression, anziety and hostility
Roth et. al., (1990) Significant levels of psychiatric difficulties
Victims of incest repeated assult were most
distressed
Simon and Whitbeck (1991) Greater chance of entry into prostitution
Wyatt et.al., (1992)
A cross cultural study
Relationship problems, sexual dysfunction,
higher rates of unintended and aborted
pregnancies, increased risk of STD's due to
sexual practices and heightened sexual
activity
Table 7.1
A review of the literature on additive effects of sexual revictimisation
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The construct of wounds of the heart was formulated and explored as a means of
making sense of the effects of abuse on the lives of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel. The
effects which appear to dominate their stories are compared and contrasted with the
literature and the quantitative results of this study.
The effects of child sexual abuse and revictimisation on Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel are
broad and include the emotional and cognitive effects of depression, anger, aggression,
mistrust, guilt, suicidal ideation, dissociation and splitting, somatisation, denial of
feelings and negative self-perception. All of these effects are reported in the literature
(Farmer, 1990; Finkelhor, 1986; Levett, 1988; Salter, 1995; Whitfield, 1995). These
emotional and cognitive effects of sexual revictimisation are mirrored in the responses to
the questionnaire in this study and the majority of respondents indicated anger and
mistrust to be the most prevalent effect.
While the quantitative results of this study and previous research has documented the
universal prevalence of these effects, the unique stories of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel
describe these effects in more depth. Moirah appeared to express the greatest degree of
aggression and anger, both towards herself and significant people in her life. Nishaat
appears to have expressed her anger somatically through migraine headaches and
although Rachel expresses her anger verbally, the force of such feelings appear to be
counteracted by her need to forgive. All three narrators expressed suicidal ideation
accompanied by feelings of depression, emptiness and hopelessness. However there
were also times when they also exhibited difficulty in expressing their emotions,
preferring to deny feelings of hurt, not cry, and stay behind walls of self-protection.
There is also a lack of cognitive-emotional connectedness and dissociation evident.
Rachel expresses emotional ambivalence in not being sure whether she wants to hurt the
perpetrator of her abuse, or forgive him.
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It may also be considered that Rachel's ability to hear the voice of God, and see visions
while praying, are perhaps dissociative activities. Whether she "inherited" this possible
ability to dissociate from her mother, whether is was part of her response to sexual abuse
or neither, may never be known and serves as an illustration of the circularity of
precursors, effects and responses to sexual abuse.
While Nishaat denies expression of her feelings, she appears to express them somatically.
The theme of somatisation as a response to secrecy and sexual abuse has been reported in
the literature (Bass and Davis, 1988; Briere and Runtz, 1988a; Farmer, 1990; Finkelhor,
1986 and Whitfield, 1995). Any exploration of what is often called the "mind-body
link" involves many connecting conceptual territories. These all demand some attention
in the struggle to find new ways of thinking and working with people with illnesses
which appear to have dimensions in mind and body (Broom, 1997, p. 19). According to
this view, the body tells the story when the person is unable or unwilling to do so.
McDougall (1989) suggests that the body becomes an obvious theatre for playing out the
dramas of life. In Nishaat's narrative, it may be possible that her body is telling the
secret story of her pain, anguish, suffering and possible underlying resentment through
her migraine headaches.
All three narrators showed a tendency to split their parents into either good or bad
Negative self-perceptions were communicated by all three narrators; Moirah wonders
whether there are any good parts of her left, Nishaat expresses her vulnerability and fears
and Rachel sees herself as small and inferior.
The behavioural effects of sexual abuse, evident in both this study and previous research,
are also seen in sexualised behaviour (Finkelhor, 1986), dependency versus over-
developed independence (Farmer, 1990; Messman and Long, 1996), somatic complaints
(Bass and Davis, 1988; Drossman, 1994) and the possibility of perpetrating abuse (van
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der Kolk, 1989). The effects of sexual abuse on interpersonal relationships are evident
in the quantitative responses, all three narrations, and the literature These include the
development of exploitative relationships, marital problems and parenting problems
(Alexander et. al 1997; Farmer, 1990; Salter, 1995).
The behavioural effects of sexual abuse are particularly evident in the narrators'
interpersonal functioning. This is evidenced in Rachel's sexualised behaviour during her
youth, where she appeared to accept sexual abuse as the price to be paid for a
relationship, as well as in her inability to leave an abusive marriage. Nishaat's fight for
independence and self-reliance as a way of defeating the parasitic dependency, which she
greatly fears, has resulted in her avoidance of emotional intimacy in her relationships.
Moirah's aggressive behaviour towards her son, and the chance that she may become the
perpetrator of abuse are frightening prospects which Moirah seems to have little control
over.
7.2.1.3 Theoretical explanations of revictimisation
The theme of looking for love was constructed as an attempt to make sense of the
narrator's revictimisation experiences. In this sense it may be construed as a theoretical
explanation of how and why sexual revictimisation could occur. Most of the previous
literature approaches the theoretical explanation of sexual revictimisation from a
modernist and linear perspective, where unidimensional cause and effect are important
concepts. However, the circularity and multidimensional nature of cause and effect
should also be acknowledged when applying explanatory theory to the concept of sexual
revictimisation.
Mayall and Gold (1995) use developmental theory to explain the concept of
revictimisation. According to this view, the process starts with lack of parental support,
which is seen as an influential precursor to child sexual abuse, and a major factor which
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contributes to the increased likelihood of sexual revictimisation. Alexander et.al., (1997)
use attachment theory to comprehend sexual revictimisation. They suggest that the
mother-child relationship may influence the subsequent trajectories of involvement in
intimate relationships. In their research sample, they found pervasive histories of
maternal neglect, abandonment and emotional rejection. The linearity of these
explanations is clear in that parental deprivation and insufficient attachment are seen as
precursors to the abuse.
The theme of deprivation was common to all three narrations in this study. Moirah,
Nishaat and Rachel all have histories of maternal unavailability which has continued to
influence their lives and the development of intimate relationships. Moirah still feels -
strongly about her mother's abandonment of her, and aggression towards her as a child.
Moirah's emotional deprivation may have been an influencing factor in the event of child
sexual abuse, and continued to contribute to her revictimisation experiences. Although
her good relationships with her paternal grandmother and her father, may to some extent
have buffered the effects of the abuse, her need for maternal emotional acceptance
appears to remain unmet. Nishaat experiences guilt that she was unable to tell her
mother that she loved her before she died. Perhaps this emotional distance between
them, due to her mother's unavailability and illness left it's mark on Nishaat, influencing.
the event of child sexual abuse and continuing it's influence into adulthood, even beyond
the grave. Her inability to express her needs and emotions has affected her present
relationship with her boyfriend. Rachel's mother was not able to give her any kind of
love, due to her absence from the home, and her mental illness. Rachel's need for love
was clearly evident in her acceptance of her neighbours sexual attentions. However her
continuing need for love was shown in her being prepared to pay the price for love in her
teenage sexual encounters, and her present marriage. In addition to maternal deprivation
and neglect experienced by all three narrators, there is also evidence of economic
deprivation. The poverty of Rachel's childhood clearly influenced the maintenance of an
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ongoing sexual relationship between her cripple neighbour and herself. Economic
deprivation may also have contributed to the maternal deprivation in Moirah's situation,
where her mother had to leave her in the care of neighbours while at work.
The research (Mayall and Gold, 1995 and Alexander et. al., 1997) appears to indicate that
deprivation, particularly maternal and emotional, leads to child sexual abuse in a linear
cause-effect dimension. However, the stories of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel suggest the
role of deprivation is more contributory, influential and contextual than causal. In their
stories, it is not clear that emotional neglect led to sexual abuse, but that the sexual abuse
occurred within the context of maternal, emotional and economic deprivation.
Salter (1995), and Wyatt and Riederle (1994) report that it is known through research that
perpetrators seek out victims who appear to have insecure attachment bonds and use their
need for love and attention to involve children in sexual abuse. While the perpetrators in
this study have not been interviewed, it is possible that they perceived and used their
victims' need for love and cues of vulnerability as a way to involve them in sexual abuse.
The role of the perpetrator is a contextual consideration that requires greater attention
than it has received in this study.
Muller (1994) and Cole and Putnam (1992) highlight the impact of child sexual abuse on
identity formation. It is suggested that sexual abuse experiences may need to be re-
negotiated, resolved and re-integrated into the identity of the survivor. Each
developmental transition provides the victim with the opportunity to reprocess their
experience, one never ceases to have been victimised, but one continues to
reconceptualise and come to terms with this experience in new ways" (Cole and Putnam,
1992, p. 180). This process of re-negotiation, resolution and integration may be seriously
hampered when further revictimisation occurs. In addition, the task of having to establish
an identity as a "coloured" within the South African context may further complicate the
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process. Moirah appears to have established a strong sense of identity around the
construct of "Moirah with an h" - she is adamant that she is herself, and not identified as
a "victim" or a "coloured". Her resilience and rootedness in her identity are a testimony
to her survival, and there appears to be little identity confusion in her story.
Rachel appears to have established a strong sense of identity as a "Christian" and it is her
strong faith which has enabled her to resolve and integrate her abuse experiences.
Coming to terms with the theme of suffering in her life has been made possible through
her identification with Christ and His suffering. As a "child of God", her colour, her
gender and her status are unimportant and she has been able to reconceptualise and re-
construct her experiences more meaningfully in terms of God's purpose for her life.
There is less evidence of identity resolution in Nishaat's story, however her identity
appears to be rooted in being a Muslim rather than a "coloured". She appears to identify
with the tradition and culture espoused in the Muslim faith, and it is partly due to this
faith that she has survived. However, perhaps Nishaat is still engaged in a process of
resolving and integrating her abuse experiences into her life, which is why she is not yet
able to avoid further revictimisation in her relationship with her boyfriend. In addition, it
is important to note that Nishaat is the youngest of the three narrators, and she, unlike
Moirah and Rachel, is unmarried. Both these factors may also contribute to a more
complete construction of her identity.
Transactional analysis provides an explanation for the recurring nature of similar themes
in the life-dramas of people (Berne, 1996). The neediness in the lives of Moirah, Nishaat
and Rachel was clear and this may have contributed to them "setting themselves up" or
"being set up in" in relationships where further abuse was experienced. Rachel describes
her perpetrator as "setting her up for a life of abuse". Berne (1996) refers to a "life
script" as "derivatives or more precisely adaptations, of infantile reactions and
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experiences ... it is an attempt to repeat in derivative form a whole transference drama,
often split up into acts, exactly like the theatrical scripts which are intuitive artistic
derivatives of these primal dramas of childhood" (p. 116). According to this theory, the
tragic script which may be playing out in the lives of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel is that
of looking for love. Here the unconscious fantasy may be "maybe in this relationship
my needs for love will be met", while the unconscious life script may be "I don't deserve
love, and this relationship will once again prove that truth to me". In this sense Moirah,
Nishaat and Rachel enter recurring relationships with the unconscious drive to set
themselves up to prove their life script of not deserving love, which has it's infantile
origins in their maternal relationships.
While this theory may provide an explanation for the recurring theme of abuse in the
unique and personal context of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel's life-dramas, it may not
explain why revictimisation is so prevalent in communities. In addition, although there
is no research to verify this, it appears that it is not universally true that all survivors of
revictimisation "set themselves up" to be revictimised. Indeed this concept would invite
voracious criticism from feminist and other gender sensitive researchers who take a
defiant stand against victim-blaming discourses (Freer, 1997; Levett, 1988; Russell,
1996; White, 1997).
Jung's (Marx and Hillix, 1979) theory of the archetypal collective unconscious may
provide an alternative explanation or narrative for the recurrence of revictimisation in the
cultural context of the "coloured" community sampled in this study. It is suggested that
perhaps the "coloureds" carry the legacy of slavery within them as an archetype. This
archetype contains inherited response tendencies which are primordial images that are
deeply unconscious, and yet exert energy which drives behaviour in the present.
Although the "victim" or "slave" archetype does not cause further revictimisation, it
exists as a predisposing force which is then awakened by other victimising experiences.
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While this may be a useful explanation or alternative narrative for the understanding of
revictimisation within the "coloured" community, it cannot be universally true
for all cases of sexual revictimisation.
While the unique and personal context and the cultural context may highlight the
differences in the experience of sexual abuse and revictimisation, Mennen (1994)
suggests that the experience of sexual trauma may have universalities that transcend
culture. Finkelhor's (1986) model of Traumagenic Dynamics perhaps provides the most
coherent and universally inclusive conceptual explanation for sexual revictimisation.
Some aspects of this model also seem to correspond most closely with the narrators' and
co-author's understanding of the experience of sexual revictimisation.
According to Finkelhor (1986) traumatic sexualisation as a result of sexual abuse, leads
to heightened sexual activity and the use of sexual behaviour to get rewards. In Rachel's
story, her repeated involvement in relationships with men who exploited and abused her
was the price she paid for the rewards of a consistent relationship, even if that
relationship was abusive. Jehu et. al., (1985) and Russell (1996) also describe
oversexualisation of relationships and repeated involvement with men who misuse
women. However their findings appear to be restricted to victims who have experienced •
sexual abuse where a long term relationship developed between the victim and her
perpetrator, and also where the victim was rewarded in some way for her sexual favours.
While this explanation may be appropriate for Rachel, neither Moirah nor Nishaat reaped
rewards from their child abuse involvement. They appear to have escaped traumatic
sexualisation as an effect on their functioning, perhaps also because their abuse
experiences were too short-lived for them to learn any sexualised behaviours.
Betrayal results in the need to regain trust and security leading to an impaired judgement
about the trustworthiness of others and a desperate search for satisfying relationships.
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Moirah expresses that an inability to discern the trustworthiness of men led to her sexual
revictimisation. Her search for a satisfying relationship has so far been thwarted, and she
continues to hope that she may find a man like the father she has idealised. In Nishaat's
case, this dynamic may be the one that keeps her in a relationship in which she has
already been betrayed once. Nishaat has experienced repeated betrayal throughout her
life, it may be that it is at least a dynamic with which she is familiar, or that each
relationship is another opportunity to regain the trust which she has lost. Similarly,
Rachel remains in a relationship where she is abused and continually betrayed - however,
she has expressed hope that God will redeem her marriage. Perhaps Rachel's mistrust of
the world has resulted in her placing her trust in a God who is not of this world. Even
though she may not experience a satisfying relationship of trust with her husband, she has
found one in God.
Stigmatisation occurs when the connotations of badness, guilt and shame are
incorporated into the self-image of the abuse victim. In all three stories, negative self-
perception is a common theme. Nishaat sacrificed much of her growing years as a
young adult to take care of her sick mother and siblings. Yet, she feels guilty for not
being able to express her love for her mother. No matter how hard she tried to do good
and be the self-sacrificing daughter, her image of herself as being not good enough
permeates her identity. Moirah has wondered if there are any good parts in her left, feels
guilty about her aggression towards her son, and has contemplated suicide. Rachel's
negative self image is clear in the way she describes herself as feeling small
and inferior. Like Moirah, she has also contemplated suicide.
Powerlessness leads to learned helplessness and a perceived inability to control what
happens to oneself, thus increasing the likelihood of revictimisation. Learned
helplessness is seen as a result of sexual abuse by numerous researchers (Mandoki and
Burkhart, 1989; Messman and Long, 1996; Peterson and Seligmann, 1983; and Simons
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and Whitbeck, 1991), and in each story told here there are times when some helplessness
is expressed. However, an alternative story has also been told in the expressions of
power in the lives of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel. Although powerlessness is evident on
their childhood responses to sexual abuse, their adult responses to revictimisation are far
from powerless. Moirah fought off a rapist, and did not helplessly and meekly submit to
his intended assault. Her decision to leave her husband after a year of abuse and
numerous attempts to lodge a case with the police are further examples of resistance
rather than weakness. Similarly, Nishaat's power in fighting off a gang of would-be
rapists, as well as her defiance against her boyfriend, and her assertive and confident
manner at work are more a testimony of power than helplessness. Rachel has been able
to leave her husband for periods, and she has raised four children almost single-handedly.
Her trust in the power of God has given her the strength to face her life of hardship and
enabled her to improve herself and thus control her future. Cognisance must also be
made of the cultural influences on these three women, who appear to come from a culture
where matriarchal strength is expressed through religion, faith and achievement of
stability through strong survival and coping strategies. Perhaps the theme of
powerlessness as a consequence of sexual abuse, has been counteracted by the power of
matriarchy in the lives of these three "coloured" women, and by their resistance
strategies.
7.2.1.4 Dominant discourses of abuse
Foucault (1979), Levett (1988) and Morrow and Smith (1995) have all highlighted the
bombardment of discourses which are involved in sexual abuse and the victimisation of
women. These include dominant views about women as sexual objects, cultural norms of
male dominance and female submission, the place of women and children in a man's
world, and the collusion of silence and denial about the maltreatment of women and
children between communities and perpetrators. It is these dominant discourses (among
many others) that provide the bedrock on which sexual abuse against women and
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children is perpetrated.
The bondage of hidden secrets and re-claiming our lives are themes representing
dominant discourses which permeate the stories of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel. Social
constructions and dominant discourses held by individuals and communities greatly
influences the way victims of sexual abuse view and are viewed by the world (Levett,
1988). The problem with social constructions and dominant discourses is that they are
unquestionably accepted by the members of the group, and thus subtly influence
behaviour and practices within the community (Gergen, 1985).
Kritzinger (1988), Levett (1988) and Russell (1997) highlight the importance of the way
society views victims of child sexual abuse. Their research emphasises the dominant
views held by communities or social groups that victim's of sexual abuse may be labelled
as damaged, helpless, vulnerable and therefore cannot be further damaged. Himelein
(1995) concludes in her research results that women who adopt a discourse of permissive
sexuality are seen by the group of which they are a part as being denied a rationale for
refusing sex. This may have well been possible for Rachel, although rather than adopting
a discourse of permissive sexuality, her heightened sexual activity was more a result of
traumatic sexualisation.
Wyatt and Riederle (1994) suggest that the adoption of the construct of "1 am a victim"
results in the belief that revictimisation is deserved and expected. Although, Moirah,
Nishaat and Rachel have undergone counselling and an opportunity to work through their
abuse experiences, there is little evidence that they perceive themselves as "victims".
They have suffered numerous effects of abuse, and still struggle with different problems,
including negative self perceptions, however it does not seem that any of them have
adopted a victim discourse. The explanatory theory of transactional analysis and life
scripts (Berne, 1996), as discussed above, may explain this differently. According to this
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theory it is perhaps more likely that an unconscious belief or script that they are not
deserving of love may drive their current life-dramas. The historical origins of the life
script from this perspective are rooted in their infant-mother relationships, rather than in
their abuse experiences.
Other dominant discourses which appear to be present in the stories of Moirah, Nishaat
and Rachel, as well as in the quantitative responses in this study and the previous
literature, include possible beliefs about children being powerless to take action against
perpetrators. This belief in the powerlessness of children may have lead to the
perpetrator's assurance of their victims silence. The adherence to a second discourse,
that of silence, runs as a common thread through all the stories. Certain things are not
spoken about, and the adoption of this discourse of silence has contributed to the
maintenance and perpetuation of sexual abuse in the lives of all three narrators.
However, there were contradictions between the quantitative and qualitative results of
this study. Respondents to the questionnaire indicated that much community help was
rendered to the victim of sexual abuse through counselling services, police and medical
assistance. In addition, the majority of the respondents indicated that family assistance to
victims of sexual abuse was most common. These results appear to contradict a
dominant discourse of silence with regard to sexual victimisation. However, the stories
of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel show little of this - as children experiencing sexual abuse
none of them perceived the community as offering assistance to them. They were too
afraid and powerless to share their secret with their own families or take any action
against the perpetrators. Although Nishaat considered going to a family planning clinic,
she was afraid and felt the workers there were unapproachable. In all three stories, the
families of the narrators were unable to give assistance, since the secret of the abuse was
not disclosed, however neither Moirah, Nishaat nor Rachel shared their abuse secrets
because they did not think their families, particularly their mothers, could help them.
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While community members may perceive a plethora of assistance being offered for the
victims of sexual abuse, it is clear that the victims themselves, particularly children, view
the community services and family responses quite differently. It is also interesting
that while Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel received counselling in order to deal with their
problems, this counselling was received outside of their own community .
Both phases of the research in this study indicate the serious problem of sexual
revictimisation in the community in which the study took place. The high percentage of
revictimisation (69.23%), as well as the manner in which sexual abuse is viewed within
the community provide an indication of the depth of the problem. It is interesting
however, that while the majority of the quantitative respondents indicated that they
perceived the view of the community to child and adult sexual abuse to be mainly anger
and disgust, this was not clearly reflected in the stories of Moirah, and Rachel. Nishaat
may have alluded to this when she said that the community responded to allegations of
rape by actively tracing and prosecuting the rapist. However, the problem lies in the fact
that victims of rape do not often report the incident due to fear of exposure and the
subsequent shame they were made to feel. While Moirah expressed anger herself, neither
she nor Rachel indicated the response of anger from their communities towards their
sexual abuse. The respondents to the questionnaire appear to indicate more anger and
disgust towards sexual abuse within their communities, than is reflected in the narrators'
stories. However, there were some (6) respondents who reported that toleration and
ignoring the problem of sexual abuse was prevalent in their communities. All three
narrators expressed fears of disbelief and that they would be blamed for the sexual abuse,
and all three indicated that they did not know where to turn or who to tell of their
experiences.
Both the discourse of powerlessness of children and the discourse of silence are
supported by a third discourse -the discourse of secrecy. The theme of secrecy is not
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discussed with any depth in the literature on revictimisation. However it is voluminously
discussed in the literature on child sexual abuse and spousal abuse (Naidoo, 1992 and
Russell, 1997). Finkelhor (1986) refers to the dynamic of stigmatisation in child sexual
abuse, where secrecy conveys powerful connotations of shame and guilt. The secret is
kept because the victim believes she is responsible for the abuse, that no-one will believe
her and that public knowledge of the abuse may lead to stigmatisation. In the case of
spousal abuse it is thought that the collusion of silence within the spousal relationship,
and between the spouses and the world outside contributes to the continuation of the
abuse (Naidoo, 1992). Perhaps these explanations have universal application and are apt
for the understanding of the maintenance of secrecy in the personal stories of Moirah,
Nishaat and Rachel, and the general stories of maintaining the secrets of abuse told
elsewhere.
Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel kept the secrets of their child sexual abuse experiences, as
well as their revictimisation experiences. In this sense they entered a collusion of silence
with their perpetrators. However, this must be seen in the context of their lives in their
families and communities. MI three narrators did not share their secrets out of fear; of
not being believed, of being blamed, or of being exposed. For Nishaat and Rachel, the
illness of their mothers' played an important part in their secrecy, and for Moirah the
negative relationship with her mother was a significant factor in the maintenance of her
secret of ongoing abuse. Nishaat indicated that there were certain things within her
community which are not spoken about, and all three indicated that they did not know
who to tell. The role of the community and family in adhering to the discourses of
secrecy and silence, and being part of the collusion of silence with abuse practices is
significant.
Numerous researchers (Mayan and Gold, 1995; Messman and Long, 1995; Wyatt and
Riederle,1994) have highlighted the problem of disclosure of sexual abuse. This
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problem was corroborated in this study. In the first attempt at gathering quantitative data
in this study, there was a poor response to the questionnaires. It has been suggested that
this may have been due to a lack of trust in the researcher, as well as a perception of little
benefit to the respondents. This problem was overcome by the use of a member of the
community to distribute and collect the questionnaires. Of the respondents who did
disclose their abuse experiences in the questionnaire, 76.92% did nothing about their
abuse and only 3.74% sought counselling after they Were abused as children and/or as
adults. The rest either forget, prayed or accepted what had happened to them.
These results are corroborated by the qualitative findings. The co-author of this study
experienced great difficulty in obtaining abuse victims who were prepared to tell their
stories. Only one respondent from the quantitative questionnaires was willing to
participate further in the research. The other three narrators were eventually obtained
through contact with colleagues who agreed to approach their clients who were receiving
counselling. In all three stories, disclosure of their abuse experiences was difficult.
The problem of reporting and disclosure of sexual abuse within communities is a
dominant theme in the literature (Wyatt and Riederle, 1994). Mennen (1994) stated that
African-American survivors of child sexual abuse were less likely to report child sexual
abuse than white survivors. Sandler and Sepel (1990) indicated that the problem of
disclosing sexual abuse is a particular problem within "coloured" communities.
This problem of disclosure links with the theme of secrecy and may also be viewed from
a contextual standpoint. Barbara Richie-Bush (1983) and Martha Wilson (1993) in their
stories on the sexual abuse of black women, suggest that women and children who betray
the closely guarded taboo of sexual abuse within non-white communities often pay the
price for betraying their kith and kin. "I struggled with how to illuminate this dark secret
about our homes and ourselves. Disclosure is so easily confused with treason" (Richie-
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Bush, 1983, p. 16). This may account for why the disclosure rate of sexual abuse is much
lower for non-whites than whites (Mennen, 1994; Wyatt and Riederle, 1994), and why
the discourse of secrecy within the "coloured" community is so strongly adhered to.
Nishaat did not know who to tell about her sexual abuse, all three narrators indicated that
some things are not spoken about within their communities, and Moirah feared she would
not be believed. Within the context of the "coloured" community, such secrets are not
told.
Levett (1988), in a detailed study of social constructions of reality with regard to sexual
abuse, concluded that a dominant discourse held by researchers, helpers and victims of
sexual abuse was that the effects of sexual abuse are so devastating that normal
functioning would not be possible. The literature abounds with studies on the
deleterious effects of sexual abuse for child and adult functioning (Salter, 1995).
However, the story of survival has been told and heard by few. Honey-McCoy and
Finkelhor (1995) discuss the development of coping strategies which appear to diminish
the effects of sexual abuse, and also refer to the "inoculation effect" of sexual abuse,
which enables the survivor to bear sexual revictimisation more stoically. Alexander et.
al., (1997), noted the influence of a supportive spouse in buffering the effects of child
sexual abuse and revictimisation. Neither Moirah, Nishaat nor Rachel have had the
fortune of a supportive spouse to buffer the effects of sexual revictimisation in their lives.
However, they have developed strong survival strategies which have enabled them to
lead meaningful lives. The dominant discourse of damaged victim has not been
adopted, and they have made sense of their revictimisation experiences through an
alternative discourse of survival in the reclaiming of their lives. Thus, the discourse
of survival exists despite the more dominant discourse of damage as Moirah, Nishaat and
Rachel reclaim their lives and journey further along the road towards victory.
Morrow and Smith (1995), in one of the few qualitative studies on survival of sexual
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abuse from a constructivist perspective, suggest that there are two main strategies of
survival. The first coping mechanisms revolve around attempts to avoid being
overwhelmed by threatening or dangerous feelings. The survivor uses various
behaviours in order to avoid, reduce, exchange, discharge, release or forget the intensity
of their feelings. These strategies are evident in Moirah and Nishaat's attempts to control
their feelings by not crying and by building walls of protection and hardness around
themselves. Rachel appears to have successfully controlled her fears and overwhelming
feelings through prayer and faith in God.
Of the respondents to the questionnaire who were sexually abused, the primary method of
coping were forgetting, prayer and acceptance - perhaps all attempts to reduce and avoid
facing intense feelings. It is uncertain whether these strategies are successful or not, and
judging from the expressed need for counselling, it would appear that they are not
completely effective. However, the fact that the majority respondents also indicated that
their family lives were happy and stable appears to indicate that perhaps some of their
survival strategies have been successful.
The second survival strategy mentioned by Morrow and Smith (1995) is that of survivor's
managing helplessness, powerlessness and lack of control by resistance strategies;
creating illusions of control or power, attempting to master the trauma by controlling
other areas of their lives, seeking confirmation from others and rejecting patriarchal
power. Resilience as a strategy of survival is also mentioned by Levett (1988). These
strategies are clearly evident in Moirah and Rachel's resistance and stand against abuse in
their marriages. It is also perhaps seen in Nishaat's job situation where her mastery of her
work and confirmation from her employers are strategies which serve towards managing
helplessness and powerlessness. However, she seems powerless to avoid a potentially
abusive and unfaithful relationship. Perhaps her needs and hopes for acceptance and love
are greater than her fears of betrayal, and that is the price she may be willing to pay.
228
While all three narrators have undergone counselling and have made sense of and
survived their experiences, the results of the questionnaire indicate that there are many
who still bear their scars secretly. In addition, other social problems such as alcohol and
drug abuse are clearly evident in the community sampled. More than a third of the
sample requested counselling for problems including sexual abuse and revictimisation.
Many of the respondents also, like Moirah tried to forget the abuse. In addition, like all
three narrators, many of the respondents have coped with their abuse experiences through
prayer. The role of religion in coping with difficulties in life appears to play a dominant
part in the lives of the women who responded to this research.
7.2.1.5 Contextual positioning
In the study of revictimisation, numerous researchers have indicated the importance of
the context within which the revictimisation experiences occur. Kritzinger (1988) and
Wyatt and Riederle (1994) have highlighted the importance of the cultural context with
regard to the effects and epidemiology of revictimisation. Simon and Whitbeck (1991)
highlight the importance of considering the indirect effects of sexual revictimisation.
They suggest that child sexual abuse increases the likelihood that survivors will
participate in the kind of lifestyle that may result in revictimisation. In South African
studies, Adhikari (1992) traced the influence of slavery, the dehumanisation of people
and the demasculinisation of men on "coloured" identity; van der Ross (1993) points to
the significance of oppression and marginalisation in the struggle for survival; and
Simone (1995) emphasises the impact of politics and economics on the lives of
"coloured" people in South Africa. The indirect effects of being part of a marginalised
community where economic deprivation and political oppression may contribute to a
greater exposure to criminality, and where demasculinisation has led to high levels of
aggression and violence amongsts men, may have more to do with revictimisation, than
victim personality characteristics (Simon and Whitbeck (1991). These views are
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reflected in Nishaat's story where her view of "coloured" men is that it "may be in their
genes to abuse", and yet they are also weak and unable to stand against oppression,
leaving the struggle for the maintenance of traditional and religious culture up to the
women.
Levett (1988) highlights the double exploitation of power dynamics of age and
masculinity in the sexual abuse of children. In the cultural context of "coloured" victims
of sexual abuse and revictimisation, there appears to be a triple exploitation of power
dynamics. In all three stories their victimised ancestors were young, female and non-
white. The power statuses of age, masculinity and whiteness appear to be dynamics •
which were employed in the sexual victimisation of these women.
However, as Daughters of Ham, Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel all question any definite
connection between their sexual abuse experiences and being "coloured". It may be that
while they have suffered the indirect effects of being part of a marginalised and
oppressed community in other ways, they view sexual abuse as not being specific to
"coloureds". Although there may be evidence that the Cape has the highest incidence of
rape in the world (Allwood, 1987), this may have more to do with economic deprivation
and political powerlessness than historical, racial and cultural factors.
Urquiza and Goodlin-Jones (1994) focus on the significance of the family structure and
Blumberg et. al., (1996) and Russell (1996) introduced the influence of patriarchal
systems in the study of revictimisation. In the stories told by Moirah, Rachel and
Nishaat, family dynamics are particularly relevant to their abuse and revictimisation
experiences, and while there are some similarities which seem to be universally common,
each situation is nevertheless unique. In all three stories, a matriarchal system appears to
dominate the family structure. However, in all three stories the mother's are strongly
influential despite their physical weakness and despite their absence. There is some
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empirical evidence for the system of matriarchy within the "coloured" family culture
(Terreblanche, 1977), however the dominant social system in South Africa, of which the
"coloureds" are a part, is a patriarchal system (Levett, 1988). While the matriarchal
family system may have empowered "coloured" women as mothers, it did not seem to
alleviate the struggle against a patriarchal and male-dominated social system (Wilson,
1993). Perhaps, the matriarchs in the families of Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel are only
permitted to express their dominance covertly, and thus do so as mothers rather than as
wives, through overcoming physical weakness - they "rule from the sickbed" (Wilson,
1993, p. 17), and in their absence. In the weakness of disability Moirah's mother ruled
her family; Nishaat's mother dominated the family from her sickbed, and Rachel's mother
continued to control her family despite ongoing hospitalisation. This matriarchy is thus
not perceived as benign, all three mothers also emotionally neglected and abandoned
their daughters, and may have contributed by default to the violence against and
victimisation of the narrators.
Gilroy (in Wilson, 1993) connects the issue of child sexual abuse with the history of
colonisation, suggesting that historically black men have felt a need to exhibit male
strength and power which is denied them in the wider community. Unable to exhibit this
power in a matriarchal family system, they justify their abuse of women and children.
Demasculination appears to persist in "coloured" male culture (van der Spuy, 1993), and
While this may have been a result of history and/or political and economic oppression, the
development of a matriarchal family system has served to further disempower "coloured"
men, who may have resorted to the use of physical means in an attempt to regain their
power base.
It is significant that the perpetrators of violent abuse against Moirah and Rachel are not
their own fathers, who appear more benign, but rather their husbands. It is suggested that
the narrators themselves may have bought into the dominant discourse of patriarchy
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which is prevalent in South African society. While all three narrators have suffered
numerous effects of sexual abuse and revictimisation, powerlessness, and the adoption of
a discourse of the victim have not been evident. Perhaps their defiance and strong
survival skills which have enabled them to overcome their revictimisation experiences,
have also contributed to a struggle for power in their relationships. This may have had
some effect on the dynamics of sexual revictimisation within their relationships. What is
clear is that the disempowerment of "coloured" men and the revictimisation of "coloured"
women are inextricably bound up with each other.
7.3. THE CHALLENGE
A number of themes were articulated in this study, and even though some of these themes
may have general and universal application and can link up with other research findings,
other themes have been specific to the "coloured" context, and unique to Moirah, Nishaat
and Rachel's personal context. Different observers may identify different themes, and it
is undoubted and hoped that the reader will continue the process of story re-construction.
While there are some similarities in the perceptions of sexual revictimisation, there are
also some differences in the personal and cultural contexts. There appears to be a great
divide between those who have been sexually victimised and the community of which
they are a part. Perceptions with regard to opportunities for disclosure, attitudes towards
sexual abuse and assistance rendered by communities are somewhat different.
The challenge is to better understand the process of sexual abuse and revictimisation
within this particular community, and thus open space to provide the kind of community
assistance and education which may be most effective and appropriate for the victim.
Since religion appears to play such an important role in the lives of women in this
community, perhaps it is within this arena that both education and community assistance
232
programs would best be directed.
Perhaps as more stories are told by those who have experienced sexual abuse and
revictimisation, and heard by those who would want to listen and co-construct meaning,
there would be better understanding. This may lead to a joining where the survivors and
the community together dare to hear the voices of abuse and together act against the
practices which continue to disbelieve and maintain sexual abuse and revictimisation in
different communities.
J. Tepperman's (1970) story (as quoted in the Introduction), may then be retold:
Today in my small natural body
I sit and learn -
my woman's body like yours
safe on any street
free to live without fear ..:
We have watched women dare
We dare to watch women
We have dared to raise our voices
(co-authored by J. Tepperman, Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel)
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CHAPTER EIGHT
CONCLUSION
In this concluding chapter, the present study will be evaluated in terms of its strengths
and limitations, and recommendations for future research will be proposed.
8.1 EVALUATION OF THE STUDY
The aim of this research was to tell the stories of sexual revictimisation of "coloured"
women. It is believed that this task was adequately executed as the stories that were
related provided both "thin" and "thick" descriptions of the experience of sexual
revictimisation (White, 1997, p. 15). Not only was the story told from the modern and
linear perspective, but more richer accounts of the narrator's experiences were told from a
postmodern and constructivist perspective. The importance of hearing all stories from. -
different perspectives and the view that science provides numerous narratives may prove
to be a useful method of revealing and understanding human behaviour, particularly with
regard to sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women and their survival.
However, the attempt to integrate two different paradigms and the resulting complexity,
may have detracted from the dramatic impact of the stories of sexual revictimisation
within a "coloured" context as told from the vantage point of the three narrators. While it
is important that both the modern and postmodern stories are told and are relevant, in the
process of attempting to integrate the personal and unique constructs with cultural and
universal constructs, much of the richness, depth and purity may have been lost
(Creswell, 1994). The "purist" school of thought with regard to the "paradigm debate"
would agree that paradigms and methods should not be mixed (Creswell, 1994, p. 176).
234
However, there are other schools of thought who would argue that a false dichotomy
exists between quantitative and qualitative approaches and that researchers should make
the most efficient use of both paradigms in understanding social phenomena (Gogolin
and Swartz, 1992).
Nevertheless, despite the complexity of the task, in the final analysis of evaluating this
study it is believed that the integration of the two paradigms has revealed overlapping
facets, contradictions and new perspectives which have added scope and breadth to the
study of sexual revictimisation within a "coloured" context. It is hoped that for the
reader, the dramatic richness of the three stories has not been overshadowed by
reductionist and modernist analysis, and that the complex web of relationships between
sexual revictimisation, the "coloured" context and the individual and social constructions
and discourses around these constructs, have been highlighted.
8.1.1 STRENGTHS OF THIS STUDY
This study, rooted as it was in modern and postmodern paradigms, took various
perspectives into account, including the unique and personal, as well as the cultural and
universal. The themes articulated in this study are not fixed in the sense that they would
remain the same and not change across time. They provided numerous alternative ways
of viewing sexual revictimisation, in addition to the traditional way which tends to view
the phenomenon in terms of linear causality within or without the person. According to
Owen (1992, p. 386), "understandings are socially created by a group of believers". If
views about sexual revictimisation are socially created then it follows that they cannot
exist in an objective sense, although the event of sexual revictimisation does. However,
sexual revictimisation occurs within a specific context which broadens the understanding
of this phenomenon. In this way the framework of beliefs is expanded to include more
pieces of the systemic•whole which creates possibilities for deeper understanding.
The phenomenon of sexual revictimisation cannot be separated from the context in which
235
it occurs and this was clearly illustrated in this study. The stories told by the quantitative
research and those told by Moirah, Nishaat and Rachel are stories about the drama of life,
as "coloured" women who have experienced sexual revictimisation, among many other
experiences across their life spans. The themes that were elucidated, while contributing
to different knowledges about sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women, are part of the
mosaic of life, and must be seen within this context. As well as contributing to a deeper
and richer understanding of sexual revictimisation, the diverse realities espoused in this
study offer possibilities for intervention on different levels. These levels would be
informed by both the "local" knowledge of the narrators and the co-author, as well as the
"expert" knowledge of previous researchers (White, 1997, p. 94).
This approach does not assume "a God's eye view of the world" (Becvar and Becvar,
1993, p. 345). The researcher describes the system from within the system and does not
view it from a position on the outside. This approach recognises this view is based only
on a study of the part which is recursively linked to the whole. The part that is studied,
changes as a result of the observation and therefore defies objective description.
Therefore the approach is a humble approach which takes an ethical stance.
The study provided some views of sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women. It makes
no claim to providing the way of knowing. The notion of "truth" implied by the latter
statement, reflects the somewhat dogmatic view which precludes reinterpretation or
reconstruction. The view is held that truth depends on who is making it, in what
particular context and time. The Greek word aletheia was used by Heidegger to mean "a
never ending series of uncoverings" or "disclosure of meanings" by people (Owen, 1992,
p. 389). This sums up what was attempted in this study. From this viewpoint no single
perspective was considered' to be the perspective - alternative meanings continually
unfolded throughout the process. A both/and approach is advocated whereby multiple
realities co-exist and enrich our knowledge and knowing. In this study the "local"
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knowledge of the narrators and respondents who have experienced sexual revictimisation,
was considered as equal to the "expert" knowledge of the professionals who have studied
it (White, 1997, p. 94).
An evaluation of this study in terms of reliability may be determined with reference to
Stiles' (1993, p. 602-607) criteria for reliability:
"Disclosure of orientation" - this was discussed extensively in Chapter 5 where the
study was positioned within a philosophical context.
"Explication of social and cultural context" - this was discussed in depth in Chapter 4
where the study was positioned within the "coloured" historical and cultural context.
"Description of internal processes of investigation" - this refers to the impact of the
research on the researcher, and was included in the co-author's caveat with regard to her
understanding of the constructed story of the sexual revictimisation of "coloured" women
in Chapter 5.
"Engagement with the material" - refers to the researcher's relationship with the
participants in the study as well as with the material. This was achieved in the co-
author's description of the narrators and their impact on her.
"Iteration: Cycling between interpretation and observation" - refers to the "dialogue"
between theories or interpretations and the participants or text. This complex process
was discussed in Chapter 6 where this iterative process occurred between the quantitative
results, qualitative stories and the literature review.
(0 "Grounding of interpretations" - refers to the linking of interpretations to the content
and context, and this was achieved through linking themes with examples from the
interview text.
(g) "Ask 'what' not 'why' questions" - was accomplished during the interview and
questionnaire phases of the study.
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The validity of this study may be evaluated using Stiles' (1993, p. 608-613) criteria and
includes:
"Triangulation" - which refers to the collection of information from multiple data
sources, analysis methods and/or investigators. This was established through the
utilisation of both quantitative and qualitative research designs.
"Coherence" - refers to the quality and consistency of interpretations. This was
attempted through the adherence to a belief that reality is constructed in meaning, and
that all interpretations offer alternative perspectives of reality.
"Uncovering; self-evidence" refers to making sense, and the degree to which the story
bears fruit. A richer and extended understanding of sexual revictimisation of "coloured"
women was achieved and may contribute to the growing knowledge of this phenomenon.
"Testimonial validity" refers to the validity obtained from the participants themselves.
It was not possible to achieve this after the re-authoring and re-construction phases of the
research was completed. However, Rachel's contribution of her "Ode to survival" may
have some testimonial relevance.
"Catalytic validity" refers to the degree to which the research process makes sense to
the participants and leads to their growth and change. Once again, it was not possible to
evaluate this process, however all three narrators were willing to participate in the
research which suggests that they have made some progress along the road to growth and
recovery. In addition they have undergone counselling and it appeared that re-telling
their stories served to add to their meaning systems. The majority of respondents to the
quantitative questionnaire who were sexually abused requested counselling, and this may
contribute to growth and change in their lives. It is also conceded that the mere activity
of participating in this kind of research where the participants' views and perspectives
were honoured and respected may have contributed to growth and change beyond the
research context.
(0 "Reflexive validity" refers to the way in which the researcher's way of thinking is
changed by the data. The entire process of this research has contributed to fresh insight ,
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and deeper understanding of "coloured" women, and the phenomenon of sexual
revictimisation, for the co-author. Reflexive validity was also achieved as the co-author
was drawn into the hermeneutic dance, and as she encountered the narrator's, the
respondents and their stories. These stories have enriched the life of the co-author who
has felt privileged to be part of the process of opening up a space for these voices to be
heard.
8.1.2 LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY
Although numerous meanings were articulated by the co-author, they are not the only
meanings that could be drawn from the data and the stories. The co-author is thus limited
by time, space and her own constructs. The co-author's unique way of constructing
reality contributed to the limitation of selected themes and interpretations (Moon et. al.,
1990).
The integration of quantitative and qualitative research was time and labour intensive and
an extremely complex process. It was not feasible to use a large sample in either phase of
the research. This type of research may therefore gain validity at the cost of
generalisability (Moon et. al., 1990).
A further limitation is that personal information which is elicited during the interviews is
often of a sensitive and personal nature, and this raises important ethical issues
(Rapmund, 1996). Although the co-author planned to use pseudonyms, two of the
narrators chose to use their real names. In order to protect the full identity of these
narrators, other identifying details, particularly the use of other family names, were
changed.
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The co-author's re-telling of the narrator's stories is a secondary account, and may be
regarded as a further limitation. Space constrictions made it not possible to provide the
entire transcript of each story, and because the stories had to be reduced there may have
been a failure to "capture the full experience of a living text or live narrative"
(Hoshmand, in Rapmund, 1996, p. 272). However, vignettes selected from the transcripts
were provided, and were linked to the themes that emerged.
An additional limitation which has already been alluded to, was the lack of testimonial
and catalytic validity. An evaluation of the stories from the perspectives of the narrators
themselves would have enhanced not only the validity of the study, but also would have
contributed to their growth and change. Michael White (1997, p. 93) refers to
"definitional ceremony" and "taking it back practices" where the client or research
participant is invited to a "re-telling" of their own story in such a way that acknowledges
and thickens the alternative story.
"A ritual must be enacted, a myth recited, a narrative told, a novel read,
a drama performed, for these enactments, recitals, tellings, readings,
and performances are what make the text transformative and enable us
to reexperience our culture's heritage. Expressions are constitutive and
shaping, not as abstract texts but in the activity that actualizes the text.
It is in this sense that texts must be performed to be experienced, and what
is constitutive is in the production"
(Edward Bruner, in White, 1997, p. 95)
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8.1.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
The findings of the quantitative phase of this research highlight the magnitude of the
problem of child sexual abuse and sexual revictimisation in the "coloured" sector of the
population of South Africa. Previous research and current statistics have shown that this
problem is neither specific nor limited to "coloured" women. Hearing stories of survival
from other survivors of child sexual abuse and sexual revictimisation may contribute to a
better understanding and more adequate intervention.
Further studies into other contexts within which sexual abuse occurs, and by researchers
from different contexts, would also contribute to a deeper understanding of the problem
and perhaps more diverse, creative and effective intervention.
Numerous other dimensions of sexual abuse were not explored in this study, such as
the sexual abuse of boys and young men,
the efficacy of the numerous professions involved in dealing with the problem of
sexual abuse - legal, medical, psychological and educational, and how they may
contribute to revictimisation,
the constructs of sexual abuse which are held by such professionals,
the dynamics of the perpetrator
and methods of intervention, to name but a few. Future research focusing on some or
all of these dynamics would further- enhance understanding and levels of assistance
for survivors.
A larger sample would increase the possibility of generalising the findings, which is not
possible with the small sample size of this study. However, although more generalised
findings may contribute to greater universal application, and the possible deconstruction
of dominant discourses about sexual abuse practices, each individual survivor of sexual
abuse will uniquely construct their own reality. Yet it is possible that a myriad of unique
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stories of sexual abuse, will perform a cacaphony of voices, that will be heard above the
sound of silence, and the denial, avoidance and subjugated knowledges that have plagued
many attempts to expose this horror.
"Society provides us with warm, reasonably comfortable caves
in which we can huddle with our fellows, beating our drums that
drown out the howling hyenas of the surrounding darkness.
'Ecstacy' is the act of stepping outside the caves, alone to face the night"
(Berger, in Gilmartin, 1994, p. 299)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adhikari, M. (1992)
Adams, I. and Hickson, J. (1993)
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abuse in childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 758-767. Sexual harassment and prior sexual trauma among African American and white American women. Victims and Violence, 9, 3, 233-247. Psychological damage associated with extreme eroticism in young children. Psychiatric Annals, 17, 257-261. Can Man Live Without God? England, Nelson Word Publishers.
Wyatt, G.E. (1992) •
Wyatt, G.E.; Guthrie, D. and
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Wyatt, G.E. and Newcomb, M. (1990)
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Yates, A. (1987)
254
APPENDIX ONE
THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED FOR THE COLLECTION OF
QUANTITATIVE DATA
255
Dear Participant,
I am a Masters student in Counselling Psychology at the Rand Afrikaans University and
am interested in your opinion to assist with my research. The questionnaire which follows
forms part of a research project, the results of which will be submitted in partial fulfillment
of my degree. More importantly, it will help you, me and others learn more about your
community. •
The Centre for Peace Action will also be involved in this research and you will directly
benefit from their involvement.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could answer the questions as honestly and openly
as possible. In so doing you will be assisting in the development of a greater
understanding of the victimization of women in your community. This should help to
prevent further victimization of women as well as improve the treatment offered to such
women. Should you wish, feedback about the findings can be arranged once the study is
completed. There are no right or wrong answers.
ALL QUESTIONNAIRES WILL REMAIN ANONYMOUS AND STRICTLY
CONFIDENTIAL.
However, should you wish to undergo counselling, which will be conducted with the
strictest confidence, or participate in further research, please indicate your contact details
in the space provided overleaf.
Yours sincerely,
\\C ) Carol Dixon
Supervisor: Prof G. Pretorius
TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS PLACE A CROSS (X) IN THE SQUARE THAT
APPLIES TO YOU OR WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWER IN THE SPACE
PROVIDED. THERE IS A PENCIL FOR YOU INSIDE THE ENVELOPE.
Example:
If you were asked your age in years and you are 23 years old, you would write a 2 in the
first block and a 3 in the second block as follows:
Age (in years)
You may be asked what is your occupation, and if you are a housewife, then you would
write 'housewife' in the space provided as follows:
What is your occupation? 11" 'LUSC k'31 e
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
PRESS FIRMLY WHEN WRITING WITH YOUR PENCIL.
Age (in years):
Ell❑
Status: Place an X in the box which applies to you:
SINGLE ❑ MARRIED ❑ SEPARATED ❑
DIVORCED ❑ LIVING TOGETHER ❑ WIDOWED ❑
How old were you when you married/lived together?
YEARS ❑❑
How long have you been married/living together?
YEARS ❑ MONTHS ❑
Do you have any children? Please place an X in the box which applies to you.
YES ❑ NO ❑
If your answer is yes, how many children do you have?
DO How old are they?
ED DO DO DE DO DO How old were you when your first child was born?
YEARS ❑ MONTHS ❑
How many of your children live with you?
DO How many people are living in the house you live in?
OD What is the highest standard you passed at school?
STD 5 OR BELOW ❑ STD 6 ❑ STD 7 ❑ SID 8 ❑
STD 9 111 STD 10 ❑ COLLEGE/TECH/UNIVERSITY ❑
Are you currently employed?
YES ❑ NO ❑
What is your occupation (work)?
How long have you lived in Eldorado Park for?
LESS THAN 5 YEARS ❑ 5-10 YEARS ❑
10-30 YEARS ❑ ALL YOUR LIFE ❑
If you were not born in Eldorado Park where did you come from?
16. Could you give a brief account of your family , history as far back as you are able to go? For example: ethnic origins of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents etc.
Are you aware of any of the following cultural groups being represented in your family origin?
PEOPLE OF EUROPEAN DESCENT ❑ Specify
PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT ❑ Specify
PEOPLE OF MALAYSIAN DESCENT ❑ Specify
OTHER: specify
How would you describe you present family relationships?
CLOSE ❑ STABLE ❑ HAPPY ❑ UNHAPPY ❑
ABUSIVE ❑ VIOLENT ❑ OTHER: specify
Is alcohol consumed in your family?
-YES 111 NO ❑
What problems, if any, have been caused by alcohol consumption in the family?
RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS ❑ FAMILY SEPARATIONS ❑
DIVORCE ❑ VIOLENCE ❑ PHYSICAL INJURY ❑
SEXUAL PROBLEMS ❑ FINANCIAL PROBLEMS ❑
ILLNESS l 1 OTHER: specify
Have you or anyone else in your family ever been involved with drugs?
YES ❑ NO ❑
Were you ever sexually abused as a child?
YES ❑ NO ❑
If yes, by whom?
IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER ❑ RELATIVE ❑
FAMILY FRIEND ❑ STRANGER ❑
OTHER: specify
At what age did the sexual abuse take place?
CIE] 0 0 For how long did the abuse continue?
YEARS ❑ MONTHS ❑
Is it still continuing?
YES ❑ NO ❑
Was anyone aware that the abuse was happening?
YES ❑ NO ❑
If yes, whom?
Was there anyone else in the family that you know of who was sexually abused?
YES ❑ NO ❑
When you were sexually abused what action did you take?
TOLD SOMEONE ❑ REPORTED TO THE POLICE ❑
HAD COUNSELLING ❑ NOTHING ❑ OTHER: specify
How has being sexually abused effected you?
How have you coped with this experience?
TRIED TO FORGET ❑ ACCEPTED IT ❑ PRAYED TO GOD ❑
TAKEN REVENGE ❑ HURT OTHER/S ❑ HAVE NOT COPED ❑
THROUGH COUNSELLING ❑ USED ALCOHOL/DRUGS ❑
OTHER: specify
How does your community view child sexual abuse?
WITH ANGER ❑ WITH DISGUST ❑ WITH TOLERANCE ❑
WITH RESIGNATION ❑ WITH ACCEPTANCE ❑
OTHER: specify
What help is offered to sexually abused children in your community?
THERAPY ❑
COUNSELLING ❑
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ❑ POLICE ASSISTANCE ❑
LEGAL ASSISTANCE . ❑ COMMUNITY SUPPORT ❑
FAMILY SUPPOR .T ❑ OTHER: specify
If you were not sexually abused as a child, please describe your first sexual
encounter?
WITH YOUR CONSENT ❑ WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT ❑
Have you ever experienced sexual abuse as an adult?
YES ❑ NO ❑
If yes, by whom?
IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER ❑ RELATIVE ❑
FAMILY FRIEND ❑ STRANGER ❑ OTHER: specify
At what age were you sexually abused?
YEARS CID MONTHS ❑❑ Please describe what happened?
SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ❑ SEXUALLY HARASSED ❑
RAPED ❑ OTHER: specify
What action did you take?
TOLD SOMEONE ❑ REPORTED TO POLICE ❑ HAD COUNSELLING ❑ NOTHING ❑
OTHER: specify
How has this experience effected you?
How have you coped with this experience?
TRIED TO FORGET ❑ ACCEPTED IT ❑ PRAYED TO GOD ❑
TAKEN REVENGE ❑ HURT OTHER/S ❑ HAVE NOT COPED ❑
COUNSELLING ❑ ALCOHOL/DRUGS ❑
OTHER: specify
PLEASE ONLY ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS SHOULD YOU REQUIRE COUNSELLING OR WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN FURTHER RESEARCH:
Name Contact address and telephone number
Note: Should you wish to participate in further research or receive counselling, but would prefer not to offer these details, please contact me at 4893106 or 0824631467.
COMMENTS
Thank you very much for assisting me with this research. I am aware of the very sensitive nature of many of the questions and appreciate difficulties you may have experienced. I urge you to seek counselling if the answering of this questionnaire has been difficult for you. Please turn over for a list of helpful telephone numbers.
How does your community view rape or other forms of adult sexual abuse?
WITH ANGER ❑ WITH DISGUST ❑ WITH TOLERANCE ❑
WITH RESIGNATION ❑ WITH ACCEPTANCE ❑
OTHER: specify
What help is offered to rape or adult victims of sexual abuse in your community?
TRAUMA COUNSELLING ❑ MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
POLICE ASSISTANCE ❑ LEGAL ASSISTANCE ❑
COMMUNITY SUPPORT ❑ FAMILY SUPPORT ❑
OTHER: specify
Do you call yourself?
'COLOURED' ❑ 'SO CALLED' COLOURED' ❑
'LIGHT BROWN' ❑ BROWN ❑ OF MIXED ORIGIN ❑
OTHER: specify
Please turn over.
THIS PAGE IS FOR YOU TO KEEP, PLEASE TAKE IT WITH YOU. USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Adapt, Alexandra
(011) 786-6608 Agisanang, Alexandra
(011) 786-6608 Baragwanath Medic-legal Clinic, Soweto
(011) 933-1100 ext. 2864
Black Sash Advice Offices Johannesburg
(011) 834-8361 Pretoria
(012) 328-4928 Child Abuse Action Group
(011) 7935033 Childline
Toll-free 0800055555 CPA (Centre for Peace Action), Eldorado Park
(011) 342-3840
CSVR (Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation) Braamfontein (011) 403-5102 FAMSA (Family and Marriage Society of South Africa) Johannesburg (011) 833-2057 Pretoria (012) 322-7136 ICAG (Institute for Child and Adult Guidance - Rand Afrikaans University)
(011) 489-3106 Johannesburg District Surgeon's Office (011) 832-1901 (a/h)
(011) 724-7211 (o/h) Lenasia Medico-Legal Clinic (011) 855-1320 Lifeline, Johannesburg 728-1347 Pretoria 343-8888 MICRO (National Institute for Crime Preventio n and Rehabilitation of Offenders) Johannesburg Head Office 336-0234 Pretoria 326-5333 Soweto (011) 986-1020 NISSA Institute for Women's development Lenasia (011) 854-5804/5 Emergency 854-6550 Code BA224 PAHA (People Against Human Abuse) Mamelodi 805-7416 POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse) Johannesburg (011) 642-4345 After Hour Pager (011) 650-5050 Code 7092 Krugersdorp 953-5163 Rape Crisis Centre, Pretoria 460-666 or 322-1580 SHEP (Sexual Harassment Education Project) Braamfontein (011) 403-5650 Sowetan Crisis Line (011) 473-2505 WAWA (Women Against Women Abuse) Eldorado Park (011) 945-5531 Wits trauma Clinic, Braamfontein (011) 403-5102 CPA, POWA. NISSA and WAWA not only offer counselling, but also have shelters S women.
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