Men’s Accounts of Passion Killings in the Namibian Context

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social problem, which may result in intimate partner homicide (IPH). Much of the research concerned with IPH is based in developed nations and as such this study explored men's explanations for IPH (known locally as "passion killing") in the Namibian context by interviewing 10 individuals who were convicted and sentenced for the murder of their female intimate partners. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the offenders and the resulting transcripts were analyzed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings confirmed and extended previous research stating that the intertwined influence of cultural beliefs and attitudes, external influences, as well as lack of emotional control and problem-solving skills, influence IPH. However, the study discovered that culture-specific factors, such as witchcraft, also play a role in some IPH cases in Namibia. The findings suggest approaches to work with young men and perpetrators to reduce their rate of initially committing IPH or repeating it. Furthermore, understanding cross-cultural differences may help in developing appropriate, culturally specific, programs aimed at reducing and/or preventing IPH.

Bayesian semi-parametric spatial modelling of intimate partner violence in Namibia using 2013 Demographic Health Survey Data

“…Being unemployed, increased number of children, living in rural areas and having multiple sexual partners were associated with reporting experience of IPV among women in Namibia [19,21]. A qualitative study among men who had been imprisoned for homicide resulting from IPV in Namibia found that many blamed the victims for being insubordinate or unfaithful [22].…”

Excusas, justificaciones y experiencias. Los estresores en las narrativas de varones que ejercieron violencia de género

“…Desde la perspectiva de los actores, la amenaza de estos aspectos implicó una situación estresante subjetivamente: sus identidades generizadas se pusieron en jaque. Esto ha sido ampliamente discutido en los estudios sociales de género Dobash & Dobash, 2017;Duff et al, 2017;Hearn, 1998;Mathews et al, 2015), pero podría entrar en desacuerdos con una lectura mecanicista de la teoría de la tensión, en la que se lo reducen a factores de riesgo.…”

“…Los relatos que se focalizaron en situaciones socioeconómicas ilustran cómo los entrevistados dan sentido a la violencia y la neutralizan a partir de sus hitos biográficos. Como proponen otros estudios (Mathews et al, 2015;Dobash & Dobash, 2017;Duff et al, 2017), las propias biografías de los agresores se vuelven un instrumento discursivo a partir del cual pueden dotar de sentido a la violencia, racionalizarla, presentarla y excusarla en el contexto de una conversación. Como ocurre con otros tópicos, estos eventos adquieren una jerarquía mayor a la pareja misma y en los relatos se muestra cómo existen narrativas (de descarga emocional, de merecer agresión, etc.)…”

Botswana Print Media and the Representation of Female Victims of Intimate Partner Homicide: A Critical Discourse Analytical Approach

“…As a research field, IPV and IPH have attracted scholarly studies over the past few decades. However, as noted by Duff, Nampweya, and Tree (2017), most studies have been generally carried out in developed countries, particularly in the USA. Among these studies, some have focused on the media coverage and framing of domestic violence and its fatalities, IPV and IPH (Meyers 1994(Meyers , 1997Bullock and Cubert 2002;Bullock 2007;Taylor 2009;Richards, Gillespie, and Smith 2011;Sweeney 2012;Gillespie et al 2013).…”

“…Although journalists operate within the guidance of this code of conduct, the extent to which this code of conduct guides the Botswana print media reporting on gender issues, including violence against women, requires a critical examination. Such an examination would provide a basis for understanding this global social problem in order to develop appropriate programmes aiming at preventing and reducing the occurrence of IPV and IPH (Duff, Nampweya, and Tree 2017). Additionally, while stories of femicide continue to exist on the media sphere, studies on the extent to which Botswana print media represent IPH have been limited.…”