Using participatory visual research to explore resilience with girls and young women in rural South Africa

abstract

Sexual violence is deeply embedded in historical and structural inequalities and is driven by unequal gender power relations. These unequal power relations give rise to gendered norms and practices that inform the social ecologies in which women and girls negotiate their lives. South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world. Research suggests that girls and women from resource-poor rural communities are particularly susceptible to sexual violence due to the dominance of gendered cultural practices and belief systems in these contexts. Our research is part of a six-year, international and interdisciplinary partnership which seeks to explore how participatory visual methods can be used to advance knowledge-production, policy-making and communication in relation to sexual violence against indigenous girls and young women in Canada and South Africa. The data presented in this article are drawn from a series of participatory visual workshops with girls and young women in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Through a thematic analysis of girl-authored cellphilms and digital stories, and with reference to the seven qualitative aspects related to resilience (Ungar et al., 2007), we explore two questions: (1) How do gendered power dynamics affect resilience in relation to sexual violence in their lives? (2) What is the relationship between resilience and the gendered nature of adversity in this setting? We conclude by suggesting how our work with the girls might support, build and leverage gender-specific resources, which could facilitate resilience in this environment.

keywords:

• sexual violence
• South Africa
• rural
• participatory visual research
• gender dynamics

Acknowledgments

This work was supported through an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) grant (award number 107777-001) and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant (award number 895-2013-3007). The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the IDRC or SSHRC. The authors would like to acknowledge Claudia Mitchell and Relebohile Moletsane (Co-PIs) as well as Nokukhanya Ngcobo and Naydene de Lange for their contribution to the data collection and preliminary analysis discussed in this paper. Most importantly, we would like to thank the participants for sharing their perspectives and stories with us.

Notes

1. see: https://isibanicentre.wordpress.com/

2. Samsung Galaxy Tab4 Tablet computers.

3. WeVideo (https://www.wevideo.com/) is available for free download (except for the cost of the data used to access the play store, search for and download the software). It is available in the google play store and on-line as a download for personal computers and laptops. It allows the user to upload pictures and change their order, create a title slide and import a recorded narrative and record backing music.

4. The voice recording software, called Voice Recorder, is available for free download from the google play store (except for the cost of the data used to access the play store, search for and download the software). The Voice Recorder App is compatible with WeVideo.

5. We all dressed up and ate popcorn and drank Coca Cola.

6. A community dialogue has been scheduled for Women’s Day, 09 August 2017, following a march against violence against women suggested and organised by the L4YWS.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa Wiebesiek

LISA WIEBESIEK is the Programmes Manager at the Centre for Visual Methodologies for Social Change, and the Project Co-ordinator for the Networks for Change and Well-being: Girl-led ‘from the ground up’ policy-making to address sexual violence in Canada and South Africa project at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She is a PhD student in the School of Education at UKZN. She has previously worked in the fields of HIV prevention and rural education development. Her areas of interest include adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender and sexuality education, girlhood studies, and visual participatory research methodologies. Email: [email protected]

Astrid Treffry-Goatley

ASTRID TREFFRY-GOATLEY is a postdoctoral fellow with a background in ethnomusicology and ethnographic research. Her current research interests concern understanding the social and ethical aspects of conducting collaborative health research with young women in low-income settings and her specific areas of focus are gender, vulnerability, health systems, community engagement, and policy making. In recent years, she has focused on the advancement of participatory visual methods to support public engagement with global health research. She is the first author of 15 peer-reviewed publications, has made oral presentations at over 10 international conferences, and has been involved in the production of five films. Email: [email protected]