‘Every slap demeans me’: at the intersection of disability, masculinity and intimate partner violence in the Global South

Abstract

The experiences of heterosexual men with paraplegia who are the victims of intimate partner violence remains an under-researched area. This article responds to the call for more research and offers an analysis of the narratives of five working-class coloured men in Cape Town, South Africa, who acquired spinal cord injuries and then fell victim to intimate partner violence. Narrative interviews were conducted with men and their wives. Drawing on Tarzia’s notion of the ‘invisible impacts of intimate partner violence’, narrative analysis explored the meanings and complexities involved in (re)claiming a sense of identity and sexual intimacy among these men, after their experiences of intimate partner violence. In many cases, the abuse was levelled against them as acts of revenge for having previously been violent non-disabled men. Wives’ narratives show nuances that complement the narratives of their partners as they too reflect on what it means to hold a space of safety, emotional stability, intimacy, love, and care for a paralysed husband, after the prior experience of intimate partner violence. Findings provide insight into ways of surviving intimate partner violence and (re)building healthy sexual relationships. At the intersection of intimate partner violence, disability and masculinity, the process of self-healing and (re)building satisfying intimate relations coexists with breaking the silence surrounding intimate partner violence.

Keywords:

• Disability
• female perpetrators
• intimate partner violence
• male victimhood
• masculinity

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to the men and women who participated in this study. We thank the reviewers and editors who provided valuable and constructive feedback to strengthen the quality of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Defined as any abusive act deemed to generate fear, intimidation, disorientation, and that can cause physical injury, using objects or one’s body to hit, kick, push, bite, shoot, stab, or strangle another person (Eckstein 2010). Intimate partner violence may also include sexual (e.g. rape) and/or psychological communication (threats, name calling, degradation, social isolation).

2 The term ‘coloured’ is a racial identity category in South Africa that was imposed by the apartheid government specifically to a population of heterogenous people of mixed origins.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by a National Research Foundation - Nuffic Neso Doctoral Scholarship (No. 120228)