Experience of abuse among women in a rural subdistrict of Limpopo province, South Africa

An exploratory study was conducted to determine the experience of abuse among women in a rural subdistrict of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Women visiting local clinics were screened for signs of abuse and those who indicated that they had any form of abuse were asked whether they would like to participate in the study. Thirty five women participated. Five trained research assistants conducted in-depth interviews using guiding questions. Interviews were tape recorded with the notes. Recurrent themes were identified and coded and the contents were summarized according to recurrent themes. The key findings were that women suffered all forms of abuse, namely physical, emotional, economic and sexual. Their experiences in seeking support from health services were both good and bad. Participants expected the nurses to provide them with treatment information on abuse, immediate counselling, treat them in private rooms and to be treated with respect. They also wanted nurses to ask them about abuse during general healthcare consultancies.