Citation

Vetten L. Agenda 2014; 28(2): 48-57.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Agenda Collective, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10130950.2014.927261

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

High levels of domestic violence are a prominent feature of post-apartheid South Africa and stand in stark contrast to the country's prominent image as being committed to gender equality. Both the State and women's organisations have mobilised around the issue, drafting law and policy responsive to the problem as well as initiating a host of campaigns and other interventions intended to combat it. Yet these have been to limited effect, and domestic violence persists.To explore this conundrum, this article briefly reviews the plethora of State documents issued in relation to domestic violence over the last 20 years, showing how high-level policy commitments have been leached of their transformatory content over time, through changing notions of gender equality and discursive shifts emphasising women's vulnerability. The increasing articulation of domestic violence with familialism, moralism and traditionalism is also highlighted. This discursive milieu is then located within the workings of the Department of Social Development in particular, showing how women have once again been made derivative of the family.