Abstract:
This is a strange phenomenon in the present day and yet is happening. This study unpacked the social, economic, cultural as well as religious factors that contribute to women staying in abusive relationships. Research has been carried out reporting that women stay in abusive relationships because of economic and social reasons, therefore this study has focused specifically on the cultural and religious reasons why women stay in these relationships.
This study worked from a social- constructionist paradigm seeking to understand how within cultural and religious communities the role of men and women, marriage and how gender roles within marriages are understood, specifically from an African and Zimbabwean perspective. What cultural and religious discourse shapes this understanding and keeps so many women captive in abusive relationships? This is the main question that guided the study. The co-researchers of this study came from organisations who work with survivors of domestic violence.
