Sex and Violence: A Gendered Look at Traditional Justice and the Search for Human Security

• In Event: 393 - Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Gender and Health

Abstract

For a decade, the South African government has struggled to propose rights-based legislation that would effectively regulate “traditional courts” while adequately respecting rural communities’ cultures. This paper uses data collected in Msinga, South Africa for analysis of the political economy and day-to-day reality of life in Msinga. This is intended to inform discussion of how contemporary rural people use local dispute management forums and the precise legal regulation needs such use yields. The paper argues that achievement of “access to justice” is largely dependent on – and presently constrained by – the degree of human (in)security in the area. Effective unemployment in Msinga tops 80% and most residents are primarily dependent on social grants. Rife with (illegal) gun possession and alcohol abuse, Msinga is troubled by high levels of interpersonal violence. The paper focuses on the importance of age and gendered identity for understanding the extent and kind of roles individuals play in the socio-legal space of disputing and dispute management. These personal traits delineate the fears and vulnerabilities that accompany living in Msinga and influence the prospects of desired dispute management outcomes. Young men and women occupy an especially important space with respect to sex and violence, and adult women with respect to contesting power and authority, which are traditionally considered to belong to men. A revealing typology is crafted, based on age and gender, of the kinds of grievances that might arise for one and the sway that one’s personal attributes would likely have on the dispute management process.

Author

• Sindiso Mnisi Weeks, University of Massachusetts-Boston