Dosekun Agenda Submission FINAL.pdf (285.28 kB)
"We live in fear, we feel so unsafe": the imagination and fear of rape in South Africa
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 02:56 authored by Simidele DosekunThis article explores the meanings of rape in South Africa for fifteen women at the University of Cape Town who claim to have not experienced rape. It is based upon qualitative interviews with these women and offers a discursive analysis of their talk. The article shows that the women tend to distance the actual occurrence and threat of rape. At the same time, they assume a natural vulnerability to rape, with the result that they imagine and fear it as always possible in the course of their daily lives. The article reconstructs the ways in which the women’s imagination and fear of rape adversely impacts upon their sense of safety, agency and belonging in South Africa today. Illustrating the power of discourses to shape both subjective and social realities, it concludes that feminist research and activism must pay attention to the discursive dimensions of the rape crisis in South Africa.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
AgendaISSN
1013-0950Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
74Volume
21Page range
89-99Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-09-19First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-09-19First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-09-19Usage metrics
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