Exploring the contributory factors in the transition of female victims to perpetrators of domestic violence: A case study of Seshego Policing area, Limpopo province, South Africa

Abstract

Domestic violence remains a pervasive social and criminological challenge in South Africa, particularly in rural and semi-rural communities where structural inequalities, patriarchal norms and limited institutional support heighten women’s vulnerability. While domestic violence research has traditionally positioned women as victims, emerging evidence indicates that some female survivors transition into perpetrators. This qualitative study, conducted in the Seshego policing area of Limpopo Province, investigates the contributory factors underpinning this transition. Using purposive and snowball sampling, data were collected from the Twelve (25) women who had moved from victimhood to perpetration, five subject-matter experts, and ten decided domestic violence case files. The data were analysed thematically to uncover the intersecting personal, relational, socio-economic and cultural forces that shape this trajectory. Guided by Trauma Theory, Strain Theory, Feminist Theory and Social Learning Theory, the study develops a Conceptual Criminological Model that illustrates how unresolved psychological trauma, coercive control, economic dependency, patriarchal ideologies and intergenerational exposure to violence converge to influence women’s pathways into reactive or defensive offending. The findings reveal that women’s violent actions are rarely premeditated; rather, they often emerge from accumulated trauma, persistent institutional failures, limited access to support services and constrained agency within oppressive environments and this study highlights critical gaps in policing responses, justice-system implementation, economic opportunities and trauma-informed care in rural contexts such as Seshego. It recommends multi-sectoral interventions including strengthened legal enforcement, community-based awareness programmes, culturally sensitive prevention strategies, trauma-informed psychosocial services and economic empowerment initiatives aimed at reducing women’s dependency on abusive partners. By centring women’s lived experiences and examining the structural conditions that shape their actions, this research contributes to criminological scholarship and supports the development of holistic, context-specific strategies to prevent domestic violence and break cycles of intergenerational harm in South Africa.

Keywords: {'name': 'Case study, Contributory Factors, Domestic Violence, Seshego Policing Area, Victim-Perpetrator Transition (Transition of Female Victims to Perpetrators of Domestic Violence)'}

Authors & affiliations

Chuene Lonia Maswanganye
University of Limpopo

Witness Maluleke
University of Limpopo

Olinda Ruth Chabalala
University of Limpopo

Deposited references

Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.

Abrahams, N., Mathews, S., Lombard, C., & Jewkes, R. (2020). Gender-based violence in South Africa: A national epidemiological survey. South African Medical Journal, 110(9), 823–829.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36150-z

Artz, L., Burton, P., Ward, C., Leoschut, L., & Lloyd, S. (2020). A state of domestic violence in South Africa: Gender-Based Violence Indicators Project report. University of Cape Town Press.

Artz, L., Smythe, D., & Leggett, T. (2003). Defending women who kill: Gender, domestic violence and the South African criminal justice system. South African Journal on Human Rights, 19(1), 45–72.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.

Barton-Crosby, L., & Hudson, P. (2021). Blurring boundaries: Victimisation and offending in intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(17–18), 8423–8446.

DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05085-0

Dobash, R. E., & Dobash, R. (1979). Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy. Open Books.

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199914784.001.0001

Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 (Republic of South Africa).

Domestic Violence Amendment Act 14 of 2021 (Republic of South Africa).

Ghosh, B., & Bhattacharya, R. (2013). Economic dependency and women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 44(3), 427–448.

DOI: 10.1037/a0024121

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books.

DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2025.2549477

DOI: 10.3390/adolescents2040038

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22060887

Mathews, S., & Abrahams, N. (2021). Contextualising gender-based violence in South Africa. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(13–14), 6742–6762.

DOI: 10.1177/08862605241235140

DOI: 10.2307/2084686

DOI: 10.1177/1077801205277356

DOI: 10.1007/s10896-009-9269-9

Mudimeli, L. M., & Khosa-Nkatini, T. (2024). Patriarchal norms and women’s silence: Understanding rural perspectives on domestic violence. Journal of Southern African Studies, 50(2), 257–276.

DOI: 10.1186/s12905-024-03228-3

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-21919-w

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09734

Showalter, K. (2016). Women’s employment and intimate partner violence: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 17(5), 509–522.

Stark, E. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press.

Statistics South Africa. (2022). Crime against women in South Africa 2022. Statistics South Africa.

DOI: 10.1177/1077801202238431

Tyson, D., Naylor, B., & Tarrant, S. (2024). Reframing female-perpetrated violence: Context, agency and justice. Feminist Criminology, 19(2), 181–199.

Vetten, L. (2014). Domestic violence in South Africa: Addressing the implementation gap (Policy brief). Gender Advocacy Programme.

DOI: 10.1037/e649462007-001

DOI: 10.1891/9780826170996

World Health Organization. (2021). Violence against women: Prevalence estimates, 2018. World Health Organization.

DOI: 10.1186/s40621-024-00483-8

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14616-5