Oppressive Silence: A Qualitative Study on Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence in Namibia and Survivors’ Responses

Abstract

This thesis investigates same-sex intimate partner violence (SSIPV) in Namibia primarily through 12 in-depth interviews with survivors, conducted during three months of field research. In particular, I ex-amine the manifestations of SSIPV in the relationships of my informants, their responses to the abuse and the factors shaping these responses. My analysis draws on theoretical concepts such as agency, necropolitics, queer phenomenology, intersectionality and gender performativity. The research participants reported emotional, physical, economic and sexual SSIPV. Adherence and orientation towards normative gender roles contributed significantly to the occurrence of abuse. My informants’ responses to SSIPV included reporting the abuse, fighting back, leaving the situation, leav-ing the relationship and community activism. The oppressive violence on SSIPV could be found to be particularly crucial in constraining their agency. Other factors affecting my informants’ responses en-compassed corporeal factors, communion and serendipity. Featuring mainly trans persons and queer women in my sample, my work contributes filling a re-search gap on SSIPV within Global South and non-cisgender MSM (men who have sex with men) con-texts. By reflecting my own positionality and the resulting power relations between myself as a re-searcher and the research participants, I try to do justice to the sensitivity of the topic.