Authors: Mvikeli Ncube, Ph and Professor Matthew Hall

Published in Issue 1.0 // The LaB

http://doi.org/10.63994/veaodh

Key words: Zimbabwean diaspora, migration, culture, relationships, domestic violenceT, Spirituality, Bliss, Flourishing, Adversity

Abstract

Political instability in Zimbabwe since the late 1990s resulted in a swelling of Zimbabwean political asylum seekers in the UK. Living in a developed liberal democracy may challenge traditional intimate relationship norms for both husbands and wives. A snowball sample of 30 interviews were conducted over a period of six months in 2019 with participants from Zimbabweans living on mainland UK. Our thematic analysis highlights how domestic violence predicates on cultural tensions in traditional patriarchal and liberal influences. Victims/survivors report difficulties disclosing the violence and discrimination by peers. Our findings have important implications for domestic violence interventions and those wanting to support victims.

About the Authors

Dr. Mvikeli Ncube is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol).He serves on the Advisory Board of Psychology in Society and is Associate Editor of the Annual Review of Critical Psychology. He has also previously held the role of Associate Editor for the Journal of Gender Studies. His previous  research projects were  situated within decolonial scholarship, with a particular focus on curriculum transformation, knowledge justice, and the broader project of decolonial liberation.

Matthew Hall is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. As an interdisciplinary scholar, he has published in areas as diverse as health, cognitive enhancement, body modification, and disability. Since 2017 his research has largely focused on digital and immersive gender-sexual violations, largely of women and girls, examining perpetrator motivations and impacts on victim-survivors. In particular, the (dis)continuities between digital and materials world violences, abuses, and violations, the abuses of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality.  He has recently co-authored the book: Digital gender-sexual violations: Violence, technologies, motivations (with J. Hearn and R. Lewis) Routledge, 2023.