Beyond the perpetrator: tackling the varied underpinnings of domestic violence on the Tibetan plateau

Rajan, H

Abstract:: This thesis explores domestic violence (DV) on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, in Qinghai province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). (See Appendix 1 for maps of the study region.) It is based on fifteen months of fieldwork conducted in 2012 and 2013, and upon interviews with 100 women and men, participant observation, and a reading of local proverbs, song, and popular literature. As this is a thesis by publications, three stand-alone articles dealing with selected aspects of domestic violence (DV) in the study region, plus two articles dealing with social phenomena closely related to DV, are included in the subsequent pages...

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APA Style

Rajan, H. (2017). Beyond the perpetrator: tackling the varied underpinnings of domestic violence on the Tibetan plateau [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Rajan, H. Beyond the Perpetrator: Tackling the Varied Underpinnings of Domestic Violence on the Tibetan Plateau. 2017. University of Oxford, PhD thesis.

Chicago Style

Rajan, H. 2017. “Beyond the Perpetrator: Tackling the Varied Underpinnings of Domestic Violence on the Tibetan Plateau.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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Files:: Thesis with minor corrections No Acknowl Final edits for Bod.pdf

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Authors

+ Rajan, H More by this author

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: SSD
Department:: Social Policy & Intervention
Role:: Author

Contributors

+ Walker, R

Role:: Supervisor

+ Murphy, R

Role:: Supervisor

DOI:: 10.5287/ora-zvxbdb9yv
Type of award:: DPhil
Level of award:: Doctoral
Awarding institution:: University of Oxford

Subjects:: Gender and Feminism

Chinese Studies

Sociology

Anthropology

Tibetan Studies

Gender-Based Violence
UUID:: uuid:d1d00a72-c242-41db-95d7-f1585d4f62fe
Deposit date:: 2018-02-22
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_d1d00a72c24241db95d7f1585d4f62fe

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Related item:: The Impact of Household Form and Marital Residence on the Economic Dimensions of Women’s Vulnerability to Domestic Violence. The Case of Tibetan Communities
Description:: This study draws on 52 in-depth interviews and participant observation conducted on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau between May 2012 and August 2013. Women's domestic violence vulnerability is assessed, looking particularly at various types of marital and decision-making arrangements within households. Different forms of extended family living arrangements and abuse by women's in-laws emerge as crucial sites of analysis. This study adds to current knowledge by discussing the specific impact of household marital form on domestic violence, a topic that is under-addressed within domestic violence research. Matrilocal arrangements can offer the best protection to women while patrilocal arrangements put women in a position of greatest vulnerability. Women's vulnerability in patrilocal marriage hinges on their land-based material constraints, their social isolation, and women's low status vis-a-vis husbands and in-laws. However, various sites of vulnerability exist in all marital forms, including within a third marital arrangement, here termed marrying 'in the middle'. The study findings contribute knowledge regarding the economic dimensions of women's vulnerability in a developing country setting. The study findings are largely in line with both the imbalance theory of domestic violence and the emphasis on women's fall-back position found within theories of household bargaining power.
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Description:: This article describes the views of Tibetan women who have experienced physical violence from male intimate partners. How they conceptualise abuse, their views on acceptable versus unacceptable hitting, and the acts besides hitting which they felt to be unacceptable or abusive, are explored. Views of survivors’ relatives/friends and men who have hit their wives are also included. Western-based domestic violence theory is shown to be incommensurate with abuse in particular socio-cultural settings. As feminist scholars emphasize listening deeply to voices of women in the global South, this article demonstrates how such listening might be undertaken when the views expressed by women diverge from feminism.
Related item:: The Discourse of Tibetan Women’s Empowerment Activists
Description:: Feminist activism has played a major role in the adoption of a public understanding of domestic violence as a social problem requiring active policy responses in settings as divergent as the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. In Tibetan areas of China, however, such activism does not appear to have occurred. This paper looks at a group of Tibetans termed ‘women’s empowerment activists.’ Activists’ views on Tibetan women’s rights and status are explored, in an attempt to understand why these individuals have worked to empower women, and why violence against women in Tibetan society has not been part of the focus of their work. The answer to the latter question lies in both the unique political position of Tibetan communities and in the fact that, despite the activists’ work to empower Tibetan women, the overarching concerns of the women’s empowerment activists do not exactly follow a strong feminist ethic but are more focused upon the strength of Tibetan society as a whole.

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Copyright holder:: Rajan, H
Notes:: Since four of the thesis chapters have been published as journal articles, I have included the copyright clearance form for one of these three articles. As for the remaining three articles, one is in a journal published by Sage, which automatically allows authors to republish their own work in a thesis, and the other two articles were published in open-access journals.

Licence:: Terms and Conditions of Use for Oxford University Research Archive

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Beyond the perpetrator: tackling the varied underpinnings of domestic violence on the Tibetan plateau

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