ABSTRACT The ideas of ‘ownership’, ‘control’ and ‘love’ among people in intimate relationships, are often woven into the discourse of power relations. In this culture, a man owns his family and this sense of ownership results in control – erroneously seen as love for his family. For those who subscribe to this notion of relationship, the concept of partner-abuse hardly exists – in fact, it is constructed within the gamut of discipline, love and care. This article explores the concept of power – ‘residual’ and ‘active’ power – and examines how either exercising or non-exercising these forms of power structures affects intimate relationships. It draws on a large study of domestic violence conducted in Mamelodi Township, a black neighbourhood in Pretoria, South Africa. It aims to unravel the central place of power relations in the commission of domestic violence – a scourge in South Africa. The article asks: ‘How do women understand and mediate power and control between themselves and within their relationship with their partners?’ The study situated individual women’s experiences as a central point. The data was collected through in-depth interviews and observation, and qualitative data was employed in its analysis.

中文翻译：

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绝交：南非小镇的权力关系和家庭暴力

摘要 在亲密关系中，人们之间的“所有权”、“控制”和“爱”的概念经常被编织到权力关系的话语中。在这种文化中，一个人拥有自己的家庭，这种主人翁意识会导致控制——被错误地视为对家人的爱。对于认同这种关系概念的人来说，虐待伴侣的概念几乎不存在——事实上，它是在纪律、爱和关怀的范围内构建的。本文探讨了权力的概念——“剩余”和“主动”权力——并研究了行使或不行使这些形式的权力结构如何影响亲密关系。它借鉴了在南非比勒陀利亚的黑人社区 Mamelodi Township 进行的一项大型家庭暴力研究。它旨在揭开权力关系在家庭暴力行为中的核心地位——这是南非的一个祸害。文章问：“女性如何理解和调节她们之间以及她们与伴侣的关系中的权力和控制？” 该研究将个别女性的经历作为中心点。数据通过深度访谈和观察收集，并采用定性数据进行分析。