The Use of Concept Mapping in Engaging Women to Identify the Factors that Influence Violence

Abstract

This study used concept mapping to characterise the factors influencing violence as perceived by a sample of women community dwellers. Participants were 50 women (aged between 18 and 65 years) living in a high violence area of a major South African city. Data were collected over three meetings in two groups, at which participants identified, rated and categorised factors influencing violence in their community. Participants also discussed the ways in which these factors interact with each other. Findings suggest that drugs, gangs, lack of access to justice, and family stressors are perceived by participants as key drivers of violence in their community. However, these factors were understood by participants to be embedded within a complex and multi-layered system of structural influences, including poverty, government policy, and the social structures of the past and present. The study demonstrates the value of concept mapping in supporting the incorporation of insider knowledge within intervention design, while building the community engagement and collaborative partnerships needed to promote change.