Women's experiences encountering loss and grief in Nyanga, Western Cape

Abstract

Research on loss and grief is based on Western contexts and assumes a level of safety and security within which bereaved individuals can be supported in coming to a resolution of their loss. The lives of women in Nyanga are however marked by various forms of violence and insecurity. Secure housing, stable employment and regular household income are not assumed. Individual physical safety is not assured either inside or outside the home. In this context grief and loss is experienced on such a scale that it has become normative rather than the exception. The aim of this research was to explore women's experiences of loss and grief in Nyanga. The objectives were to explore and describe these experiences and the contexts that influenced these experiences. The researcher has adopted a qualitative phenomenological research approach using in-depth interviews with women experiencing loss and grief following violent death. The population will be women experiencing loss and grief in Nyanga, Western Cape. Non-probability snowball sampling was used. The sample size was determined by data saturation due to the phenomenological nature of the study.