ABSTRACT

This chapter builds on the introduction by discussing gender and age as key elements in the socio-legal space of disputing and its management. It demonstrates that, to a meaningful extent, a typology can be crafted of the kinds of grievances and disputes that arise in Msinga relative to one's age and gender, as well as the influence that these personal attributes will most likely have on the dispute management process. What drives the socially coercive perception of any particular woman as being promiscuous is a matter of interest, especially in how it relates to the crisis men face around their own masculinity. Catherine Campbell highlights the important role the family plays in constructing a masculinity that allows the link between male identity and violence to persist and even hold a 'socially sanctioned place'. The chapter summarises the troubling risks that women in Msinga face. The author would say that women are very vulnerable to substantial amounts of gender-based violence.