Women’s defense strategies against microaggression in South African municipalities

Gendered violence is a social problem that involves microinsults, micro assaults, and microinvalidations that highlight the multiple treats men direct towards women in public. Street-harassment is one of many gendered violent crimes that may involve sexist insults, unwarranted advances, labelling of women as morally inferior to men, body shaming, and objectification of women. Some cultural norms and values promote intolerance towards women. Women are forced to become their first line of defense despite the existence of national and international legislative frameworks that provide gender equality. This study aimed to establish women’s preferred defense against microaggression in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The qualitative study used a convenient sampling technique to identify 80 women who experienced microaggression in Gauteng Province. Data was gathered through a thirty-minute interview scheduled with semi-structured questions. Atlas.ti was used to conduct thematic content analysis and the three dominant themes generated from the data were arrest, community, and reporting. The “right to resist aggression theory” was applied to interpret data. Most Women preferred the arrest of micraggressors. However, these findings cannot be generalized. Installing digital surveillance across municipalities is recommended to provide the police with real-time evidence of women’s experiences of microaggression and gendered violence in public.