UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

The psycho-social plight of widows in Binga District in Zimbabwe : the efficacy of social work intervention

Identification

Public canonical key

openalex:w2624404872

Authors

Misheck Dube

Reported year

2016

Reported language

en

Source type

dissertation

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.750305+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:04:47.750305+00:00

Last HTTP verification

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Documentary abstract — original language

Widows in Zimbabwe experience a host of psycho-social challenges in their daily lives after the death of their husbands. These challenges, experienced at individual and immediate environmental level, negatively impact on the widows' ability to cope. This study focused on the psycho-social challenges experienced by widows in Binga District, principally by emphasising the importance of Social Work intervention. The aim of the study was to investigate the psycho-social challenges of the widows in Binga District and to then develop a Social Work intervention model. The literature reviewed in the study was drawn from government resources, non-governmental and humanitarian organisations documents and much of the lieterature was from related fields such as law, psychology and nursing due to the paucity of literature from on widowhood in the field of social work. The feminist and ecological theories incorporated in the framework helped in conceptualising widowhood whilst the rights theory and the empowerment approach helped in conceptualising interventions for the psycho-social challenges experienced by the widows. The study is basic research utilising a qualitative approach and a phenomenological design. Data were collected from thirty-four participants: ten widows using individual interviews, two focus group discussions with each having seven widows as participants making a total of twenty four widows for focus group discussions, and using the key informant interviews with nine participants who were social service providers. Qualitative thematic data analysis was used and presentation is textual in the form of thick descriptions as opposed to quantitative presentation. The findings of the study include that widows experience a host of psycho-social challenges and these result from struggling with coping from loss of their husbands and abuse from their in-laws over property and asset inheritance. Interventions for the challenges the widows experienced was minimally sought from mainly traditional leaders as opposed to professionals which is either unknown to the widows or costly and often inaccessible. The study makes recommendations and develops a useful intervention model for social workers in practice.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W2624404872

HANDLE

10394/24924

Documentary context

Documentary family

Thesis

Source-reported types

dissertation

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

ZW

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3

• Document · http://hdl.handle.net/10394/24924
• Handle · https://hdl.handle.net/10394/24924
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W2624404872

Documentary status

Relevance pending

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