In the Wake of Violence: Enacting and Witnessing Hope Among People |
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Authors: | Elmarie Kotzé Thérèse Hulme Tertius Geldenhuys Kaethe Weingarten |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Human Development and Counselling, University of Waikato, , Hamilton, New Zealand;2. Private Practice and Consultancy, , Cape Town, South Africa;3. South African Police Service, , Pretoria, South Africa |
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Abstract: | In the territory of violence and despair, hope is rare. Recent work on hope has shifted attention from hope as a feeling to hope as a practice that people can do together. This case report of a family exposed to domestic violence highlights the role played by a South African police officer in the mother's actions to separate from the context of violence. As a witness to the violence, the police officer acted from an ethic of justice and an ethic of compassion. Outsider witnessing of a counseling session resulted in the recruiting of a community of acknowledgement for the mother, the police officer, and an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Listening carefully and doing hope together gave rise to alliances against practices of violence. As a step of accountability, the authors used reflexive practices to question their responses and to avoid colonizing practices. |
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Keywords: | Doing Hope Together Domestic Violence Witnessing Practices Ethic of Justice and Compassion |
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