South Africa: Dream Vacation turned Violent Nightmare

           South Africa is a beautiful country due to its magnificent mountains, clearwater beaches, and seemingly cohesive social culture. However, this dream vacation spot is slowly becoming more and more of a nightmare. With the U.K. and many other countries issuing travel advisories against South Africa, this bucket list retreat is losing a lot of its tourist traffic for understandable precautionary reasons(“Safety”). The rise in already considerably high violent crime rates is becoming more and more of a threat to tourists and to South African citizens themselves.

South Africa has seen a rise of sexual offenses, common assault, common robberies, and even murder (“Factsheet”). This is especially concerning considering how astronomically high those crime rates already were. The murder rate of South Africa in 2018/2019 was 36.4 per 100,000 people (“Factsheet”), just over 6 times the rate of the U.S.(“Faststats”). To put this into perspective, a man is murdered every 30 minutes and a woman is murdered every four hours(Wilkinson). This is only amplified by the 35% rise in that statistic over the past seven years(“Factsheet”). The crime rates not only completely overshadow those of the U.S., in 2016 it was ranked as the fourth highest country in the world for its female interpersonal violence rate by the World Health Organization(Wilkinson). 

Additionally to the crime rates themselves, the stigma that has now formed around South Africa due to its brutal reputation is contributing to the matter. According to the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, violence has become normalized in South African culture and is often seen as a valid outlet for resolving conflict(“The Violent”). This normalization is accentuated in the higher concentration of African or in poorer communities. This statistic, most likely due to uneven developement and the legacy of Apartheid, only further plays into the dangerous stereotype surrounding colored Africans. This stereotype threatens the poorer, colored communities as they are now facing the issue of being stereotyped as the perpetrator of crimes, not the victim, posing an obstacle in the way of getting justice as the victims of violent crime through legal action(“The Violent”).

  These violent crimes are not only an issue for the native citizens of South Africa, they also pose a massive threat to the foreigners and tourists that visit. Many countries have implemented travel advisories against South Africa due to the violent crime, including the United Kingdom. The threat is so severe that tourists are advised against using public transport, walking alone in the dark, or even stalling in their driveways or at traffic lights(“Safety”). They have increasingly become the target of crimes such as violent robberies or kidnapping due to the stereotype that the British tourists are wealthier than the citizens(“The Violent”).

The grave epidemic of violent crime in South Africa is an extremely disheartening and profound issue, however, there seems to be very little being done about it. With the crime rates constantly on the rise and the harsh stereotype tainting the beautiful country, the future seems bleak for the victims of South African violent crime. The road to recovery for South Africa, is a long one. As Chandre Gould, a senior researcher in the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme of the Institute for Security Studies, states “Just as there is no single cause of violence and crime, there is no single solution”(Marisa, et al.).

Works Cited

“FACTSHEET: South Africa's Crime Statistics for 2018/19.” Africa Check, Africa

Check 2020, 12 Sept. 2019, 11, africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-south-africas-crime-statistics-for-2018-19/.

“FastStats - Homicide.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 30 May 2013,

www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm.

Marisa, et al. “Why Is Crime and Violence so High in South Africa?” Africa

Check, Africa Check, 30 Oct. 2017,

africacheck.org/2014/09/17/comment-why-is-crime-and-violence-so

-high-in-south-africa-2/.

“Safety and Security - South Africa Travel Advice.” GOV.UK, Government Digital

Service, www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa/safety-and-

security.

“THE VIOLENT NATURE OF CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA .” A Concept Paper for the

Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, The Centre for the Study of

Violence and Reconciliation , 25 June 2007, www.csvr.org.za/docs/crime/compatibility_mode.pdf.

Wilkinson, Kate. “Five Facts: Femicide in South Africa .” Africa Check, 3 Sept.

2019, africacheck.org/reports/five-facts-femicide-in-south-africa/.