Understanding xenophobic hate crime in South Africa

• Date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2076
• Author: Steven Lawrence Gordon
• Published date: 01 August 2020

ACADEMIC PAPER

Understanding xenophobic hate crime in South Africa

Steven Lawrence Gordon

1,2

1

Democracy, Governance and Service

Delivery, Human Sciences Research Council,

Pretoria, South Africa

2

Research Associate, Faculty of Humanities,

University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg,

South Africa

Correspondence

Steven Lawrence Gordon, Democracy,

Governance and Service Delivery, Human

Sciences Research Council, Pretoria,

South Africa.

Tel: (+27)31-242-5612;

Fax: (+27)31-242-5401;

Email: sgordon@hsrc.ac.za

Funding information

Centre of Excellence in Human Development

at the University of the Witswaterand, Grant/

Award Number: P2018003

Hundreds of violent incidents of anti-immigrant hate crimes have been recorded in

South Africa over the past two decades. Understanding how the public views this

issue helps us better understand how it can be resolved. The paper identifies

determinants of public attitudes towards anti-xenophobia strategies. Data from

the South African Social Attitudes Survey for the period 2015–2018 were used

for this study. Using these data, the link between anti-immigrant sentiment and

lay attributes of anti-immigrant violence can be mapped. The results show that

most citizens externalise the causes of this kind of hate crime and blame the vic-

tims (i.e., foreigners) for the conflict. What people believe about the etiology of an

intergroup conflict was found to influence their desire for conflict resolution as

well as the type of solutions preferred. Victim blaming was found to predict the

adoption of prejudicial solutions to anti-immigrant hate crime (such as the mass

expulsion of foreign nationals). If an individual attributed the violence to the inter-

nal attributes (e.g., emotional factors or beliefs about foreign nationals) of the per-

petrators, they were more likely to adopt progressive solutions (such as education

and awareness campaigns).

1|INTRODUCTION

Violent anti-immigrant hate crime is a serious and important issue in

South Africa. Although the numbers are difficult to quantify, hundreds

of violent anti-immigrant hate crimes have been recorded in the coun-

try over the past two decades. If we can better understand how the

public views this issue, we can better comprehend how it can be

resolved. In particular, this article looks at which solutions to anti-

immigrant violence are supported by the general public. This paper

will show that what citizens believe about the etiology of violent

xenophobia influences their attitudes towards anti-xenophobia

strategies. The paper builds on empirical lay attribution studies of

intergroup conflict (for an overview of this research, see Bilali &

Vollhardt, 2019; Esses & Hodson, 2006; Levy, Chiu, & Hong, 2006).

The research demonstrates the importance of lay attributions for

understanding attitudes towards anti-xenophobia strategies in the

country.

There has been public opinion research before on anti-immigrant

sentiment in South Africa (e.g., Claassen, 2014, 2016; Gordon, 2017,

2019a; Ruedin, 2019a). However, it is important to recognise the

unique nature of this research paper. This is the first in-depth analysis

of mass views on anti-xenophobia strategies in South Africa. In order

to examine attitudes towards anti-immigrant hate crime, this paper

will use nationally representative public opinion data from the most

recent period (2015–2018). First, the study will be placed into its

proper context by an overview of the relevant literature. This will

include a brief outline of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa and

the contemporary policy reaction to it. Second, the data source is out-

lined, and the results are presented. Third, the findings are discussed,

and their implications for our understanding of anti-immigrantism in

South Africa are examined.

2|THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

Since the formation of South Africa as a modern state in 1910, people

of colour were relegated to positions of inferior status in a highly

racialised prejudiced economic and social system.

1

The new nation—

then known as the Union of South Africa—pursued an aggressive leg-

islative policy to expand and maintain this racial hierarchy. This

included the forced relocation of Black African populations into

reserves known as “homelands”as well as restrictions on political

Received: 11 July 2019 Revised: 21 November 2019 Accepted: 30 December 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2076

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2076. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of9

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2076