Survey Methodology in Violence-prone Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

This article discusses the methodological challenges of a service delivery survey in Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, South Africa. The survey aimed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between citizen participation and the environmental challenges facing residents in this urban area. Khayelitsha is a township prone to violence. Encountering violence during fieldwork can alter the way researchers execute research, yet this often remains unacknowledged in 'objective social science', especially in probability sampling. The article examines the effects of the risk felt by researchers on the research method employed in quantitative surveys. It shows that deliberating on this aspect of the research process is both necessary and useful, especially in terms of recognising the need to factor fear or uncertainty into the ways in which research processes unfold.

Townships as Crime ‘Hot-Spot’ Areas in Cape Town: Perceived Root Causes of Crime in Site B, Khayelitsha

“…However, existing literature consistently links high crime rates to a number of factors including apartheid regime (Palmary, 2001;Shaw, 2002, Demombynes & Özler, 2005Singh, 2005;Nleya & Thompson, 2009). The regime was uninterested in fighting and preventing crime in areas occupied by black Africans as it had no policy in place on fighting and preventing crime in black African communities.…”

“…Weak parental guidance also appears on the list of crime determinants in South Africa (de Wet, 2003;Frank, 2006;Nleya & Thompson, 2009). Parents are generally blamed for not playing their parental role in terms of guiding and preventing their children from pursuing illegitimate activities.…”

“…Poverty and long-term unemployment among black Africans who were previously discriminated and marginalised from major socio-economic spheres by the apartheid government are included on list of root causes of crime in the country (Palmary, 2001;Shaw, 2002;Demombynes & Özler, 2005;Nleya & Thompson, 2009). Given that the majority of South Africans live in poverty (Armstrong, Lekezwa & Siebrits, 2008), economic benefits attached to crime are seen as a factor that attracts individual poor people to commit crime.…”

“…1 Khayelitsha however, tops all crime hot-spot areas in Cape Town. The township contributes significantly to murders and armed robbery in Cape Town (Kagee & Frank, 2005;Silber & Geffen, 2009) and is one of the most violent urban areas in South Africa (Nleya & Thompson, 2009).…”

Community Participation in Crime Prevention: Informal Social Control Practices in Site B, Khayelitsha Township

“…Lack of parental guidance is one of the factors which contribute to high crime rates in South Africa (Dissel, 1997;de Wet, 2003;Nleya &Thompson, 2009). In some communities, youths have normalised illegitimate activities to acquire accolade or status (Pelser, 2008), and these activities seem to be accepted.…”