1
Violence and Crime in South Africa and the Prevalence of Trauma
Kelsey Nairn
South African College of Applied Psychology (Pty) Ltd.
Crisis and Trauma Counselling
Samuel Hill
13th July 2020
STUDENT NAME: Kelsey Nairn MARK: 91%
Please note: where the section of the grid is in red, these are the key areas you need to pay attention to, either
continue to do or correct errors.
CRITERIA NOT YET SOMEWHAT COMPETENT ACCOMPLISHED HIGHLY MARK
COMPETENT COMPETENT ACCOMPLISHED
0 - 11 12 - 17 18 - 23 24 - 29 30+ /35
ENGAGEMENT No evidence Some Theory and Theory and Outstanding
WITH of with evidence of literature are literature are engagement
LITERATURE literature engagement engaged engaged with and
AND THEORY and theory but not with and well and incorporation of
engagement sufficient or incorporated incorporated theory and
with not very very well literature 31
literature pertinent
and theory To the topic
or irrelevant
engagement
0 - 25 26 - 32 33 - 38 39 - 44 45+ /50
CONTENT Content Adequate Includes In-depth Outstanding
does not coverage of essential coverage of the coverage of the 46
pertain to topic made aspects of topic with chosen topic
the task or is but some the chosen pertinent and with examples
irrelevant or aspects topic up-to-date and excellent
errors in the unclear information attention to
portrayal of clearly and detail and deep
, 2
the chosen compellingly engagement
topic portrayed
0-1 2-4 5-7 8-9 10+ /10
APA ACADEMIC Many Several Few errors, Very well Outstanding
CONVENTIONS obtrusive errors unobtrusive represented and error-free
[STRUCTURE, errors apparent in errors in near perfect presentation 9
REFERENCING, including references, references, references, and technical
ETC] referencing citation and citation, and citations, etc. aspects
and citation presentation presentation
1 2 3 4 5 /5
STYLE, Wrong Some Awareness Strong audience Outstanding
AUDIENCE register for evidence but of audience engagement engagement
ENGAGEMENT audience not sufficient is evident throughout the with the given 5
or consistent document audience in
mind
TOTAL 91
ADDITIONAL SPECIFIC COMMENTS:
Dear Kelsey, excellent work! You engaged well with the topic, both in terms of flow of thought, coherency of
argument and distinction between theory and modality. Your work is of a very high standard.
To improve mark: Make the introduction and conclusion briefer by simply telling me what you are going to do
[introduction] and what you did [conclusion], this saves on word count.
SAM😊
, 3
Violence and Crime in South Africa and the Prevalence of Trauma
South Africa is plagued by social challenges that have led to high rates of violence,
crime and trauma. These challenges have transpired into the social injustices that negatively
impact community wellbeing today, decreasing community collaboration and feeding the
space for continued traumatic incidences. Since South Africa entered the 21st century, it has
been trying to mitigate the disastrous impact of the apartheid regime. Despite these efforts,
South Africa still holds an international reputation for violent crime. In all its forms, violence
constitutes a massive problem in South Africa socially, economically and politically. It is
infecting communities with fear, anger, suspicion and terror [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ].
Violence can be defined as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened
or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results
in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment
or deprivation" [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ]. In the year 2000, the World Report on
Violence and Health estimated that 1.6 million lives were taken because of violent crime
world-wide. 91 per cent of such deaths happened in less economically developed countries
such as South Africa. In 2014, Africa Check stated that South Africa's murder rate was at
least five times higher than the global average. Over the year 2014, South Africa has 17 068
murders per 100 000, meaning there were at least 45 violent deaths each day over that one
year. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 43 per cent of homicide
victims globally, averaged between the ages of 15 and 29 years old (UNODC, 2013).
According to a report released in 2008 by the South African National Injury Mortality
Surveillance System (NIMSS), close to 80 per cent of murder victims were male and South
African's most at risk of being subject to violent death were between the ages of 20 to 30
years old. Statistics have grown exponentially since [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ].
, 4
In South Africa, youth violence is of a concern, and could be attributed to the violence
children are exposed to in their environments [ CITATION Dil111 \l 7177 ]. Many South
African children are growing up in dysfunctional families, under-performing schools, and
violent neighbourhoods and unless these are addressed, the cycle will continue into the
following generations. Generations of youth who have adapted to dealing with life’s
problems through violence contributing to a culture of violence.
Gang violence is a particularly prevalent pandemic in South Africa. A big problem in
South Africa is the age that young children are exposed to violent environments and criminal
behaviour. According to studies, South African children start getting involved in gangs
around the ages of 11 and 12 years old [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ]. According to a report
released by the Department of Correctional Services in 2007, children awaiting trial in
detention centres were detained with adult offenders due a lack of space capacity. For these
children, being exposed to environments in prison where they were living with adult criminal
offenders, influenced their behaviour negatively as opposed to learning alternative, prosocial
behaviours. Substance abuse introduces children to social environments that model, and
reward violent behaviours [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ].
Children living in Cape Town communities such as Philippi, where gang violence is a
pandemic, drugs are used as methods for attaining young members. Often becoming addicts,
themselves, they distribute drugs on behalf of their gang to acquire their own, and meet the
demands expected of them. In scenarios such as this, children develop through an
understanding that violence and deviant behaviours are rewarded. A study done on male
arrestees in South Africa showed that 65 per cent of the arrestees were under the age of 20
and tested positive for drug abuse, further attesting to the claim that there is a high link
between youth substance abuse and violence in South Africa [ CITATION War12 \l 7177 ].
