The Prevalence and Health Implications of Violence in Impoverished Communities in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

The experience of violent crime can have a significant impact on the physical and psychological well-being of victims and their families. This paper looks at household experience of violence in five impoverished sites in the city of Johannesburg; South Africa. Five sites were purposefully selected to reflect the prevailing housing profiles in settings of relative impoverishment in Johannesburg. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic profiles; socioeconomic data; environmental conditions and health status. Bivariate analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between household experience of violence; and potential risk factors and health/social outcomes. Overall; members of 28of households had been a victim of violence in the year preceding the study. Across sites; experience of violence within households ranged from 21to 36. Perceptions of drug abuse (p=0.01) and drug peddling (p=0.03) as being major problems in the neighbourhood; and living in a house of poor quality (p=0.01); were significantly associated with household experience of crime. In households with experience of violence; fear of crime (p=0.03) and depression (p 0.001) were elevated; and levels of exercise in men were decreased (p