‘Community Conversations’ to Understand Perceptions of Crime and Violence in a Low-Income Urban Setting

Crime and violence are highly prevalent in South Africa, exacerbated by numerous socioeconomic challenges. To investigate how exposure to crime and violence (and their impacts, e.g. stress) are perceived in low-income communities, we hosted a set of facilitated ‘community conversations’, as opportunities for community engagement. Our objective was to provide a safe space for community members to share their perceptions; we were interested to know if such conversations would be feasible with adolescents (>12 years) and adults in the community. We hosted five conversations (each 2.5-3 hours in length) with 25 adults (56% female) and 47 adolescents (26% female) at a local church, providing refreshments. Overall, it proved feasible to arrange and conduct ‘community conversations’ about stress and exposure to crime and violence in this community. Despite the sensitive nature of the topics being discussed, participants in all groups were found to be willing to speak openly and appeared to respond well to the term ‘stress’ rather than mental health. The main challenges identified in discussions were poverty, safety (linked to crime and violence), substance abuse, lack of trust, and conflict in homes, and a lack of unity within the community linked to a lack of trust. Poverty and unemployment were seen as contributing to these challenges, contributing to community members feeling unsafe and unprotected, and living with the fear of being targeted by crime and violence. Based on our experience of these conversations, we make recommendations relating to the feasibility, facilitation, and the role of such activities in research. Participants’ responses provided a positive indication that facilitating similar conversations on a more regular basis (and potentially in other communities) could help provide support for community members while also increasing researchers’ understanding of community member experiences.