South Africa’s male homicide epidemic hiding in plain sight

What is it about?

The study focuses on South Africa’s enormous burden of male homicide, which to date has attracted considerably less attention than it deserves. It provides a descriptive epidemiology of male and female victim profiles by external cause, age, province, day of week, month and alcohol-relatedness, which we compare against sex-disaggregated global averages for external cause and age, and a previous South African study from 2009. We collected data from 30,996 post-mortem reports in 2017, which represented a total of 54,734 injury deaths, of which 19,477 were homicides. We reported sex-disaggregated data as an important first step in highlighting the massive, disproportionate and enduring homicide risk borne by adult South African men. We found that males accounted for 87% of homicides, equating to seven male death for every female. This is similar to other low- and middle-income countries but with far higher rates – and highlights the negligible prevention response.

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Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

South Africa has responded proactively to violence against women with interventions and policy measures culminating in a National Strategic Plan, but the disproportionate burden of male homicide has largely been ignored. Recognising the extent of the burden is an important first step towards a targeted, meaningful prevention response and it is critical that we better understand these data so that we can identify key communities at risk and develop appropriate interventions. Our study has shown homicide rates among males were higher than females across all ages, and up to eight times higher among males aged 15 to 44. There was also considerable regional and temporal variation – with 11 male for every female death in the Western Cape Province, and male homicide peaking during December and on weekends, underscoring the prominent role of alcohol as a risk factor. Our findings have implications for other countries with high rates of homicide generally, particularly low- and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need to recognise that many men are marginalised and vulnerable, largely through poverty and inequality. We need to address the insidious effects of societal norms alongside implementing structural interventions to overcome the root causes of poverty and inequality, and to better control alcohol and firearms. This study is an important and necessary – if belated – first step to identify groups at increased homicide risk who could benefit from specific interventions and policies. Only through challenging the perceived invulnerability of males can we begin to address the enormous burden of violence borne by men.

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