Wounds that echo: community perceptions of the socio-structural determinants of community violence in post-apartheid South Africa in the context of COVID-19

06/07/2026

AI Summary

Community violence is structurally generated, geographically concentrated and socially normalised, emerging from enduring systemic inequality and social disintegration.
COVID-19 and public health measures intensified economic precarity, spatial disadvantage and institutional neglect, catalysing increased interpersonal and community violence.
Effective prevention requires addressing historical structural determinants, sustained social investment and pandemic preparedness rather than only short term catalysts of violence.

AI Summary

Using a combined structural and social disorganisation framework, this qualitative study critically explores community members' perceptions of the socio-structural factors contributing to community violence, in the context of COVID-19.

Utilising data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this study examines the lived experiences of residents in a marginalised high-risk South African community, unpacking the interplay between structural inequities, social disintegration, and community violence.

The findings demonstrate that community violence is perceived as being embedded in cycles of survival, where long-standing systemic inequality, economic precarity, spatial disadvantage, and institutional neglect and inequity generate contexts in which community violence becomes normalised and self-reinforcing.

Basic summary

Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. 2026 Jul 5:1-18. doi: 10.1080/17457300.2026.2690592. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated public health measures significantly altered the social, economic, and psychological landscape of communities worldwide. In South Africa, the post-COVID-19 period has been marked by a notable surge in homicide rates and interpersonal and community violence. Using a combined structural and social disorganisation framework, this qualitative study critically explores community members’ perceptions of the socio-structural factors contributing to community violence, in the context of COVID-19. Utilising data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this study examines the lived experiences of residents in a marginalised high-risk South African community, unpacking the interplay between structural inequities, social disintegration, and community violence. Community violence emerged not as periodic or individual, but as structurally generated, geographically concentrated, and socially normalised. The findings demonstrate that community violence is perceived as being embedded in cycles of survival, where long-standing systemic inequality, economic precarity, spatial disadvantage, and institutional neglect and inequity generate contexts in which community violence becomes normalised and self-reinforcing. The study findings advocate for interventions that not only address immediate catalysts of violence but also the deeper historical and structural determinants of violence in the post-pandemic era, while ensuring preparedness for effective violence prevention during future pandemics.

PMID:42402673 | DOI:10.1080/17457300.2026.2690592

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