Nature and Extent of Xenophobia as a Hate Crime Within the South African Context and Provide Recommendations for the Prevention of Future Xenophobic Attacks

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Introduction Prior 2008 xenophobia was not a well known word in South Africa. All though hate crimes have been part of our history it was the series of attacks against black foreigners that drew our attention to this phenomenon. The whole world focused on South Africa and the violence that took place here. After two weeks and the involvement of the Army, the violence subsided. The results were horrific; 62 people, including 21 South Africans, were dead; 670 wounded; dozens of women raped; and at least 100 000 persons displaced and property worth of millions of Rand destroyed. What lead to these events and has the problem been resolved? Even we have not heard of big scale xenophobic attacks it is still a current problem in our country. In this essay I will discuss the nature and extent of Xenophobia in South Africa and provide some recommendations to prevent future attacks. Definitions: Hate crimes “ A crime motivated by prejudice against a social group (The American Heritage Dictionary. 2000) “Hate crimes are any felony or violent crime based on prejudice against a particular group. They are prejudice’s most extreme expression. Compared to other crimes, hate crimes have a broader impact on victims and communities because they target core aspects of identity “(American Psychology Association. 2009) The term hate crime can be described as a criminal offense against an individual or his/her property, based on the offenders prejudice against that individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, political convictions, sexual orientation or disability. The crime may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse and murder. The victims are normally part of the minority group and this distinguishes them from the dominant culture. A hate crime can be seen as a message – the perpetrator shows

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