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The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings

Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016.

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Other Authors: Steyn, Francois
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2017
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Steyn, Francois
author_browse Steyn, Francois
author_facet Steyn, Francois
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:14.350Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2017
publishDateRange 2017
publishDateSort 2017
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60415 The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings Steyn, Francois lulu.sadiki@gmail.com Sadiki, Lufuno UCTD Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016. Homeless people are among the most vulnerable people in society, suffering from acute levels of poverty, social exclusion and violence. Homeless people are often seen as a cause of crime; however, they are in fact more likely to be victims of crime rather than perpetrators. Much of the violence experienced by homeless people is committed by members of the public and such incidences generally go unreported. This study set out to determine the nature and extent of victimisation experienced by homeless people living in Pretoria (Gauteng) and the rural areas surrounding Thohoyandou (Limpopo). The study was descriptive in nature with an exploratory element. Data was collected by means of structured questionnaire administered through face-to-face survey methods. Snowball sampling was used to interview 40 urban and 30 rural homeless people. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (v23), which allowed for descriptive and inferential analyses between the two settings. The mean age of respondents was 34.9 years (standard deviation 8.1 years). The vast majority of the respondents were males (95.7%) and African (92.9%) who had been chronically homeless (71.4%). The main reasons for being homeless were due to unemployment (48.0%), being an illegal immigrant (17.7%) and family breakdown (11.4%). Almost half of respondents felt unsafe while living on the streets (45.7%) and feared becoming a victim of crime in the next year (57.1%). The greater proportion of respondents (52.9%) had been victimised since becoming homeless, reporting physical assault (35.1%), grievous bodily harm (10.8%), verbal abuse (5.4%) and theft (70.2%). Statistically significant differences (p &#060 0.05; r > -0.36) featured between urban and rural homeless people in terms of, among others, fear of assault, theft and harassment. The study further reports on victimisation of homeless people in terms of location, perpetrator characteristics, reporting and responses to victimisation. Homeless people were victimised more than the general population and were mostly victims of physical assault and theft. Homeless people were more likely to retaliate physically than report their victimisation to the police because they did not trust the police. Considering the results of the study and the literature review, intervention to end homelessness and assist homeless people should focus on providing homeless people with necessary skills to find employment, mediate the relationship between homeless people and the police and strategies should be developed that reunites homeless people with their families. Social Work and Criminology MSW Unrestricted 2017-05-12T11:38:56Z 2017-05-12T11:38:56Z 2017-04-24 2016 Dissertation Sadiki, L 2016, The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings, MSW Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60415> A2017 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60415 en © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title_full The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title_fullStr The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title_full_unstemmed The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title_short The experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
title_sort experiences of homeless people as victims of crime in urban and rural settings
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60415