DST/NRF SARChI in Economic Development in the School of Built Environment & Development Studies

Invites you to a seminar by Dr Steven Gordon

Title:
Why Do People Attack Foreigners Living in South Africa? A Quantitative Analysis of Public Opinion

Abstract: One of the major problems facing South Africa is anti-immigrant violence. This type of hate crime discourages long-term integration of international migrants and acts as a barrier to otherwise economically beneficial population movement. his study aims to contribute to our understanding of public attitudes towards anti-immigrant violence. In the study looks at which explanations for anti-immigrant violence are most popular amongst the country’s adult population. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) 2017 was used for this study. A repeated cross-sectional survey series, SASAS is specially designed to be nationally representative of all persons 16 years and older in the country. Survey teams visited households in all nine provinces and the sample size was 3,098. Respondents were then asked the following: “There are many opinions about why people take violent action against foreigners living in South Africa. Please tell me the MAIN REASON why you think this happens.” This question was open-ended which allowed respondents to answer in their own words.

Bio: Steven Lawrence Gordon has been involved in South African academia for over more than ten years. He started work as a researcher within the Department of Industrial, Organisational and Labour Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2007 before joining the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) in 2012. He is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow working in the HSRC’s Democracy and Governance and Service Delivery research programme and is a member of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) unit. His work with the SASAS unit covers a wide range of topics, including financial literacy, quality of life, electoral participation and attitudes towards the family. Dr. Gordon received a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2017. His other post-graduate awarded degrees are: a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Albert Ludwigs Freiburg in 2007 and a Masters in Population Studies (cum laude) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012. For the last ten years his work has focused on public opinion research with a particular focus on intergroup relations and social cohesion.