From bonds to bridges

While South Africa is making great strides in achieving the values that have led to its famous moniker, the Rainbow Nation, consequences of a fragmented society like crime and violence, xenophobia, low levels of mutual respect and lack of social solidarity are holding back its potential for becoming a truly unified country.

Social cohesion is not a new concept; but it is complex and this is perhaps what makes it so difficult to understand and quantify. Simply put, social cohesion is the glue that holds society together, particularly in the context of cultural diversity. This article looks at three research studies around social cohesion which help bring this broad concept into focus.

The first study explains what social cohesion is; the second one looks at migration in the context of this concept; and the third deals with women in society, and specifically incarcerated women. How does one gauge something which is so multifaceted and intricate?

A new study by the Human Sciences Research Council, From bonds to bridges: Towards a social cohesion barometer for South Africa, aims to do just this, by developing a framework for conceptualising and measuring social cohesion in the country. “A crucial aspect of the study is that it moves away from the concept of ‘bonding’ forms of cohesion which could actually serve to prioritise insiders over outsiders and promote new forms of exclusion; to ‘bridging’ cohesion, which promotes multiculturalism and acceptance of diversity,” explains Ben Roberts, who is involved in the study.

Attitudes and behaviours
Using three main components or domains — socio-cultural, economic and civic – the framework measures group attitudes and behaviour in each. For example, in the socio-cultural domain, aspects such as social trust, family life and roles, social networks, and tolerance are key indicators. People’s tolerance towards race, gender, religion, same-sex partners and, critically, internal and international migrants is particularly telling of group attitudes.

The economic domain measures attitudes towards societal inequalities and redress together with more objective measures of income and other forms of deprivation, from basic services like water and electricity, to better education, health care and jobs. The civic domain deals with attitudes like national identity and satisfaction with government, to behaviour like participation in political activities.

Although each domain addresses different dimensions of society, something they all have in common are the issues related to structural poverty and inequality running through them. These include issues like education, living standards and geographic locations — and how they in turn relate to social fragmentation.

Migration and urbanisation
Governing migration and urbanisation to counter poverty and social fragmentation was the subject of another recent study. “Migration and mobility are ongoing and socially transforming dynamics that affect South Africa, both internally, as a result of urbanisation, and internationally, as a result, in part, of South Africa becoming an economic hub in the region,” explains Aurelia Segatti from the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand, who was involved in the study. Not surprisingly, the concentration of both internal and international migrants is highest in the largest urban areas.

However, other than specific enclaves in these cities, the migration levels throughout the country are very similar to those observed across the world in similar regional economic hubs. Attitudes towards migrants — and transient populations in general – was a very important dimension of the study because of the impact this has on social cohesion. Again, not surprisingly, these were found to be deeply embedded and extremely negative, not just towards international migrants, but domestic ones too. Of course, xenophobic attitudes – especially towards African foreigners — is a particularly insidious problem in a country with such a multi-cultural society.

Proactive approach?
According to the study, municipal authorities have been wary of addressing population movements and acknowledging human mobility as a fundamental driver of, or response to, development. Rather than take a proactive approach that plans for mobility in all of its forms, South African local authorities have typically been unable to address challenges related to migration, including inter-group conflict, economic marginalisation, and the inability to access suitable services. Yet failing to meet the very real challenges of domestic and international migration creates the risk of increasing conflict, violence, poverty and social exclusion in ways that negatively affect all urban residents.

Xenophobic attitudes are hardly ever backed up by any tangible evidence, for example, in relation to crime. “Our research shows that migrants are definitely not a significant security threat, but there are often political incentives to consider them as such,” reveals Segatti. “Officials are also reluctant to be seen as supporting foreigners over citizens, and newcomers, in particular informal settlers, over longer term residents,” she points out. Because of the enormous press coverage the issue of xenophobia has received, international migrants have become a highly visible segment of South African society affected by social fragmentation.

Women in prison
A much less visible but equally affected group, is incarcerated women; and the high levels of violence and disproportionate poverty many South African women face are often factors that cause them to turn to crime in the first place. Although a relatively small segment of our society, there are actually more women in prison than some may think.

According to a recent study, of the roughly 3 750 incarcerated women at any given time, the large majority are single mothers who, prior to imprisonment, played a central role in supporting immediate and extended families. This study by the Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit (GHJRU) at the University of Cape Town entitled The Pathways Project: Women’s routes to crime and incarceration in South Africa, looks at the interconnection between social fragmentation and incarcerated women; and how poverty, household dynamics, social ties, and other factors influence women’s pathways to crime.

“A clear picture of victimisation, resilience and survival within a context of deep structural inequality and indiscriminate authority is emerging from the research findings,” says Lillian Artz, who heads up the project. The study seeks to discover what the turning points in female offender’s lives were and what circumstances led to their involvement in crime and eventual incarceration. It also investigates how incarceration has impacted on their lives and the lives of their children, households and communities.

“Criminal activity as a means of escape — from the effects of mental, physical and sexual violence over the course of women’s lifetimes — is a recurring theme. “Another is the burden of responsibility borne by many of the women, including the need to support children, parents and other family members, often within the context of extreme poverty, lack of employment opportunities and abusive relationships,” explains Artz.

“The demographic data coming out of the study reminds us of the particular burdens that women in South Africa, and elsewhere, bear. They appear, however, to be significantly amplified in the experiences of women who come into conflict with the law.” In comparison to men, women are less likely to be ‘serial’ or chronic offenders, but poverty is a major risk factor for female offending and increases the odds of re-arrest considerably. Research has found that women who are given state-based financial support to address short-term needs like housing were 83% less likely to reoffend than those who did not. “The fact that the age of first conviction is much higher with women than with men also means we have a much broader scope in terms of prevention and intervention before women get to the stage where they are incarcerated,” says Artz.

She stressed the importance of working with the Department of Correctional Services in reducing women’s risk of vulnerability and contact with the legal system before and after imprisonment. “We consider ongoing and active engagement with the prison service essential to any strategic crime prevention efforts in South Africa.” Likewise, tackling the deep-seated attitudes towards migrants to build social cohesion also depends on the active involvement of government. Although shifting these attitudes may take time, by addressing ­poverty and inequality as a core component of policies and making sure they are more inclusive of the interests of not just longer term city residents, but transient populations too, government can achieve the social cohesion objectives of South Africa.