Johannesburg —
South Africa is one of the countries where people feel least safe when walking alone, according to a new global poll by Gallup released on Tuesday.
Bartender Gugu Zakaza, 32, was walking home from the grocery store one day when he was attacked by two men.
That was the last time she ever ventured to walk anywhere alone, she said.
“I would never walk down those streets. Firstly, the crime rate in South Africa is very high and it is not safe for a woman to walk alone at night. Obviously we can be taken advantage of… so it’s better to be safe than sorry,” she said.
She is not alone.
Karabo Faith, 23, said she will never walk anywhere alone again.
“I was almost robbed on my way home at night and another guy said, ‘Hey, give me your phone’ and then luckily the police came and didn’t take my phone away but it was scary,” she said.
Gallup’s latest Global Safety Poll asked people in 140 countries how safe they feel when walking alone. Nearly 70% of South Africans said they do not feel safe, ranking them in the bottom three countries, including Ecuador and Liberia.
Gallup is a global analytics and advisory firm.
Gallup’s Julie Ray said sub-Saharan Africa has ranked low in the annual survey for years and has a lower sense of safety than any other region.
“This area has been ranked as the least safe area in public perception for almost 20 years,” Ray said.
In contrast, citizens of Kuwait, Singapore and Norway felt the safest, with only 8% to 1% feeling unsafe.
Ms Rae said South African women generally felt less safe than men, and trust in the police was also lower than average in sub-Saharan Africa, she said.
Asked to comment on the report, South African Police Service spokesperson Aslenda Mathe said the service was working to raise awareness.
“We are working to crack down on all forms of crime and our main goal is to make South Africa a better and safer place to live so that people can roam freely,” Mathe said.
South Africa is notorious for having a high crime rate.
According to the latest police statistics, more than 6,000 murders and 9,000 rapes were recorded between April and June alone, equating to an incidence rate of 10 per 100,000 people and 15 per 100,000 people respectively.
