Transitory Mobility, Cultural Heterogeneity, and Victimization Risk Among Young Men of Color: Insights From an Ethnographic Study in Cape Town, South Africa

• NCJ Number: 245327
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2013 Pages: 967-1008
• Author(s): Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard; Jody Miller; Danielle M. Reynald
• Date Published: November 2013
• Length: 42 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In this article, the authors drew from a multiyear ethnography in Cape Town, South Africa, to offer a theoretical elaboration of the place of culture in contributing to victimization risks among urban minority young men.

Abstract

The coupling of racial and economic stratification has been found to result in a range of adverse outcomes for youth of color, including disproportionate exposure to violence and victimization. Primary explanations of these patterns, particularly at the micro-level, have focused on the impact of street culture. In this article, the authors drew from a multiyear ethnography in Cape Town, South Africa, to offer a theoretical elaboration of the place of culture in contributing to victimization risks among urban minority young men. The study is based on data collected from a sample of 26 young men of color who lived on the Cape Flats between 2003 and 2006. Using grounded theory methods, the authors suggest the import of unequal access to spatial mobility as a multifaceted means by which culture mediates young men's risks for victimization in disadvantaged communities. The authors found that transitory mobilityconceptualized as youth's temporary access to cultural spaces outside their segregated residential neighborhoodsis an important source of cultural heterogeneity in townships that can intensify the strength of local social identities and outgroup antipathies directed at those whose mobility is perceived as a cultural threat. Transitorily mobile young men's cultural repertoires are a key facet of street efficacy that can either insulate them from risk or heighten their vulnerabilities. The findings are suggestive of important sources of variation in young men's victimization outcomes in disadvantaged communities, offering insights about factors that shape risks beyond those linked to the victim-offender overlap in high-risk settings. (Published Abstract)