Browsing by Author "Charuma, Tinevimbo"

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    Effectiveness of Xenowatch’s monitoring of xenophobic violence in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Charuma, Tinevimbo; Pophiwa, Nedson
    With increasing occurrence of xenophobic violence incidents in South Africa it becomes imperative to come up with solutions that are more effective. Key to reducing and preventing the incidents is monitoring of xenophobic violence for better evidence-informed anti-xenophobic policy interventions. In South Africa at present there is no state institution that focuses on tracking and tracing the patterns and trends of xenophobic violence attacks which means that decisions to act or ignore are not based on any factual information. A growing point of literature suggests that societal issues do not have optimal solutions, hence they need to be data driven to effectively deal with problem communities are facing. However, in Africa and in South Africa data driven and evidence- based decision making is limited in both public and private sectors. This study aimed at exploring how monitoring of xenophobic violence is used for policy making and advocacy work. A case study approach was used which focused on the monitoring of xenophobic violence by Xenowatch an independent institution. Within the case study key informant interviews were conducted with ten participants which comprised of three from Xenowatch staff and the remaining from Xenowatch partner organizations who are also users of the data. All the participants were purposively selected due to their experience and expertise with migration issues which are greatly connected to xenophobic violence and also working for and working with Xenowatch. There is limited evidence of use of the Xenowatch monitoring data by government or state institutions. The data showed its strength in advocacy as the findings revealed several uses by civil society organizations which include lobbying, influencing policy change, used in court cases among others. The study also showed the challenges in both gathering and using monitoring data such as underreporting, definition of xenophobic violence for the former, and capacity (knowledge and resources which affects both civil society and government) for the latter. From the interviews different suggestions were given by both respondents from Xenowatch staff and their stakeholders on how to improve the use of monitoring results for advocacy and policy making