Farm attacks and farm murders are a contentious topic in South Africa. Claims have been made that the criminal attacks on farms are a deliberate form of white – specifically Afrikaner – genocide. But are farm dwellers and particularly white Afrikaans farmers the target? Or are these crimes part of a bigger picture of escalating brutal violence countrywide? Are statistics accessible and accurate so as to paint a true landscape of violent crime in rural South Africa?
About the Author
Dr Johan Burger joined the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in 2006 and is currently a consultant with the ISS Justice and Violence Prevention Programme in Pretoria. He served in the South African Police Service for 36 years, and retired as a major general and head of operational coordination. He has an MA in strategic studies and a DTech in policing.
Picture: Willem Els/ISS
