SA must strive to become a peaceful country to the benefit of all society

NATHANIEL LEE | SA must strive to become a peaceful country to the benefit of all society

08 June 2022 - 10:13 With improved prospects of employment and career growth, young people will be more inclined to promote peace says the writer.The 2022 Global Peace Index has listed SA among the least peaceful countries in the world, ranking it 123rd out of 163 countries.

The report is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace , which measures the relative position of nations and regions’ peacefulness. The most peaceful country in the world, Iceland, had its tranquility shattered by a spate of shootings and stabbings involving criminal gangs. By Icelandic standards, this was concerning as only four people were shot dead in more than two decades. Iceland has topped the GPI rankings since 2008 due to its low crime rate, strong education and welfare systems, fair play and absence of tension between social classes. This stands in stark contrast to SA, which has witnessed an escalation of violent crimes, making it one of the most dangerous places on earth. Violent crime in SA includes murder with almost 75 people killed every day. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in the world. Added to that is vehicle hijackings, taxi violence, cash-in-transit heists, farm attacks, kidnapping and gang violence. Recently, the country has seen a spike in incidents of xenophobic violence that have claimed several lives. For all intents and purposes, SA is a state of low intensity warfare with violent conflict posing the greatest developmental challenge. In assessing peacefulness the GPI uses indicators such as the number of deaths from external or internal organised conflict, level of perceived criminality in society, number of refugees and displaced people as a percentage of the population, political instability, level of violent crime, likelihood of violent demonstrations and ease of access to small arms and light weapons. In this regard, the country ticks every box, which calls for urgency to overturn this unpalatable state of affairs.

Please follow us on Google to support us

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

SowetanLIVE /  🏆 13. in ZA

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

'Poor governance has plagued SA, is one of its biggest human rights atrocities'Lester Kiewit speaks to South African Human Rights Commission outgoing CEO Tseliso Thipanyane.
Read more »

SA economy grew by 1.9% in Q1, returning to pre-pandemic levels - Stats SAStats SA says South Africa’s economy grew by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Read more »

Saudi man proposes to Amber Heard: 'You have no one except me' [listen]Saudi man proposes to Amber Heard: 'You have no one except me' [listen] A Saudi man has not only slid into the DM's of actress Amber Heard, but propositioned her with a marriage proposal too!
Read more »

INFOGRAPHIC: Q1 data shows SA economy returning to pre-COVID levelsData from Stats SA showed that South Africa's economy grew by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2022, returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Read more »

OPINIONISTA: Of facts, opinion, advertorials and expulsions — the SA Jewish Report caseThe recent expulsion from the Press Council of South Africa of the South African Jewish Report has put the spotlight on the journalistic distinction between facts and opinion.
Read more »