An exploration into the perceptions of parents on their adolescent child’s sense of safety and future aspirations in a community characterised by violence

Abstract

Community violence has been found to have profound negative effects on the lives of those exposed to it daily. The victims often tend to be adolescents, who, while striving for a better future, are often quite vulnerable to its effects. The present study focuses on the perception’s parents hold of their adolescent’s sense of safety and future aspirations in a community with high levels of violence. The data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with participants residing in a community prone to violence. The researcher purposively sampled eight participants and conducted interviews in both English and Afrikaans.