Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 02-09-2019
Gun Free South Africa says with the escalation of crime in the country, owning a gun gives people a false sense of security.
A recent Stats SA Victims of Crime Survey found that people fear being attacked in their homes and neighbourhoods, with one-third of households surveyed not going to open spaces or parks for fear of crime.
According to the statistics, there are 56 murders a day in this country and in the majority of these cases, the victims were shot dead.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Gun Free South Africa’s Adele Kirsten says the South African research shows a person is more likely to be shot at if they have a weapon.
“It’s common sense, that we know that when one person is armed that it increases the likelihood of someone firing back at you. So it’s the idea of the cycle of violence that as one group arms more, the other one becomes more armed and its sets off this domestic arms race.”
Kirsten however says the South African research is ‘silent’ on whether people are shot with their own gun or the attackers gun.
“There are two important findings in the South African data. The one is that you are four times more likely to have your gun taken off you and so what that tells us is that guns are not useful for self-defence. But as important is that what was once a legal gun, now enters into the illegal market.”
Kirsten says international research shows that guns are very rarely used in self-defense against a criminal attack with the most recent comprehensive research from the USA, which used national FBI and crime survey data showing that guns that have been bought for protection are 32 times more likely to criminally murder others than to kill in self-defence.
Listen to the interview with Adele Kirsten
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