Mine closure, women, and crime in Matjhabeng, South Africa

Abstract

Research from the Global North suggests that crime increases during a mining boom but not during mining decline. Our evidence from the South African gold mining town of Matjhabeng (formerly Welkom) shows that crime increases during mining decline and affects women in particular. We use social disruption theory to explain women’s experiences of crime and also their involvement in it. We find that criminal activities harm women in particular, that crime has become entrenched within female-headed households, and that women are conflicted in their roles as parents and become participants in crime and beneficiaries of criminal activities. It is a matter for concern that research generally ignores the sociospatial nature of mine closure and its effects on women.