These Streets Belong to Us (2011)

With one of highest crime rates in the world, South Africans are struggling with the repercussions of living in a country where they feel they are at the mercy of criminals and that the police cannot protect them. Much of the crime is often accompanied by gratuitous violence - torture, rape and assault often go hand in hand with hijackings and robberies - making the threat of crime so much more terrifying to the average citizen. South Africa now also has the biggest divide between wealthy and poor in the world, not only between black and white but with a gap that is growing intra-racially too. Experts believe it is this visible difference between the have and have-nots that adds fuel to the fire in terms of violence and aggression in relation to crime. An average of fifty people a day are murdered in South Africa. It also has the highest rape rate in the world. So what are communities doing to protect themselves? These Streets Belong To Us looks at how ordinary South Africans are coping with the scourge of crime and its accompanying violence.