Johannesburg - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there problems with ethnic, race/racial minorities or religious prejudices? Gender equality?
Where to start...how about reading Long Walk to Freedom - Aug 2023
Gender inequality is massive. GBV is an enormous issue that everyone is talking about but still seems to accept. Race dominates every discussion. - Jun 2022
The country is still working through Apartheid and the damage it did to the country. Income inequality is staggeringly bad here. Most of the country's wealth is still controlled by the white population, so there is a push among the majority for the government to address access to services, employment, and education. It's very much a work in progress. There have been a lot of violent protests against immigrants (largely from other parts of Africa). This will remain an issue for the foreseeable future. - Oct 2019
Race in general is still a major factor in South African society, still dealing with the unfortunate legacy of apartheid. I know expat people of color who have experienced racism on a daily basis - being ignored by service staff, etc. - Apr 2017
there are issues but seems like mostly people get along in terms of day to day life. - Aug 2011
Xenophobia is a concern here, but not really for Americans; only for immigrants from neighboring African countries. - Jul 2010
SA is a very interesting place. There seems to be a lot of tension still due to apartheid. It is actually hard to explain. They have made great strides since 1994, but they have a LONG way to go. There is still much separation of races in the Jo'burg suburbs. And the economic divide is enormous--the very rich living a few miles from the really poor townships--which is one of the reasons for the high crime rate. There has been xenophobic violence in the townships due to the South Africans feeling that the Zimbabwe refugees (and others) are taking jobs from them. - Oct 2009
