Xenophobic Attacks Against Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Migrant Entrepreneurs in Atteridgeville, South Africa: A Social Identity Perspective

Poppy Masinga, Sipho Sibanda () and Lekopo Alinah Lelope
Additional contact information
Poppy Masinga: Department of Social Work and Community Development, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, ZA, South Africa
Sipho Sibanda: Department of Social Work and Social Policy, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Lekopo Alinah Lelope: Department of Correctional Services, Pretoria 0001, ZA, South Africa

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: Refugees are forced to flee their countries of origin due to factors beyond their control, and expect to find safety, peace, freedom, and have their basic needs met. Most engage in entrepreneurial activities to make a living. However, some refugees experience xenophobic attacks in host nations. Guided by the Social Identity Theory (SIT) to explore the phenomenon of xenophobic attacks against refugees in Atteridgeville, South Africa, this paper describes the factors contributing to xenophobic attacks against them. Participants were selected using the snowball sampling technique. Data were collected from 10 refugee entrepreneurs using one-on-one interviews guided by a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using thematic data analysis. The findings revealed the political and socio-economic factors behind the refugees’ exodus from their country of origin. In trying to better their lives, refugees encounter several bureaucratic challenges when formalising their asylum and refugee status in South Africa. The study established that xenophobic attacks on refugee entrepreneurs were influenced by numerous factors, including jealousy, hatred of foreigners, unemployment, and lack of job opportunities for young black South Africans. In addition, poverty and crime were identified as factors responsible for exacerbating xenophobic attacks. Based on the findings of this study, the social work profession has a pellucid and pivotal role to play in addressing the individual, group, community, systemic, institutional, and structural level factors responsible for xenophobic attacks on refugee entrepreneurs in Atteridgeville. The study recommends that further studies focus on designing multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral measures for addressing xenophobic attacks against refugee entrepreneurs.

Keywords: forced migration; refugee entrepreneurs; social identity perspective; South Africa; xenophobia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/9/561/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/9/561/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:9:p:561-:d:1753153

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().