Publication

This paper examines the intersection of physical violence, structural violence, and masculinity through the life history narrative of a 20‐year‐old man exiting an informal gang in Gugulethu, a township in Cape Town. Beginning and remaining with James Madoda’s narrative, the paper shows how the gendered physical violence between young men in townships emerges from historical and present‐day structural violence – here defined as institutionalized power inequalities that limit life opportunities – and argues that structural violence needs to be discussed and addressed as a policy issue in South Africa. It also suggests that structural violence may provide a platform for collaboration among civil society actors working on socioeconomic transformation and the prevention of violence.