Life expectancy of South African adolescents with and without interpersonal violence as a cause of death, 2001-2010

Nicole De Wet, University of the Witwatersrand

Interpersonal violence has historically been a feature of South African society. With roots in the country’s politically turbulent past, the legacy of interpersonal violence persists with public media frequently reporting on both major and minor occurrences of violence resulting in mortality. Despite the entire population being affected, interpersonal violence is a particularly challenging issue for adolescents whose health and survival will affect the country’s future social and economic progression. Death Notification Forms from 2001-2010 are analysed. Conventional and associated – single decrement life tables are used. The sample size is 18,085,744 adolescent deaths from 2001-2010. Results show that male deaths from interpersonal violence are higher than female deaths throughout the period. Males can gain about 8 extra years of life if interpersonal violence is ‘deleted’ and adolescent females can gain about 7 additional years. Policies bearing in mind these age and sex differentials in mind will assist in reducing fatalities among adolescents.