And the absence of a father or an intact marriage is a prime indicator for drug use and trouble with the law.

FORBES: Am I Safer If My Neighbor Has A Gun?

Apartheid's brutal legacy, high unemployment and poverty, gaping social inequality, the absence of a father in nearly two-thirds of black homes, and the abuse of alcohol and drugs are all cited.

ECONOMIST: Crime in South Africa

The blame is variously put on the brutal legacy of apartheid, widespread poverty, appalling levels of unemployment, the absence of a father in two out of three black homes, high alcohol and drug abuse, and extremes of inequality.

ECONOMIST: The great scourges

Ms Martin said her father, a retired accountant, stopped eating to "hasten his death in the absence of any law change" and drank only tea and water.

BBC: George Martin and granddaughter Allie Lewis