Platform Work in a High‐Crime City: Navigating Violence and Gendered Safety Strategies Among Uber Drivers in Johannesburg

Abstract

This article explores how male and female Uber drivers in Johannesburg navigate safety and violence within a high-crime urban context, highlighting the gendered dimensions of digital platform work. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 30 Uber drivers (15 male and 15 female), the study reveals that while all drivers face threats such as hijackings, assaults, and extortion, often linked to tensions with the minibus taxi industry, female drivers experience heightened vulnerabilities due to gendered perceptions of weakness and societal norms around women's safety. These perceptions lead female drivers to adopt restrictive work strategies such as operating only during daylight hours and in familiar areas, which significantly limit their earning potential and reinforce structural gender inequalities in the gig economy. In contrast, male drivers confront territorial violence and extortion, particularly near taxi ranks, but are less constrained in their spatial and temporal mobility. Despite these risks, drivers perceive Uber as relatively safer than competing platforms due to features like card payments and client identification. In response to pervasive threats, male and female drivers employ safety strategies including spatial avoidance, selective rider acceptance, and participation in WhatsApp safety networks. These findings contribute to debates on precarity and platform capitalism by demonstrating how violence, gender, and urban transport dynamics intersect to shape the lived experiences of digital labour. The study advances understanding of how platform workers negotiate safety, highlighting the gendered, precarious, and relational nature of gig work in a high-crime setting.