South Africa's 'security villages' provide little protection for residents

In the end, kilometres of concrete walls, high-voltage wires and 24-hour security patrols were not enough to keep Reeva Steenkamp safe from harm.

Inside one of the countless walled suburban compounds dotting South Africa, the model was shot dead last week at the luxury home of her boyfriend, Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius.

Experts believe the ubiquitous communities, known as "security villages", in fact give residents a false sense of security from the high violent crime rates that plague the country.

"People are seeking to create a lifestyle that is out of touch with what contemporary urban living actually is," said Erna Van Wyk, a psychologist at the University of Witwatersrand who specialises in traumatic stress.

Van Wyk's research shows that residents often band together over shared values. In turn, they feel that threats can only come from outside their groups. "There's a false split of where I am safe and … not safe in the world," she said. "However, domestic violence is every bit as common in gated communities."

Silver Woods Country Estate, where Steenkamp was killed, is just one of the thousands of security villages that have popped up over South Africa.