Women's fear of crime

Theories on women's fear of crime

Social scientists have differing views on the causes of women's fear of crime. Some have argued that women's heightened fear of crime is due to women's higher levels physical vulnerability compared to men, although feminist work generally resists this generalization and often tries to relocate the cause to larger societal factors. It is nonetheless important that most women are aware of pervasive cultural view that women are more vulnerable than men, which may make them think they are more likely to be victimized and therefore contribute to their fear; in this way, it would be perceived vulnerability and not actual vulnerability that is the cause of women's fear. Some research has also suggested that women are in fact not much more fearful about crime than men, but that dominant cultural ideas about masculinity may make men reluctant to talk about their fear or report it in surveys.

Feminist Theory

Feminist discourse on fear of crime tends to explain women's higher levels of fear with the unequal gender structure in most societies, which places women beneath men within the power structure and thus puts them especially at risk for victimization by men. This theory refers to the oppressive social control of women, arguing that some crimes against women (such as rape) and the socialization that women receive to feel vulnerable and fear male violence are used by the patriarchy to assert male dominance and "keep women in their place."

Rape and fear of crime

As rape is by far the most gendered crime by victimization, some feminist scholars have suggested that fear of rape is the most important and most unique element of women's fear of crime, or even that women's fear of crime is in fact a generalized fear of rape. Proponents of this theory, often referred to as the "shadow of sexual assault hypothesis," often note that women tend to fear that rape will co-occur with other crimes, such as burglary, a fear that is not found among men. Some supporters of the theory also note that sexual harassment, which most women will experience in their lifetimes, especially contributes to the fear of rape; in some cases, women's rejection of unwanted sexual advances leads to threats, and even "benevolent" harassment may increase women's wariness and fear of men in public spaces.

The fear of rape, unlike other fears of specific crimes, is almost exclusive to women. Among women, it is also one of the strongest crime-related fears, and is the strongest crime-related fear for young women. Levels of fear of rape vary among women by age, race/ethnicity, residential area, and other factors, but are especially high for women who have been victims of rape in the past or know victims personally (the latter group may include a significant portion of women, with one study estimating that over half of women know rape victims). The fear of rape may also be related to the fear of murder, as women tend to overestimate the proportion of rape victims who are murdered during their attacks. Stigma and blame are also factors: what many feminists refer to as the "rape myth," the popular idea that women can be blamed for their rape and that women are responsible for preventing rape by the regulation of their behavior, often serves to support the fear of rape.

Demographic differences in women's fear of crime

Although women as a whole demographic are more fearful of crime, specific subgroups of women may have higher levels of fear or be more likely to change their behavior because of it. In many studies, the demographics found to have the highest generalized fear of crime are single, older, urban, women of color, and of lower socioeconomic class. For fear of victimization for specific crimes, the demographics with the highest levels of fear may be different.

Geography

Generally, research has demonstrated that women from urban areas have higher levels of fear of crime. Even within cities, fear levels may differ from neighborhood to neighborhood. Increased social disorganization in the neighborhood (as measured by homelessness, drug sales, vandalism, prostitution, etc.) and higher rates of neighborhood serious crime lead to higher levels of fear of crime for both men and women, but both factors have a stronger effect on women's fear of crime.

Urban and rural communities tend to have very different levels of fear of crime. Rural areas are almost always perceived by residents and outsiders as safer, so it is often assumed that fear of crime levels will be lower there. Still, 2005 research in New Zealand and the United Kingdom noted that fear of crime levels in rural areas is on the rise, and found that sources of fear of crime among rural women often include perceived encroachment of urban influence (through people or attitudes) into their communities.

Race/Ethnicity

Theorists have suggested that Black and Latina women, and women of color in general, in the United States may have higher rates of fear of crime due to increased social vulnerability; because of institutional racism and sexism against women of color, their identities may put them at greater risk of victimization, leading to higher levels of fear.

Solutions to women's fear of crime

In general, proposed solutions to women's fear of crime either place the responsibility on individual women (through preventive strategies) or on official agencies (through infrastructure improvements, anti-rape education, more involved policing, etc.), and are often framed as a combination of both. Of those that expect women to protect themselves from crime, most focus on the dangers for women in public spaces; however, as women usually face their highest rates of victimization in the home or at the hands of known people, these campaigns have been suggested to be particularly ill-equipped to help solve the problem of women's high fear of crime, and to support an untrue picture of women's victimization.

One of the most common individual strategies for dealing with fear of crime and preventing victimization is simple avoidance, the attempt to stay away from areas (such as dark alleys or public transportation) where it is believed victimization is likely to occur; research has found that women employ avoidance strategies more often than men do. Avoided areas may include neighborhoods with high crime rates, but for many women also include any unfamiliar areas. Women may also employ other isolation strategies by avoiding social interaction with strangers, ignoring them or moving quickly and with purpose to discourage interaction

Another common method of allaying fear of crime among women is by "crime-proofing" homes or possessions. Popular examples include home security systems, locking away valuables, or participating in neighborhood watch programs. These strategies are used by people of all genders, but some are more often employed by women. For example, many women in an American study reported choosing purses with zippers or holding purses protectively to defend against theft and purse-snatching.

As interest in women's safety and women's fear of crime has increased, so has interest in precautionary strategies; for example, in the past few decades, women's self-defense classes, books, and other self-defense instruction have become increasingly popular. Some women also choose to carry weapons, such as knives or guns, or repellents like pepper spray and Mace to ward off potential attackers.

Feminist commentators usually take the view that the responsibility for reducing women's fear of crime lies with the society, and that fear must be combatted at its source by addressing men's violence against women.

Women's fear of crime around the world

Although most research on women's fear of crime has been done in English-speaking countries, with the most done in the United States, similar trends in women's fear of crime have been found around the world.

Africa

A 2014 study using data from 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa concluded that fear of crime has a stronger negative effect on women's subjective well-being compared to men's, with subjective wellbeing defined as self-reported satisfaction with life. In the study, fear of crime had a statistically significant correlation with subjective wellbeing for females, but no significant correlation for males, suggesting that for the men in the study, fear of crime was not an important factor in determining their happiness and life satisfaction.

Asia

A 2013 study of Hong Kong social work students found significant gender differences in fear of crime levels. Consistent with the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis, the study found that the women had the highest levels of fear for rape, and that fear of rape was a predictor for fear of other crimes. Hong Kong has one of the lowest rates of crime and victimization in the world, so this study may suggest that the presence and size of gender differences in fear of crime are not strongly correlated with total crime and victimization rates.

Europe

A 1998 study in Glasgow, Scotland, found a gender disparity in fear of crime levels smaller than what is generally accepted. The study also found that men and women with similar fear levels tended to use similar reasoning to explain their fear of crime or lack of fear, although men's and women's fear appeared in different situations (men tended to be more often fearful about property crime, whereas women were more fearful about violent crime).

Middle East

A 2010 Turkish study using a large nationwide sample confirmed that women expressed significantly higher levels of fear of crime than men. The study also found that previous victimization, a consistent predictor for higher levels of fear in women, was present at close to equal rates in the male and female samples, suggesting that prior victimization has a stronger effect on women's fear of crime than on men's. Also, if the study's sample is representative of the Turkish population, women have slightly higher victimization rates than men, and so their fear does not reflect the "gender-fear paradox" of victimization found in many other developed countries.