Calibrating fear of rape: Threat likelihood and victimization costs

From harassment to disappearance: Young women’s feelings of insecurity in public spaces

“…The findings also reveal the maintenance of a structure of gender inequality that turns young women into sexual objects, restricts their mobility and autonomy [ 26 ] and causes them continuous emotional distress, mainly through fear and the threat of sexual violence, as in previous studies [ 25 ]. In contrast, other studies have reported the appearance of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, self-objectification [ 24 ], posttraumatic stress disorder [ 15 ], behavioural vigilance and avoidance behaviours [ 14 ]. They need to generate strategies to take responsibility for their own safety, but most of these strategies indicate adjustment to this structure of gender inequality and the absence of protection mechanisms provided by the state.…”

“…It involves behavioural adaptations to minimize risk, such as restricting mobility, which affects participation in the workplace and educational or recreational settings [ 13 ]. Rape victims are mainly young, sexually mature, attractive women [ 14 ]. Fear is experienced by both direct victims and those who have had a vicarious experience [ 15 ].…”

The pregnancy compensation hypothesis, not the staying alive theory, accounts for disparate autoimmune functioning of women around the world

“…Many of the findings highlighting women's tendency to engage in behaviors that reduce the risk of interpersonal conflict, such as smiling, politeness, recognizing negative emotions, avoiding confrontation, and experiencing more threat-responsive negative emotions, may also be seen as attempts to reduce the risk of sexual aggressionparticularly given the overlap in women's fear of crime and rape. Similarly, the tendency for women to score more highly on measures of neuroticism may simultaneously function to protect reproductive choice, given research showing positive associations between neuroticism and women's fear of rape (McDonald, Coleman, & Brindley, 2019).…”

Women need to stay alive and protect reproductive choice

“…Many of the findings highlighting women's tendency to engage in behaviors that reduce the risk of interpersonal conflict, such as smiling, politeness, recognizing negative emotions, avoiding confrontation, and experiencing more threat-responsive negative emotions, may also be seen as attempts to reduce the risk of sexual aggression – particularly given the overlap in women's fear of crime and rape. Similarly, the tendency for women to score more highly on measures of neuroticism may simultaneously function to protect reproductive choice, given research showing positive associations between neuroticism and women's fear of rape (McDonald, Coleman, & Brindley, 2019).…”