The Gender Safety Gap: Examining the Impact of Victimization History, Perceived Risk, and Personal Control

Abstract

Previous research has documented that, in general, women are more concerned about their personal safety and take more safety precautions than men. However, this study looks beyond gender by examining the association of three overall factors including victimization history, perceived risk of future victimization, and personal control with worry about safety, safety responses, and bystander intervention intentions for 270 men and 821 women. There were four main findings from this study including the following: (a) The two most consistently associated factors with worry about safety, safety responses, and bystander intervention intentions were higher perceived risk of violent victimization and safety efficacy; (b) recent victimization, rather than victimization history, played an important role in safety responses particularly for women; (c) different patterns of factors are associated with different safety responses demonstrating the importance of examining a wide variety of safety responses; and (d) the pattern of factors associated with worry about safety and safety responses do differ by gender but also had some important similarities. Implications for future research and prevention as well as safety planning interventions are discussed.

Using the General Social Survey – National Death Index cohort to study the relationship between neighbourhood fear and mortality in the USA

“…The literature has documented differences in coping by gender36; however, this relationship seems to be extremely complicated with respect to fear of crime. One paper examined gender differences in the association between general control and safety efficacy with fear of crime and found that safety efficacy, which is associated with reduced fear, was lower among women 37. However, this research also shows that safety planning may mitigate the effects of fear and that safety planning is more prevalent among women.…”

An Examination of the Shadow of Sexual Assault Hypothesis Among Men and Women in South Korea

“…Given that failing to control for important covariates can confound the findings, it is critical to note that much of previous research on the shadow hypothesis failed to control for neighborhood perceptions (e.g., perceived disorder and collective efficacy) when examining the independent influence of fear of sexual assault on fear of other crimes (Dobbs, Waid, & Shelley, 2009; Lane & Meeker, 2003; Logan & Walker, 2017; Özaşçılar & Ziyalar, 2017; Riggs & Cook, 2015). The current study seeks to determine whether fear of sexual assault can adequately account for a gender gap in fear of crime even after controlling for important covariates.…”

“…Some researchers argue that fear of crime has served as a key component in corroding race relations (Skogan, 1995) and weakening social ties by leading individuals to withdraw from community life (Lane et al, 2014). While surveys have shown that the public has a high level of fear of crime in general (Kappeler & Potter, 2017), the level of fear of crime varies depending on demographic characteristics of individuals (Logan & Walker, 2017; Özaşçılar & Ziyalar, 2017). One of the most consistent findings regarding fear of crime is the difference in fear of crime between males and females (e.g., Cook & Fox, 2012; Ferraro, 1996; Fox, Nobles, & Piquero, 2009; Lane & Fisher, 2009).…”

Is Having a Gun for Safety Associated with Feeling Safer, Safety Planning, and More Assertive Responses to Conflict Among Women with Interpersonal Victimization Experiences?

“…* Tammy's story of being stalked, as well as the difficulty in finding help, is not unique. Even though stalking is associated with assault and lethal assault (Logan and Walker 2017;McFarlane et al 2002), as well as significant victim fear (Davis et al 2002;Fleming et al 2013;Logan andWalker 2009, 2017;Sheridan and Lyndon 2012), the justice system often minimizes or dismisses stalking victimization (Brady and Nobles 2017;Korkodeilou 2017;Ngo 2019;Taylor-Dunn et al 2018). Overall, national data suggest that one in four women is abused by an intimate partner, one in five women has experienced completed or attempted rape, and one in six women will be stalked in their lifetime, which means that millions of women experience interpersonal violence in the United States each year (Smith et al 2018).…”

“…Overall, national data suggest that one in four women is abused by an intimate partner, one in five women has experienced completed or attempted rape, and one in six women will be stalked in their lifetime, which means that millions of women experience interpersonal violence in the United States each year (Smith et al 2018). Women not only experience more interpersonal violence than men but also they disproportionately worry more about their personal safety (Logan and Walker 2017). Even so few people who experience violent victimization report the crime to police (43%) or use victim services (about 11%) (Morgan and Oudekerk 2019).…”