Women, Crime, and Fear

This article examines women's fear of crime. Through an examination of current attempts to address women's fear of crime, it is argued that women's anxiety about danger is largely a fear of men and reflects women's location in a gendered world. Confronting women's fear means confronting the danger women face at the hands of their partners, acquaintances, clients, and coworkers, as well as other potential violence from men inside and outside the home. In contrast, government advice tries to assuage women's fear by suggesting that women adopt individually managed precautionary strategies to minimize encounters with male strangers. Good lighting, good transport, adequate child care, decent education, safe houses, and safe relationships—one without the others is inadequate to address women's needs and, by extension, women's fear of crime.