Gender, Space, and the Fear of Crime: A Photovoice Study

Abstract This study examines how female university students understand and navigate fear of crime, emphasizing how gender shapes their experiences and everyday spatial practices. Using the photovoice method, the research combines visual and narrative data to reveal the gendered dimensions of safety and the emotional geographies of fear. Fifteen participants photographed places associated with insecurity and discussed these images in in-depth interviews, which were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings highlight four overarching themes: spatial triggers of fear, gendered vulnerability, changes in everyday mobility, coping and resilience strategies. Fear of crime emerges not as an individual emotion but as a structural outcome of gendered power relations embedded in public space. Women engage in constant self-monitoring, strategic navigation, and mutual support to manage perceived risks, demonstrating both resilience and the unequal spatial conditions they confront.