Images of Criminals and Victims

Using two complementary qualitative methodologies—focus groups and in-depth interviews—this article explores women's fear of crime in a sample of 140 participants. The major argument is that women's fear is exacerbated by stereotypical images of criminals and victims. Although those images are not uniform, some common themes emerged from the participants' narratives: Dominant representations of criminals among all women are those of poor minority men: out-of-control evil strangers who randomly attack their victims. Among all women, images of victims are predominantly those of white middle-class women, who are innocent, submissive, and unable to protect themselves. The consequences of these images are explored in detail.