Beyond Location: Gender Disparities in the Spatial Distribution of Sexual Offenses in Los Angeles

Male and female sexual victimization has been studied, although research has yet to strongly establish whether victimization occurs similarly across victim sex in the same types of locations, same areas of a city, or in places with similar structural factors. The current study fills these gaps by studying male and female sexual victimization in Los Angeles. Relying on official crime incident data, this study describes the types of locations unique types of sex crimes occur at for males and females, explores the spatial distribution of male and female victimization, and tests for structural factors as predictors of sex crimes in census tracts. Results of descriptive analyses suggested subtle differences in the types of locations (e.g., indoors vs. outdoors) for certain styles of sexual victimization for male and females, although a spatial point pattern test suggested male and female victimization followed similar spatial distributions throughout Los Angeles census tracts. Finally, spatial autoregressive models indicated theoretical variables, including a household activity ratio, land use type, and concentrated disadvantage were important predictors of both male and female sexual victimization. These findings suggest routine activities, crime pattern, and social disorganization theory policy applications could be effective for simultaneously reducing male and female victimization.