'Walking home at night is not the same for women' - study

[MarieDeGournay]

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-visually-captures-hard-truth-home.html
Interesting study, though it seems to have involved virtual rather than actual walking home.

I do think you have a point. There is sexual assault but I don't personally fear that or being hit, it's already happened (in the home not the street). I fear being accidentally killed in an assault or being locked up by a psycho (very unlikely). I fear more for my teenage son than myself at night.

The article as published is quite clear as to what they investigated and why. Women report feeling more fear when walking particularly at night and in environments that were perceived as more dangerous (less lighting, places where others could hide). Women report that fear of sexual assault is their biggest fear, not that of being physically assaulted or murdered.

The point of the research was to feed into discussions about designing a built environment that makes women feel more comfortable walking, which would therefore benefit them. None of the potential changes would affect men negatively. Perhaps it may even benefit men too. But let's focus on the women here, which is what this research was trying to do.

DH was shocked when I told him not only the (reasonable) precautions I take but how the (perceived) threat of violence, and ultimately, rape is ever present and kicks in with what to him seems an innocuous situation.

For example, we were walking through a small park one night. There was a group of lads sat near the path by one entrance just chatting. As we walked past they got louder. I’m instantly on high alert - were they trying to get our attention? Were they coming closer? What other noises could I hear. Carried on, nothing happened, all good. No change in my behaviour.

When I explained what had gone through my mind at the same time as carrying on the conversation with him, he was speechless. I am a confident person, I do walk home at night because I won’t be cowered by the actions of a few. DH fully supports this although many disagree or are uncomfortable with my stance.

And, as a biological female, that thought process and learning to keep a tiny bit of headspace on constant alert is something you learn from such a young age. That’s what it ‘feels’ like to be a woman. (One of them.)

That hyper vigilance, I wonder whether it’s socialisation, experience or what?

I do think it bears further investigation.

The relative risks to men and women aren’t clear, when all else is equal. I think the imbalance between perpetrators and victims affects it as well- boys are more likely to get hurt in a scenario they have contributed to than women. It’s more complicated than straight forward.

It’s absolutely true women take all these measures and live with all these fears. It’s not necessarily rational- speaking as someone who does all that stuff. Maybe men are just reckless and unimaginative?

Where to start with this? Why in the tragic case you mention do you refer to her colour and class? And what about women who are not white or middle class - any statistics up your sleeve about being “murdered in the open”?

Poor, poor Sarah Everard. It’s absolutely sickening when her murder is used as a shining example (heavy sarcasm here) how “women like her” don’t need to worry too much about walking alone at night. You should be ashamed of yourself for mentioning her in such a way.

You mention “two black women” from the year before - care to mention their names? I remember them. I don’t know why you don’t seem to.

Anyone watching tv crime series would certainly think women are the main victims of violent crime, it's a never ending diet of murdered women in some shows.

indeed, one might almost think some viewers were deriving salacious pleasure from it. Strangely the murdered are almost always nubile young women rather than grizzled old ladies or matronly middle aged types.

The impression I have is that men are usually murdered from gang violence and fights, rather than sudden unexpected sex attacks from randoms and stalkers, or DV murder from partners. I don’t suppose there are figures either way however.

See, I'm shocked by this too. I think it must be socialisation and learnt behaviour that I never learnt as a girl. This, honestly, does not go through my head, though I am neurodiverse. When I was a teen walking home from work in the dark on unlit roads I was afraid of serial killers.

Yes, there seem to be sex-based differences in vision, especially peripheral vision.

These could be caused by heightened risk aversion/awareness that cause the results shown, but it seems a leap to suggest that's the only or necessary reason. If one is trying to be logical and scientific. Correlation is not causation, etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5951855/

There are figures, and you are correct, although I don't have time to find the relevant stats right now!

Everything you say is statistically true but it doesn't negate the fact that women are far more likely than men to be assaulted or murdered by a sexual predator. What are the statistics on men being murdered by completely random (not gang related) strangers?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2712302/

'male victims are most commonly killed by a friend or acquaintance (38 to 50 percent of cases), followed by strangers (17 to 32 percent), and intimates or family members (6 to 23 percent) (Kellermann & Mercy, 1992; Mouzos, 1999; Wilson & Daly, 1994; Wolfgang, 1958). By comparison, female victims are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to be killed by an intimate partner, with studies indicating that between 38 and 70 percent of all femicides are committed by someone with whom the victim had an intimate relationship (Chimbos, 1993; Craven, 1996; Kellermann & Mercy, 1992; Moracco, Runyan, & Butts, 1998; Mouzos, 1999; Rennison & Welchans, 2000; Wilson & Daly, 1994; Wolfgang, 1958). Research further indicated that less than one-third of female victims are killed by a friend or acquaintance and even fewer (8 to 15 percent) are killed by a stranger'

This shows it’s about vulnerability. I bet the men who feel unsafe are smaller, slighter men or men who have previously experienced assault.

Women are vulnerable because they are, as a population, smaller and weaker than the male population. If we are attacked we know there is a good chance we can’t fight back well enough to escape.

Of course, we also know that straight men, the majority, like to have sex with women. And some of those men don’t care about whether the woman wants sex with them.

In other words, are vulnerability to assault is absolutely rooted in our sexed bodies, and the sexed bodies of men.

Its not a social construct.

And that’s why our sex matters.

I notice that poster never mentioned Zara Aleena who was murdered by a random stranger walking on a main road in 2022.

Though not being white maybe she isn’t relevant to that pp