Gendered fear of crime in the urban context: A comparative multilevel study of women’s and men’s fear of crime

Abstract

Women generally feel more fearful than men. We study this so-called fear-gender gap, by contributing to a growing body of quantitative gender-sensitive research inspired by feminist theory. We depart from traditional quantitative fear of crime research that fails to examine how determinants of fear of crime impact women and men differently. We use a Dutch governmental survey, linked to neighborhood characteristics, to conduct multilevel modeling using multifaceted sociospatial aspects on individual and neighborhood level, to explain the fear-gender gap in the city of Eindhoven. Findings indicate that the sociospatial environment and the perceptions thereof offer insights into gendered differences in fear. A central finding is that fear of crime among women is particularly complex. We discuss the concept of fear of crime, the importance of feminist theory to inform data gathering in order to further future quantitative research on fear of crime, and make suggestions for future research.