User:Cassiesalsgiver/sandbox

FINAL WIKIPEDIA DRAFTRace/Ethnicity

Theorists have suggested that Black and Latina women, and women of color in general, in the United States may have higher rates of fear of crime due to increased social vulnerability; because of institutional racism and sexism against women of color, their identities may put them at greater risk of victimization, leading to higher levels of fear. Some theorists have suggested that African American women may have more fear of crime, because they are exposed to more crime due to living in lower socioeconomic areas ''. Studies have shown that African American women are more sexualized than White women, so their fear of sexual assault is higher . This fear of crime leads to more psychological distress among African American women . Studies have shown that there is a positive link between men who hold sexist attitudes and men who hold racist attitudes, which leads to an increased possibility of accepting common rape myths .''

Women's fear of crime around the world

India
''A study conducted in India has shown that Indian women have more fear of being victimized by a stranger than by people whom they have close relationships with them. While the women expressed fear of strangers, they changed their behaviors and attitudes to please the men close to them . These women would make sure they had dinner cooked at a certain time, and would not go out, because they did not want to make their husbands or father in-laws angry . Although they changed themselves to avoid disagreements with the men in their lives, they were unable to acknowledge the change of their behaviors as fear . These women were unable to label their behavior changes to please the men in their lives as fear . These women felt like they were more likely to be victimized on the street by a stranger than by people in their close personal relationships . This study also found that women that were victimized previously were more likely to admit to fear in close personal relationships .''

Rape and fear of crime

As rape is by far the most gendered crime by victimization, some feminist scholars have suggested that fear of rape is the most important and most unique element of women's fear of crime, or even that women's fear of crime is in fact a generalized fear of rape. Proponents of this theory, often referred to as the "shadow of sexual assault hypothesis," often note that women tend to fear that rape will co-occur with other crimes, such as burglary, a fear that is not found among men. One study has shown that a man's typical response to a burglary was anger, while a woman's typical response was fear that was typical of a woman that had been sexually assaulted. Some supporters of the theory also note that sexual harassment, which most women will experience in their lifetimes, especially contributes to the fear of rape; in some cases, women's rejection of unwanted sexual advances leads to threats, and even "benevolent" harassment may increase women's wariness and fear of men in public spaces. While the fear of rape is the strongest among women, men also have a fear of rape, especially when looking at college aged men ''. While men do fear sexual assault, they are more likely to fear crimes such as burglary, but there is evidence that men's fear of sexual assault is correlated with their fear of other violent crimes, supporting the shadow hypothesis .''

The fear of rape, unlike other fears of specific crimes, is almost exclusive to women. Among women, it is also one of the strongest crime-related fears, and is the strongest crime-related fear for young women. Levels of fear of rape vary among women by age, race/ethnicity, residential area, and other factors, but are especially high for women who have been victims of rape in the past or know victims personally (the latter group may include a significant portion of women, with one study estimating that over half of women know rape victims). Women are socialized from a very young age that rape can happen anywhere, to anyone, at anytime ''. They are taught that they should always be aware of the possibility of rape and protect themselves it . Young women are taught strategies to keep themselves safe, and this idea is instilled in them at a young age . This teaching women about the possibility of rape at a young age may contribute to higher levels of fear of crime in women.Studies have shown that women that take more precautionary steps to avoid being raped have more fear of actually being raped, whereas women who work nights and are outside in the dark tend to have less fear of rape . This may be because women that are out in the dark alone are more familiar with the area, so they feel that there is less of a threat . One researcher has coined the term "sexual terrorism" to describe violence against women that is intended to keep the patriarchal society that we live in alive . "Sexual Terrorism" includes behaviors such as splitting women into groups of "good" and "bad", producing media that degrades women, and supporting men that commit acts of violence towards women''. The fear of rape may also be related to the fear of murder, as women tend to overestimate the proportion of rape victims who are murdered during their attacks. Stigma and blame are also factors: what many feminists refer to as the "rape myth," the popular idea that women can be blamed for their rape and that women are responsible for preventing rape by the regulation of their behavior, often serves to support the fear of rape.

Theories on women's fear of crime

Feminist Theory[edit]
Feminist discourse on fear of crime tends to explain women's higher levels of fear with the unequal gender structure in most societies, which places women beneath men within the power structure and thus puts them especially at risk for victimization by men. This theory refers to the oppressive social control of women, arguing that some crimes against women (such as rape) and the socialization that women receive to feel vulnerable and fear male violence are used by the patriarchy to assert male dominance and "keep women in their place." Some feminist researchers argue that the questions that are being asked in studies of women's fear of crime do not adequately represent their actual fear. These researchers argue that abuse by men in close personal relationships is not adequately measured by typical questions on surveys, because those typical questions ask questions about crime outside of the home . They argue that women's victimization by people in their close personal relationships is not being used as a factor in measuring women's fear of crime.

One study has shown that women may have higher levels of fear of crime, not because they are scared of being victimized themselves, but fear of their children being victimized ''. Women are more likely than men to see their relationships with others as an interdependent relationship . This interdependent relationship makes women more scared of crimes being committed against their loved ones than themselves . This distinction of relationships cause women's fear of crime to be higher than men's fear of crime, because men do not see their relationships as interdependent . This study argues that women's fear of crime is caused by traditional societal gender roles .''

OTHER WORK
Women’s Fear of Crime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_fear_of_crime

Lane, J., Gover, A. R., & Dahod, S. (2009). Fear of Violent Crime Among Men and Women on Campus: The Impact of Perceived Risk and Fear of Sexual Assault. Violence and Victims, 24(2), 172–192. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.24.2.172

This article focuses on both genders fear of crime on college campuses. It says that men and women both fear violent crime on college campuses, but women’s fear is greater, especially in instances of sexual assault. The article discusses that men also have a fear of sexual assault, but it is less than women. The article states that women that take more precautionary measures to prevent crime are more scared, and that women that work nights have less fear of crime. It mentions that women are taught from a young age that sexual assault is possible at any time and, how to take steps to prevent it. This article supports the Shadow Thesis. I want to use the information on the Shadow Thesis in my article, because it is already in the Wikipedia article, but I want to add more on it to the article. I also want to include statistics on men’s fear of crime from this article on my Wikipedia article.

Mesch, G. S. (2000). Women’s Fear of Crime: The Role of Fear for the Well-Being of Significant Others. Violence and Victims, 15(3), 323–336. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.15.3.323

This article focuses on women’s fear of crime in relation to others. It states that women are more likely to see themselves as interdependent to their relationships where as men see themselves as separate to these relationships. This distinction plays a role in women’s fear of crime, because they are more likely to be afraid of their children being a victim of a crime. This study found that women are more scared of their children being a victim than they were of themselves being a victim. This article also indicates that women are more scared of a stranger victimizing them than someone close to them, even though they are more likely to be victimized by someone close to them. The article points to media and how crime is portrayed. There are a lot of things I would like to add from this article to my Wikipedia article.

Sur, P. (2012). Fear of crime and victimization: Retracing women's risk perceptions in private spaces in the urban city of kolkata. Journal of International Women's Studies, 13(1), 95-111. Retrieved from https://manowar.tamucc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1221407651?accountid=7084

This article focuses on women in India and their fear of crime. It found that women there were more scared of strangers victimizing them than they were of close family members. It talks about how the women were scared of their close personal relationships, but were not able to call It fear. The women would change their behavior to please their husbands and in-laws. They would not engage in leisurely activities or rush home to cook dinner, because they were afraid of disapproval from their family. The article also shows that women that were victims of crime or attempted crime were scared of people close to them as well as strangers. I want to use this information in the women’s fear of crime around the world section of my Wikipedia article.

Watson, L. B., Marszalek, J. M., Dispenza, F., & Davids, C. M. (2015). Understanding the Relationships Among White and African American Women’s Sexual Objectification Experiences, Physical Safety Anxiety, and Psychological Distress. Sex Roles, 72(3-4), 91–104. doi: 10.1007/s11199-014-0444-y

This article deals with race and fear of crime. It states that African American women are exposed to more crime than White women, so their fear of crime may be higher. It states that, because African American’s are more likely to live in lower socioeconomic areas, they are more likely to witness crime. They are also sexually objectified more than White women, and experience more fear of sexual assault than White women. The article found that perceived risk of victimization led to higher rate of phycological distress in African America women. I want to add information from this article to the race/ethnicity portion of the Wikipedia article. There is currently only one sentence under that section, and there is so much from this article that I can add to th