Gender, Racial Threat, and Perceived Risk in an Urban University Setting

Objectives: We provide new insights about the role of gender, race, and place in perceived risk and fear of crime and discuss the possible boundaries of the shadow of sexual assault thesis, which attributes women’s higher levels of fear to their underlying fear of rape across a variety of ecological contexts. Method: Analyses are based on data from in-depth qualitative interviews with 34 undergraduates attending a diverse urban university in a highly disadvantaged community in the northeast. Purposive and theoretical sampling strategies were used, and thematic saturation was achieved. Results: We find striking gender similarities in students’ perceptions of risk and fear of crime in this particular context. Specifically, both women and men drew on their perceptions of disorder in the community when defining the threat of victimization, which they believed was robbery committed by the city’s African American male residents. Conclusions: The gendered shadow of sexual assault was surprisingly absent from students’ discussions, suggesting that it may not be as universal across context as previous research suggests. We argue that microlevel contexts and methodological factors may shape the shadow’s presence, nature, and strength in gendered fear and perceived risk.

Is Women’s Fear of Crime Fear of Sexual Assault? A Test of the Shadow of Sexual Assault Hypothesis in a Sample of Swedish University Students

Prior research shows that women’s higher fear of crime compared with men can largely be explained by women’s fear of rape. Whether women’s higher fear can also be explained by fear of nonviolent sexual harassment has not been explored. This study tested the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis in a sample of almost 3,000 Swedish university students. Our results confirm previous tests of the shadow thesis on the effect of fear of rape. In addition, we show that fear of sexual harassment also explained differences in fear between men and women. Based on the findings, we recommend that strategies to reduce sexual violence should focus on the entire continuum of violence against women.

Fear of rape from behind prison walls

Purpose The Prison Rape Elimination Act has brought significant attention to the issue of sexual victimization within correctional institutions. While the actual risk of sexual victimization remains low, the perception of rape among inmates is high. Given how one’s fear can translate into behavior, understanding how institutions impact the culture surrounding prison rape highlights areas for reducing violence within prisons. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This study includes secondary analysis of a quantitative database created from semi-structured interviews with 564 high security, general population inmates. Using fear of rape as the outcome of interest, bivariate and logistic regression analyses are used to comment on the impact of individual and facility level characteristics on this outcome. Findings In general, the results from this study suggest that the greatest risk factors for fearing rape while in prison are being male, having a mental health issue, and hearing about rape within the institution. From these specific findings a few general lessons can be learned with the hope that practitioners can translate these lessons into policy initiatives in order to combat fear of rape among our inmate population. Originality/value This paper aims to fill a gap in the research on how the facility contributes to the fear of rape within prison. The end goal is to inform policy makers so that suggestions can be made to combat this problem and prevent further misconduct within these facilities.

Fear of Rape Among College Women: A Social Psychological Analysis

This article examines social psychological underpinnings of fear of rape among college women. We analyze data from a survey of 1,905 female undergraduates to test the influence of 5 subjective perceptions about vulnerability and harm: unique invulnerability, gender risk, defensibility, anticipatory shame, and attribution of injury. We include 3 sources of crime exposure in our models: past sexual victimization, past noncontact violent victimization, and structural risk measured by age, parent’s income, and race. Separate measures of fear of stranger and acquaintance rape are modeled, including variables tapping current versus anticipatory fear, fear on campus versus everywhere, and fear anytime versus at night. The data show that fear of rape among college women appears more grounded in constructed perceptions of harm and danger than in past violent experiences.