The Geography of fear and unrest

• use of public space
• gated communities
• creating safe space
• holiday travel
• journeys to work

“The association of male violence with certain environmental contexts has a profound effect on many women's use of space … Many of their apparently ‘taken for granted’ routes and destinations are in fact the product of ‘coping strategies’ women adopt to stay safe” 1989

“Women develop individual mental maps of places ... as a product of their past experiences of space and secondary information ... These mental maps of feared environments are elaborated by images gained from hearing the frightening experiences and advice of others; and from media reporting”
1989

-multiple ways ”personal space is invaded”
-geography of fear has time-space dimension
-women avoid ‘large open spaces’ and ‘closed spaces with limited exits’

- large-scale data based

- focus on sexual attack

- People had to answer 'always' or 'sometimes' to a number of statements for example: Do not go out, do not answer the door, avoid certains streets or places, avoid using certain types of transport. 

- the survey was done on 389 people

- the same survey was done to compare women with adn without disabilities.

Problems with focus on female fear

-presents women as victims

– what about spatial confidence?

-suggests these coping strategies in some way essentially female

-other identities/roles-fear in multicultural society?

Unrest:

Mapping crime and 2011 riots: