Do you Feel Safe in the Urban Space? From Perceptions to Associated Variables

From harassment to disappearance: Young women’s feelings of insecurity in public spaces

Background

There are processes of gender socialization that increase the vulnerability of young women against a continuum of threats in the public space. This study explored the feeling of insecurity in public spaces among young women in a city located near the northern border of Mexico.

Methods and findings

This study was based on the tradition of grounded theory. Purposive sampling was used, and 24 group interviews were conducted with junior high school, high school and university students to understand the conditions that favour the emergence of the feeling of insecurity, its psychosocial consequences and management strategies. A computer-assisted qualitative analysis was performed using MAXQDA 18 software. The study showed that street harassment was manifested mainly as sexual harassment but generated a continuous threat of feminicide and disappearance. Young women experienced discomfort and restrictions on mobility, and they had to assume individual responsibility for their safety in the absence of support from the state.

Conclusions

The interaction between gender and age determines the vulnerability to crime in urban spaces. Future studies could analyse the chronic impact of this continuum of threats and develop psychosocial interventions that promote the empowerment of young women.

Predicting Frequent and Feared Crime Typologies: Individual and Social/Environmental Variables, and Incivilities

The lack of organisation in urban spaces plays a decisive role in the level of integration, communication and social bonds of the residents, impacting the citizens’ feelings of trust and security. Different personal variables and contextual characteristics have been associated with the fear of crime (FOC). The main objective of this study is to analyse how individual and social/environmental variables, and incivilities, predict crime against people and property, crime that has either happened or is feared to happen. Five hundred and fifty-four residents (M = 43.82; SD = 18.38) in the Historic Centre of Porto (HCP), Portugal, answered 61 items of the Diagnosis of Local Security (DLS) Questionnaire. The results of this study show that in the most frequent crime category, 72% of occurrences represent crime against property. In the feared crime category, there is a preponderance of crime against people (61%). Age of the respondents predicted the most frequent and feared crime, while sex predicted the most feared crime only. Social/environmental variables, as well as incivilities, also predict the frequent and feared crime in two typologies, i.e., crime against people and crime against property. Practical implications to reduce FOC and areas for further investigation are discussed.

Looking at crime-communities and physical spaces: A curated dataset

This article describes a curated dataset entitled “Looking at Crime: Communities and Physical Spaces”, which comprises data from different sources, namely Diagnosis of Local Security (DLS), Diagnosis of School Environment (DSE) and observation of physical spaces. The main topic covered was crime and related variables at the Historic Centre of Porto (HCP), a well-known urban area located in the North of Portugal. It is currently attended by inhabitants, workers, students and tourists. This dataset includes i) data from two different self-reports: i.1) demographics, perception of (in)security, victimization, social control and community cohesion obtained through an inquiry applied to the adult community; and i.2) data from school climate and students behavioural problems, which may be seen as risk factors for juvenile delinquency, collected through a web-survey applied to school personnel; and ii) data from observation of physical spaces, attending to the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles. The dataset allows descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, being useful for students, academics, stakeholders, police forces and policy-makers, to better understand crime and its related variables, forecast criminal incidents, and further develop associated preventive and intervention programmes.