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Stuck at the Front Door: Gender, Fear of Crime and the Challenge of Creating Safer Space

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  • Carolyn Whitzman

    (Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia)

Abstract

This paper is in respectful challenge to two streams in urban social geography and planning literatures: the question of how gendered geographies of fear help constitute identities spatially, and the related question of how gendered urban space can be made and remade to be more egalitarian. I argue that the first of these bodies of literature is often trapped in an unhelpful public–private divide, which reflects the inability of mainstream crime prevention to include violence committed within families and households as a central focus of concern. I further argue that the question of how urban space can become more egalitarian needs to be concerned with violence and fear in the private realm as well as the public realm. Although the paper is primarily a review of recent academic and policy-oriented literature, my arguments are illustrated by a research project on how grassroots organizations serving new-arrival women in the outer suburbs of Melbourne and Toronto, as well as their funders, are redefining violence and safer space.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolyn Whitzman, 2007. "Stuck at the Front Door: Gender, Fear of Crime and the Challenge of Creating Safer Space," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(11), pages 2715-2732, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:39:y:2007:i:11:p:2715-2732
    DOI: 10.1068/a38449
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Vania Ceccato & Nathan Gaudelet & Gabin Graf, 2022. "Crime and safety in transit environments: a systematic review of the English and the French literature, 1970–2020," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 105-153, March.
    2. Muhammad Akram Uzzaman & Zamadonda Nokuthula Xulu-Kasaba & Muhammad Ehsanul Haque, 2021. "Personal Safety and Fear of Sexual Harassment among Female Garment Workers in Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Havet, Nathalie & Bayart, Caroline & Bonnel, Patrick, 2021. "Why do Gender Differences in Daily Mobility Behaviours persist among workers?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 34-48.
    4. María Jesús Rodríguez-García & Francesca Donati, 2021. "European Integral Urban Policies from a Gender Perspective. Gender-Sensitive Measures, Transversality and Gender Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-15, August.
    5. Patricia Huedo & María José Ruá & Laura Florez-Perez & Raquel Agost-Felip, 2021. "Inclusion of Gender Views for the Evaluation and Mitigation of Urban Vulnerability: A Case Study in Castellón," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Elizabeth L. Sweet & Sara Ortiz Escalante, 2010. "Planning Responds to Gender Violence: Evidence from Spain, Mexico and the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(10), pages 2129-2147, September.
    7. Elias, Wafa & Benjamin, Julian & Shiftan, Yoram, 2015. "Gender differences in activity and travel behavior in the Arab world," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 19-27.
    8. Jelle Brands & Tim Schwanen & Irina van Aalst, 2015. "Fear of crime and affective ambiguities in the night-time economy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(3), pages 439-455, February.
    9. McCray, Talia, 2009. "Engaging disadvantaged populations in transport studies: Linking modal use and perceptions of safety to activity patterns," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 3-7.
    10. Llopis Abella,Jimena & Fruttero,Anna & Tas,Emcet Oktay & Taj,Umar, 2020. "Urban Design, Public Spaces, and Social Cohesion : Evidence from a Virtual Reality Experiment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9407, The World Bank.
    11. Peter Kitchen & Allison Williams, 2010. "Quality of Life and Perceptions of Crime in Saskatoon, Canada," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 33-61, January.
    12. Elizabeth L Sweet & Sara Ortiz Escalante, 2015. "Bringing bodies into planning: Visceral methods, fear and gender violence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(10), pages 1826-1845, August.
    13. Linda Sandberg & Malin Rönnblom, 2015. "‘I don’t think we’ll ever be finished with this’: Fear and safety in policy and practice," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(14), pages 2664-2679, November.

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