Women’s Fear of Crime and the Gender Paradox: A Conceptual Review Based on Vulnerability Theory

Year 2025, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 617 - 648, 29.12.2025

Mehmet Demirbaş

https://doi.org/10.21798/kadem.2025.195

Abstract

Fear of crime is a complex, multilayered social phenomenon that can persist independently of fluctuations in official crime statistics. It encompasses not only people’s subjective assessments of their potential victimization but also the emotional responses those assessments trigger such as anxiety and insecurityand behavioral strategies adopted to cope with them. Persisting over time at the psychosocial level, this fear has been linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including depression, reduced physical functioning, heightened social isolation, and restrictions on everyday mobility. One of the most robust findings in the literature is that women report higher levels of fear of crime than men. Because this disparity emerges despite women’s lower victimization rates for many offence types, it has been labeled the gender–fear paradox. The present study examines that paradox through the lens of vulnerability theory, which posits that fear of crime is shaped along three interrelated dimensions: perceived likelihood of victimization, perceived loss of control over the crime event, and anticipated severity of its consequences. Women’s physical, social, and environmental vulnerabilities along with both the shadow of sexual assault and the gendered socialization processes that shape threat perceptions are analyzed in terms of how they reinforce fear across these three dimensions. By adopting this framework, the study aims to elucidate the multidimensional nature of women’s fear of crime and to contribute both to theoretical scholarship and to the development of gender-sensitive public-safety policies.

Keywords

Fear of crime , Gender-fear paradox , Vulnerability theory , Shadow of sexual assault , Gender socialization.

Supporting Institution

The author declares that this study received no financial support.

Thanks

The author declares no acknowledgment.

Kadınların Suç Korkusu ve Cinsiyet Paradoksu: Savunmasızlık Teorisi Temelli Kavramsal Bir İnceleme

Abstract

Suç korkusu, resmi suç istatistiklerindeki dalgalanmalara doğrudan bağlı olmayan, süreklilik gösterebilen ve toplumsal düzeyde çok katmanlı biçimde deneyimlenen bir olgudur. Bu korku yalnızca bireylerin potansiyel mağduriyetlerine ilişkin öznel değerlendirmelerini değil, aynı zamanda bu değerlendirmelerin tetiklediği duygusal tepkileri (örneğin kaygı, güvensizlik) ve bunlara karşı geliştirilen davranışsal stratejileri de kapsamaktadır. Zaman içinde psikososyal olarak azalmayan bu korkunun, bireylerin yaşam kalitesini etkileyen çeşitli sonuçlarla ilişkilendiği bilinmektedir. Bunlar arasında depresyon, fiziksel işlevselliğin düşmesi, sosyal izolasyonun artması ve günlük hareketliliğin kısıtlanması gibi etkiler yer almaktadır. Suç korkusu literatüründe en istikrarlı bulgulardan biri, kadınların erkeklere kıyasla daha yüksek düzeyde suç korkusu bildirmesidir. Bu durum, kadınların birçok suç türünde mağduriyet oranlarının erkeklerden daha düşük olmasına rağmen ortaya çıktığından, literatürde cinsiyet paradoksu olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu çalışma, söz konusu paradoksu savunmasızlık teorisi çerçevesinde ele almayı amaçlamaktadır. Teori, suç korkusunun üç temel boyutta şekillendiğini ileri sürmektedir: bireyin suça maruz kalma olasılığına ilişkin algısı, suç eylemi üzerinde kontrol kaybı hissi ve olayın doğuracağı olası sonuçların ciddiyeti. Kadınların fiziksel, toplumsal ve çevresel savunmasızlıklarının yanı sıra, cinsel şiddet tehdidinin gündelik yaşam üzerindeki gölge etkisi ile toplumsal cinsiyetin öğrenilme süreçleri bu üç boyutta suç korkusunu nasıl pekiştirdiği bağlamında incelenecektir. Bu çerçevede çalışmanın temel amacı, kadınların suç korkusunun çok boyutlu doğasını kavramsal olarak anlamak ve hem kuramsal çalışmalara hem de toplumsal cinsiyet duyarlı güvenlik politikalarının geliştirilmesine katkı sunmaktır.

Keywords

Suç korkusu , Cinsiyet paradoksu , Savunmasızlık teorisi , Cinsel saldırı gölgesi , Toplumsal cinsiyet.

Supporting Institution

Yazar bu çalışma için finansal destek almadığını beyan etmiştir.

Thanks

Yazar teşekkür beyan etmemiştir.

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