I'm so confused by the fear women report of strangers (don't walk at night alone, have pepper spray, etc.) but how statistically they're in less danger from strangers than men are. What is going on? How did statistics get so divorced from perceived risk?
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And fwiw in my personal experience, the men and women I know have had about similar rates of assault from strangers
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It’s because women at are far greater risk than men *given they get assaulted*.
Elderly people are also more scared than average, but statistically at very low risk. If something were to happen, it would be far worse.
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Do you happen to have stats on this?
One reason it doesn't seem obviously true to me is that assault often involves a knife / gun / etc. and it's not like having some extra upper body strength is going to save you from that
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If women already go out of their way to avoid those situations then the selection effect could be a part of the explanation for these statistics.
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This is inaccurate. Men are on average stronger (significantly stronger, as I discovered) and MUCH more able to defend themselves if attacked.
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Define danger. It is accurate. If you are less likely to be attacked you are in less danger. Yes we are vulnerable but if we are not honest about our vulnerability we don’t serve ourselves. More women will be hurt. Why this isn’t common sense bewilders me. PS. I’ve been a victim.
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On one hand though in recent months I’ve been afraid of strangers for the first time in my life. Then again...our mayor created the problem by moving thousands of criminals with violent records into my area under the guise of covid.
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Well for one thing statistics are influenced by perceived risk. The statistics don't track how many times women walk down a dark alleyway alone or how often men yell at strangers in a crowded bar.
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It's possible the fear works.
Keeps women from riskier situations? It's an interesting question.
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