In Australia there are no people around after dark. Place Inc. Fear is a way of maintaining male dominance and keeping women out of the public domain. Young women are taught by parents, the media, by general society that public space is not safe. There is the myth that young women are asking to be assaulted due to what they are wearing, or just by being out. Girls are told to be in groups - they're safer that way.
Fear becomes a form of social control, and women act accordingly.
So there is a code of conduct that young women don't use public space because they think it's unsafe. Planners need to ask young women about their needs, and be prepared to inform their planning based on this information.