For background information, she used crime statistics to discover the nature and amount of reported crime. The thesis presents findings that are based on geographical differences. Women s night-time urban fears are not based on darkness. Finnish women are equally afraid on summer nights, when there is sufficient light. However, men s fear of violence is different.
Men are afraid of getting into a fight at the snack stand after a night in the bars.
They are afraid of side streets and underground passages. These places are made scary by the fact that they offer the potential attacker somewhere to hide. Even shouting for help won t do any good, if there is nobody around to hear you. It is important to recognise the fact that although fear is expressed on an individual level, it is always a social phenomenon. Women s withdrawal from a space is part of a complicated network of power structures, and it does not happen because of individual women or men.