The results of the Gallup’s annual Crime survey, conducted Oct. 12-15, was released yesterday. More than one-third, or 37%, of U.S. adults say they would not feel safe walking alone near their home at night. Gallup says this is in line with the historical average for the question (39%), which dates back to 1965.
However, Gallup notes:
While the percentage of Americans saying they do not feel safe walking alone within a mile of their home at night has remained steady over the past decade, there has been a considerable shift in Americans’ views on this question over the past 30 years. While falling crime rates have not necessarily affected Americans’ perceptions of crime on a national level, they have been felt in neighborhoods and communities across the country.
Nonetheless, women are among the groups that feel the least safe, suggesting the benefits of falling crime rates have not been evenly felt by all. Other groups, such as the young and lower-income individuals, are also more likely to worry about their own safety.”
Indeed, nearly half of all women, 45%, said they do not feel safe walking alone at night, compared with 27% of men. Gallup also found that young adults aged 18 to 29 and individuals earning less than $30,000 annually (compared with those making at least $75,000) were most likely to feel unsafe.
Two years ago, Gallup conducted a similar survey globally and found that no matter the country – developing of developed – there was a gender gap in how safe people felt walking alone at night.
No country has achieved gender equality and no country ever will as long as more women than men feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods.
H/T Chai Shenoy
