A Study on the Fear of Crime in Women in the Urban Area
Kadir Temurçin, Mahinur Kılıç, Yolcu AldırmazCrime and its consequences, which are becoming visible in the urban space, generate apprehension and a sense of fear in the individual’s world. Fear of crime affects all segments of society in different ways, but it’s observed especially in women and its results cause more visible measures/reactions in people’s lives. The reason for this fear situation is analysed by social analysis, the physical environment in which the people live in the background is also thought to be effective. The fears of crime experienced by women in Bağlar, a neighbourhood of the city of Isparta, were investigated together with their spatiality. A case study was selected from the qualitative research patterns, interviews were conducted with the random sampling method, and the findings obtained in the interview were evaluated together with the physical elements of the city. The first emphasizes that spatial irregularities are effective in the formation of fear of crime or the feeling of fear, and in the second, social issues and deterioration in the social environment have an important role in interpreting the fear of crime at the social level. Feelings of fear or safety in women is explained with both the physical and the social appearance of the neighbourhood.
Kentsel Mekânda Kadınların Yaşadığı Suç Korkusu Üzerine Bir Araştırma
Kadir Temurçin, Mahinur Kılıç, Yolcu AldırmazKentsel mekânda giderek daha fazla görünür hale gelen suç ve onun sonuçları, bireyin dünyasında belirli bir tedirginliğe yol açarak bir korku hissinin oluşmasına neden olmaktadır. Birçok kişiyi olumsuz yönde etkileyen korku deneyimleri, günlük rutinlerde birtakım değişikliklere yol açmaktadır. Bu açıdan suç korkusu toplumun her kesimini farklı şekillerde etkilemekle birlikte, özellikle kadınlarda daha belirgin gözlemlenmekte ve sonuçları kişilerin yaşantısında daha görünür önlemlere/tepkilere sebep olmaktadır. Bu korku durumunun nedeni her ne kadar toplumsal çözümlemelerle analiz edilse de arka planda ilgili kişilerin yaşadıkları fiziki çevrenin de etkili olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmada da, Isparta şehrinin bir mahallesi olan Bağlar’da kadınların yaşadığı suç korkuları mekânsallıklarıyla birlikte araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada, nitel araştırma desenlerinden durum çalışması seçilmiş, tesadüfi örnekleme yöntemiyle görüşmeler yapılmış, görüşmede elde edilen bulgular şehrin fiziksel unsurlarıyla birlikte değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmanın bulguları ise iki farklı çerçevede sunulmuştur. İlki mekânsal düzensizliklerin suç korkusunun oluşumunda ya da korku hissinin artmasında etkili olduğuna, ikincisinde ise sosyal meseleler ve sosyal çevredeki bozulmaların suç korkusunun toplumsal düzeyde yorumlanmasında önemli bir role sahip olduğuna vurgu yapmaktadır. Dolayısıyla kadınların yaşadıkları korku veya kendilerini güvende hissetme duygusu mahallenin gerek fiziki gerekse de sosyal görünümüyle açıklanmıştır.
Feeling that they are in an unsafe environment, experiencing fear or anxiety, or facing the fear of being a victim of a crime can leave deep scars on individuals. Fear of crime which is also defined as a social problem in many literary works, is among the major problems that have a negative impact on both way and quality of life. In particular, the fear of being a victim of a crime further reinforces the need for protection in terms of security. A crime incident happening or occurring anywhere concerns people and forces them to take various measures and to deal with such situations. Women can feel more fear in situations where the possibility of encountering danger is a likely possibility at any given moment. The fact that women are more fearful than other individuals is closely related to their ability to defend themselves. Therefore, women try to protect themselves with certain avoidance behaviors aimed at reducing the risk of victimization. However, some events that occur while walking in urban areas, common public spaces or even on the street limit women’s mobility and also affect daily routines significantly.
In recent studies in the context of gender, fear situations have been investigated (Gilchrist, vd., 1998, Condon, vd., 2007, Dobbs, vd., 2009, Hilinski, vd., 2011, Tandoğan ve İlhan, 2016). The focus of this study is the fear of crime in urban areas experienced by women, who feel more vulnerable in daily life. Therefore, this study draws attention to the spatial meaning of the fear of crime experienced by women by establishing a connection between both concepts, not only in terms of space or being human.
Accordingly, the Bağlar Neighbourhood, which is a neighborhood of the city of Isparta, was chosen as a sample and, in particular, the physical and social structure of the neighborhood was taken into consideration when choosing this place. Factors that cause fear of crime in women are interpreted based on the Social Control Perspective, one of the approaches to fear of crime. In this approach, various factors that point to social and physical disorder create favorable environments that also lead to crime. Therefore, the deterioration in the social and physical environment, turmoil, chaos and social anxiety cause more insecurity and anxiety in women. Based on this approach, efforts were made to reveal the uneasiness, anxiety, fear and negative events occurring in the neighborhood through random interviews. Fear or anxiety situations, especially from people associated with the neighborhood or a crime, have been addressed based on the women’s own experiences. The intended scope of the study was to examine the extent to which the fear experienced by women affects their lives and daily activities. In this respect, women were asked various questions about why they preferred this neighborhood, their relationship with neighborhood residents, what they are most anxious about, and whether they are safe in the neighborhood.
As a result of the findings obtained, the fears experienced by women were classified as headings and evaluated with the different socio-spatial patterns of the neighborhood. Events experienced in different categories and fear situations were interpreted. The subcategories that emerged revealed that women were exposed to verbal or visual harassment on the street in various circumstances and that there were time periods which made them apprehensive and limited their habits. Of course, these disturbing behaviors can threaten women’s personal safety and force the space to be used in a limited way. Another situation that it is manifested is that one of the areas where women do not feel completely secure outside the public domain is the houses they live in. It was emphasized that theft events occurring in the neighborhood from time to time were effective in making them apprehensive and that they had to develop various measures especially for this likelihood. It is also important that the apartments built throughout the neighborhood and the residents living there differ. The fact that residents of the apartments do not know each other and it is not known whether someone who enters an apartment intends to commit theft or something else causes considerable anxiety. Likewise, the existence of different ethnic identities in old, neglected or low cost housing or apartments has revealed that women are afraid of foreign nationals. Considering that these individuals in particular may be a source of danger, a bias has developed against them and measures have been developed to counter the likelihood of harm. Furthermore, women in the neighborhood emphasized that they were more worried and fearful for their relatives and especially their children. Due to certain events in the neighborhood, families keep their children under control as much as possible and they are sensitive in this regard.
Indeed, the findings show that while some events in the neighborhood have contributed to the overall negativity about the neighborhood, the physical and social disorder in the neighborhood can also be shown as a source of fear experienced in the neighborhood.
