Configuration and Consequences of Fear in Public Space from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

As various works show, fear is one of the most important limitations of women?s access to public space. In this article we examine the configuration of fear and its consequences based on the empirical qualitative work conducted with 70 young men and women in three villages in the Basque Country. The aim is to analyse the perception of it from a gender and spatial perspective to understand how fear is configured, perceived and what kind of implications it has for women. Main results show that gender and age condition the perception of fear, that it is based on the public/private dichotomy and that this same dichotomy renders some kinds of violence against women invisible and perpetuates it.