Women's fear to travel solo - Is the fear unnecessary or sensible?
Author: Lempi Aliina Ojala
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Gender from socio cultural aspect has always been referred to socially learned behaviour and expectations. Some things men do are not necessarily appropriate for women and vice versa. In the history of tourism, traveling for leisure has been considered to be mainly for men. A place for woman has been considered to be at home with children. Women travellers, especially ones without male companion, were seen as immodest and lacking propriety. Nevertheless, there is evidence that women have been traveling and exploring for many centuries (Wilson and Little, 2005) and since women became equal to men, the trend has only been growing (Wilson and Little, 2008). Western women travel to challenge themselves, find their autonomy and self-determination, meet new people and get out of their comfort zone. Usually male dominant areas and countries raise fear among female travellers, especially the ones who travel alone. (Wilson and Little, 2008)
The solo female travellers are frequently afraid of crime, especially sexual violence. This is apparent, although according to Reid and Konrad (2004) women are less likely to be victims of crime than men. According to McNamara and Prideaux (2010), 77% of female respondents in their research said they feel unsafe while traveling alone and 14% had actually experienced sexual harassment. However, only one woman who participated in Jordan and Aitchison's (2008) research felt that she was able to walk and look around without being gazed upon. In many cases, the actions of men go further than gaze (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). These uncomfortable situations raise the fear of possible rape. Fortunately, experiences of serious attacks were relatively rare amongst the female participants of the studies mentioned. The unfortunate fact, however, seems to be that most of the victimised women felt that they had done something wrong themselves and that these attacks had also been their own fault. They think that they have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or that they have by their own behaviour somehow provoked the men.
There are several different reasons why women seem to be more afraid of traveling alone than men. According to Wilson and Little (2008), fear is in many cases taught to women by society and culture. The prejudices towards certain kind of people and other cultures bring up the fear of unknown. It is not surprising that the Western countries are widely considered to be relatively safe, but there are exceptions. On a research by Wilson and Little (2008) a woman on her 30's told that she had doubts about traveling through the United States, because on the road it would be obvious that she is alone. The fears are more common when going further from the familiar cultures and areas (Lepp and Gibson, 2003). The Middle East is one of the places that are considered to be very dangerous for women to go alone. On the Wilson and Little research, other woman stated that her perceptions of South America being strongly male dominant area stopped her to travel there on her own.
When you add other people's perceptions and opinions in top of women's own fear, the effect is even stronger. Many participants of Wilson and Little's study (2008) state that reactions to their plans of travelling alone have not been encouraging. When women tell about their intentions to their relatives, spouses or people at work, the news often receive surprised, fearful, disapproval or even angry responses.
There are a number of women that do not let the fear stop them from traveling. Usually they develop a series of strategies to avoid the uncomfortable situations and to cope with them. A common way for tourists to avoid unwanted attention is to try blending in with the locals (Lepp and Gibson, 2003). Going out only during the daylight, joining tour parties and using a book as a shield from the gaze in public are general avoiding strategies for women (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). One way to avoid uncomfortable situations is to simply get out of the places where a solo woman traveller feels more fearful (Wilson and Little, 2008).
The women who really want to travel will find their way to overcome these fears (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). Considering the results of the several researches mentioned in this paper, it does not seem to really be more dangerous for women to travel in comparison to men. However, it is true that a lonely woman in a strange country looking frightened may be an attractive target for criminals. I consider that if women simply forgot their fears and confidently travelled alone, most parts of the world would be proven to be safe to visit. This could be achieved if intimidating speeches and teaching of fear would stop. However, even though confident attitude might help in some cases, common sense and self-preservation instinct should not be forgotten. But then again, this applies to both men and women.
Most important references
Jordan, Fiona and Aitchison, Cara (2008) 'Tourism and sexualisation of the gaze: solo female tourists' experiences of gendered power, surveillance and embodiment', Leisure Studies, 27(3), p. 329-349
Lepp, Andrew and Gibson, Heather (2003) 'Tourist roles, perceived risk and international tourism', Annals of Tourism Research, 30(3), p. 606-624
Wilson, E and Little, DE (2008) 'The solo female travel experience: Exploring the 'Geography of women's fear'', Current Issues in Tourism, 11(2), p. 167-186
The solo female travellers are frequently afraid of crime, especially sexual violence. This is apparent, although according to Reid and Konrad (2004) women are less likely to be victims of crime than men. According to McNamara and Prideaux (2010), 77% of female respondents in their research said they feel unsafe while traveling alone and 14% had actually experienced sexual harassment. However, only one woman who participated in Jordan and Aitchison's (2008) research felt that she was able to walk and look around without being gazed upon. In many cases, the actions of men go further than gaze (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). These uncomfortable situations raise the fear of possible rape. Fortunately, experiences of serious attacks were relatively rare amongst the female participants of the studies mentioned. The unfortunate fact, however, seems to be that most of the victimised women felt that they had done something wrong themselves and that these attacks had also been their own fault. They think that they have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or that they have by their own behaviour somehow provoked the men.
There are several different reasons why women seem to be more afraid of traveling alone than men. According to Wilson and Little (2008), fear is in many cases taught to women by society and culture. The prejudices towards certain kind of people and other cultures bring up the fear of unknown. It is not surprising that the Western countries are widely considered to be relatively safe, but there are exceptions. On a research by Wilson and Little (2008) a woman on her 30's told that she had doubts about traveling through the United States, because on the road it would be obvious that she is alone. The fears are more common when going further from the familiar cultures and areas (Lepp and Gibson, 2003). The Middle East is one of the places that are considered to be very dangerous for women to go alone. On the Wilson and Little research, other woman stated that her perceptions of South America being strongly male dominant area stopped her to travel there on her own.
When you add other people's perceptions and opinions in top of women's own fear, the effect is even stronger. Many participants of Wilson and Little's study (2008) state that reactions to their plans of travelling alone have not been encouraging. When women tell about their intentions to their relatives, spouses or people at work, the news often receive surprised, fearful, disapproval or even angry responses.
There are a number of women that do not let the fear stop them from traveling. Usually they develop a series of strategies to avoid the uncomfortable situations and to cope with them. A common way for tourists to avoid unwanted attention is to try blending in with the locals (Lepp and Gibson, 2003). Going out only during the daylight, joining tour parties and using a book as a shield from the gaze in public are general avoiding strategies for women (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). One way to avoid uncomfortable situations is to simply get out of the places where a solo woman traveller feels more fearful (Wilson and Little, 2008).
The women who really want to travel will find their way to overcome these fears (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). Considering the results of the several researches mentioned in this paper, it does not seem to really be more dangerous for women to travel in comparison to men. However, it is true that a lonely woman in a strange country looking frightened may be an attractive target for criminals. I consider that if women simply forgot their fears and confidently travelled alone, most parts of the world would be proven to be safe to visit. This could be achieved if intimidating speeches and teaching of fear would stop. However, even though confident attitude might help in some cases, common sense and self-preservation instinct should not be forgotten. But then again, this applies to both men and women.
Most important references
Jordan, Fiona and Aitchison, Cara (2008) 'Tourism and sexualisation of the gaze: solo female tourists' experiences of gendered power, surveillance and embodiment', Leisure Studies, 27(3), p. 329-349
Lepp, Andrew and Gibson, Heather (2003) 'Tourist roles, perceived risk and international tourism', Annals of Tourism Research, 30(3), p. 606-624
Wilson, E and Little, DE (2008) 'The solo female travel experience: Exploring the 'Geography of women's fear'', Current Issues in Tourism, 11(2), p. 167-186