I would like to add to Darren Tindall’s point. The initial post (which was fine in itself) was narrowly focused on individual women who have been victims of violent acts. But widespread violence against women has a cascading and corrosive effect on all women’s wellbeing. There is effectively a “tax” on women, for being women. At night, women and girls will often pay for a taxi or uber, because they are not safe walking or taking public transport. Women everywhere often avoid parks or isolated areas, for fear of being attacked. The constant vigilance required takes a mental toll, as well as restricting their activities. In addition, this is violence aimed at them specifically BECAUSE they are women (a fact they can do nothing about). Continued fearfulness, at home and in public places, has a cost, although it is difficult to assess that in dollar terms. It is not dissimilar to the cost of racism.
Hi Deborah, I completely agree. I think that in particular, the economic and social costs of VAWG extend beyond the victim, and likely have quite significant broader and society level effects.
I think you are right that it is difficult to assess in dollar terms- I have not been able to find anything that explores this in a robust or quantitative way, but I think some of the links that Julia and others pointed to are good starts.
Thank you for your comment and taking the time to read this.
Caveat: one peeve I have with this report is that it omits the fact there is also high levels of urban fear in men also (for example on public transport this is 10% lower than women which seems to suggest high levels of fear in both sexes and therefore a bigger problem at play). None the less, extreme vast majority of sexual harassment/assaults on public transit occur against women.
I would like to add to Darren Tindall’s point. The initial post (which was fine in itself) was narrowly focused on individual women who have been victims of violent acts. But widespread violence against women has a cascading and corrosive effect on all women’s wellbeing. There is effectively a “tax” on women, for being women. At night, women and girls will often pay for a taxi or uber, because they are not safe walking or taking public transport. Women everywhere often avoid parks or isolated areas, for fear of being attacked. The constant vigilance required takes a mental toll, as well as restricting their activities. In addition, this is violence aimed at them specifically BECAUSE they are women (a fact they can do nothing about). Continued fearfulness, at home and in public places, has a cost, although it is difficult to assess that in dollar terms. It is not dissimilar to the cost of racism.
Hi Deborah, I completely agree. I think that in particular, the economic and social costs of VAWG extend beyond the victim, and likely have quite significant broader and society level effects.
I think you are right that it is difficult to assess in dollar terms- I have not been able to find anything that explores this in a robust or quantitative way, but I think some of the links that Julia and others pointed to are good starts.
Thank you for your comment and taking the time to read this.
Hey All, Akhil there is a good report which delves into the some of the topics highlighted here but it is focused on London. It also discusses how this specific sub-set of women’s safety relates to the domestic setting: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/sites/urban-lab/files/scoping_study-_londons_participation_in_un_womens_safer_cities_and_safe_public_spaces_programme.pdf
Caveat: one peeve I have with this report is that it omits the fact there is also high levels of urban fear in men also (for example on public transport this is 10% lower than women which seems to suggest high levels of fear in both sexes and therefore a bigger problem at play). None the less, extreme vast majority of sexual harassment/assaults on public transit occur against women.