WHO: Two female interviewees, one under the age of 25 and the other over the age of 40, fell a bit outside the boundary. The former had a naïve perspective on the need, for she never experienced this fear. She grew up in a rural, small town where everyone knew each other. She would more often times walk miles to go to a grocery store for supplies or visit a neighbor. She does not have this imminent fear of walking alone, and on contraire feels pretty secure about it. Even after moving to a new, bigger city she still does not have this insecurity about walking home alone at night like most females her age. As for the other interviewee, she had a very old-fashioned perspective where she feels that if you’re minding your own business and not wearing anything to provoke attention then that fear shouldn’t be there. Her view can be perceived as pretty traditional in the sense that
WHAT: Although the unmet need is the fear of walking home alone, and establishing some sort of defensive workshop/membership could amend the temporary issue. All in all, the problem is the driver behind the fear. These individuals that prey on others who are in a state of vulnerability are the real problem, but that’s an issue that’s deeply rooted and may not be amended easily.
WHY: The outsiders have a widely different worldview and that stems from upbringing and environment. It’s a matter of perspective and values, and both groups that fall in the outside boundary seem to have differing views on both. Nurture versus nature comes into play to some degree.
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Inside the boundary
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Outside the boundary
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WHO IS IN: Females between the ages of 24-40 who’ve had bad experiences walking alone at night; Males between the ages of 24-40 who are protective of their female cohorts
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WHO IS NOT: Females between the ages of 24-40 who do not exhibit this fear due to lack of experience
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WHAT THE NEED IS: To help reduce insecurity or fear of walking home alone at night for young females
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WHAT THE NEED IS NOT: To stop people from getting attacked, robbed, or sexually assaulted when walking alone at night
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WHY THE NEED EXISTS: Predatory individuals may attack vulnerable or isolated individuals, specifically females, because they are easy to take advantage of it
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ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS: This isn’t just a female case, this happens to males too; the fear is there but a lot of the times, it’s in your head and very rarely does anything actually happen
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Hi Roksolana! It was interesting to read about your interview with the woman who was 40 years old. I feel like her traditional view is not unexpected, but also a bit misinformed on the topic. However, I agree that it depends on your upbringing and own experiences to form an opinion on the topic. I think having a defensive workshop would be a great way to start helping men and women with fear of walking home alone.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI find it crazy that people do not fear when they walk alone at night. I have fear if am walking alone at night in sketchy areas. I think that the lack of experience is something that also causes the need, as they will then gain the experience that it is not something to take lightly. I think that the 40 year old is absolutely right as well though as long as you are not being to flashy you should be alright walking alone.
Hey Roksolana,
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised one of your interviewees never experienced this due to her background setting. I definitely think that location has a big factor in a persons fear. In my town in Istanbul I walk freely and only the street dogs kind of scare me. However, once I go downtown I definitely would prefer being with someone else.