Testing the Hypothesis: Part 1

Fear of walking alone at night

OPPORTUNITY: Females between the ages of 18-80 in the United States have an imminent fear of walking alone at night because of the risk of getting assaulted, robbed, or sexually abused.

WHO?  Females between the ages of 18-80 in the United States

WHAT? They have an imminent fear of being alone or walking alone at night

WHY? The risk of getting assaulted, robbed, or sexually abused.

TESTING THE WHO: Although statistically speaking, women between the ages of 20-24 are at the greatest risk of being targeted in precarious situations, such as walking alone at night, there are many different demographics that have this imminent fear. There may be an opportunity to exploit this opportunity with young men, especially openly homosexual men who fall prey to this form of abuse even if it isn't always reported.

TESTING THE WHAT: Some of the instances of walking alone may not be as precarious or dangerous, such as walking alone within a safe community or even on a safe college campus. The boundaries for this need would need to base it on the geographic location, such as in the downtown area of a city, an unfamiliar neighborhood, or near a gas station.

TESTING THE WHY: I believe the demographic who has this need all fall into the different categories of “the why.” Some have the fear of being robbed, and that could be the elderly cohort, while others fear of getting sexually assaulted, which relates more to the younger female cohort between the ages of 20-30. But they all fall under the umbrella of fearing some act of abuse, some may have this fear more than others. Through extensive research and interviewing though, the underlying reason is the same and does not change substantially.

INTERVIEW #1: I spoke with a young college female, who's in her first year of college. This year will be the first year she’s ever lived on her own. Although she feels safe living on campus, she mentioned there were multiple times she would be out studying late at her library and would fear walking alone back to her dormitory. Many times she would try to walk back alone while on the phone with someone, or she would proceed to “power walk.” She thinks if there were some educational seminar that taught people, specifically women, on how to be defensive in situations like these she would feel more safe and secure.

INTERVIEW #2: In this interview, I spoke with an elderly lady between the ages of 70-75 who’s been living alone for the past ten years since her husband passed. She does not have a car, but her son occasionally drives her places if it’s too far to walk. More often than not, she walks to her local grocery store or takes the bus to run any other errands she may need to complete. Since she is retired, she tries her hardest to accomplish all these tasks within the day because she does have a great fear of doing them alone at night. She feels that since she is an elderly lady, it is easier to take advantage of her. There was a time where she did get robbed and assaulted a few years back. She ended up getting her arm broken too. She feels that women need to find a way to defend themselves or be ready to when situations like this arise.

INTERVIEW #3: I interviewed a young college male, who’s currently in his fourth year of college. He is in a social fraternity and on many occasions walked home late after a night of partying or even studying at the library. He, himself, has never experienced that fear but he has on multiple occasions seen girls walking home alone at night and has offered to walk with them because he fears on behalf of them. He says he understands that fear because some of his brothers have on occasion taken advantage of the vulnerability of these girls. He believes something needs to be done about it, and these individuals need to be protected.

INTERVIEW #4: This young woman I interviewed was in her late twenties, married for two years and invested into her career. She says there are many nights when she has to work late and getting into her car from her work building instills this aforementioned fear. She says she feels lucky that she always has her husband by her side whenever she’s anywhere at night. She definitely feels safe to walk around her neighborhood at night, but going to the dog park with her dog especially later in the day does not make her feel secure. She’s thinking about signing up for some self-defense classes because she’s had friends from college who have been robbed or assaulted when walking alone at night, and she fears that could happen to her too.

INTERVIEW #5: This interview provided me the most insight on exploiting this opportunity. I interviewed a young women, who is a trained RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) Instructor. She’s been teaching self-defense courses for women for a few years now. She has spoke and taught women who’ve been sexually assaulted, suffered from domestic violence, and who fear of their own protection. She believes this fear is very common but exploiting ways to defend yourself will make that fear slowly shrink. She is a big advocate in making sure women are able to stand up for themselves and not feel helpless in situations of vulnerability.

REFLECTION/SUMMARY

Based on the research I’ve gathered, the aforementioned opportunity has been validated even more so. In the previous assignments, I mentioned creating an app that provides videos and tips on how to defend yourself. I realized that actual classes and in-person workshops might be the better alternative for potential victims. Aside from that, I realized there may be a way for people who do not have this fear to help as well. One of the young males I interviewed mentioned using a “buddy system” as a way to provide safety for those who feel vulnerable in these precarious situations. Providing some sort of educational service or program that instructs basic self-defense techniques and educates others to be a source of help is an opportunity worth exploiting some more.