Nearly half of women in Netherlands sometimes take detours for their safety

A total of 45 percent of women aged 15 to 25 walk or drive a different route to avoid areas they feel unsafe in, Statistics Netherlands has reported based on the Emancipation Monitor and the Safety Monitor.

Women more often change routes due to fears for their safety than men, no matter which age they are. Around 20 percent of men in all age groups said that they sometimes avoid certain routes for their safety. Among women, this ranges from 45 percent in the youngest age group to 31 percent among those aged 65 and over.

Avoiding unsafe areas happens more often in cities than the countryside. “Of the women living in larger cities, 44 percent sometimes take a different route in their own neighborhood because of safety concerns. In rural municipalities, that figure is 21 percent,” Statistics Netherlands said.

For safety reasons, 70 percent of women aged 65 and over do not always open the door in the evening. In the younger age groups, 55 to 63 percent of women sometimes keep the door closed. Men are less cautious in this regard: 31 to 36 percent do not always open the door. Only among men aged 65 and over is this share higher, at 53 percent.

Around 45 percent of women are scared of becoming victims of crime in their neighborhood. Which is also an increase on men, where only 33 percent are concerned about being victims of crime.

It was reported this morning that a women is killed by her partner or ex-partner every eight days in the Netherlands.