Man or bear? Why Women Feel Unsafe in Nature

Last year the provocative social media trend #manorbear asked users whether they would prefer to get stuck in the woods with a male stranger or with a bear. And many opted for the bear! 

We explored the topic of fear perceptions in nature across three experiments conducted with a total of 983 adults living in England, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. We tested: 

- whether nature experiences vary by gender

- the role of dense vegetation and of several dangers (including social and animal threats). 

Our results are not that far from the 'man or bear' trend:

- Women consistently reported higher levels of fear and felt more at risk in natural environments than men. This fear was particularly pronounced in dense, heavily vegetated areas.

- Social threats were a key concern for women. When shown scenarios involving social dangers (a potential assaulter spotted in the same greenspace), women's feelings of fear increased significantly. This concern was much more impactful than other dangers, including animal threats (in our study, this was a wild boar, not a bear). 

- Men's experiences were unaffected by danger threats. This suggests a significant gender difference in how people perceive and interact with nature (or, at least, a difference in how women and men choose to report fears and concerns).

Ultimately, safety concerns emerged as a major barrier for women's enjoyment of nature. This has real-world implications for land management and design. We need to create natural spaces that feel safe for everyone. 

To me, these results also underscore a critical, indirect effect of gender-based violence: while spending time in natural spaces can support health and wellbeing, the fear of crime becomes, for some, a barrier that can prevent women from visiting and fully enjoying nature - and ultimately denies its potential health and wellbeing benefits. This perpetuates a form of gender inequality in nature access and enjoyment. 

So, one more reason to address and reduce gender-based violence. 

Here is a link to the blog post Why Women Feel Unsafe in Nature: The Gender Gap in Green Spaces, published in ISGlobal's blog Health is Global.