Exploring Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Safety, Unsafe Spaces, and the Impact on Their Lives - CANCELLED

• In Event: Youth, Parenting, and Perceptions of Crime

Abstract

Now, more than ever, there is a spotlight on safety in public spaces, compounded by the rapid development of national and local responses to violence against women and girls (HM Government, 2021). Ceccato et al. (2021) highlight the widespread concern over the debilitating nature of young peoples’/students’ fear of crime and perceptions of poor safety, the impact this has in limiting mobility, and the precautionary behaviours taken as a result. Drawing on an online student survey, this work explored university students’ experiences and perceptions of safety in and around the city in which they were studying (in the Southwest of England), and the impact of these on their lives. The study identified several features influencing students’ perceptions of unsafe spaces, and illustrated how students’ perceptions of such unsafe spaces impacted on their behaviour within daily life. It is hoped that not only will this work contribute to future situational measures designed to enhance perceptions of safety, but also add to our knowledge of experiences faced by students which have contributed to the identification of such unsafe spaces, to address the factors that have contributed to these perceptions.

Author

• Nick Addis, University of the West of England