Women's fear of victimization: Shadow of sexual assault?

This article considers the thesis that sexual assault may operate as a master offense among women, heightening their fear of other victimizations. Measures of fear and perceived risk of victimization from a national survey of adults are used to examine the ''shadow'' hypothesis across nine separate offenses. Fear of sexual assault substantially increases the explained variance in fear of personal crime, eliminating or reversing the gender difference. Fear of sexual assault also influences fear of property offenses, but its effect is smaller than for personal crimes. The results show that women are more afraid of all victimizations, but this is principally due to their perceived risk of such offenses and their fear of rape in everyday life.