PROVO, Utah — A stark new BYU study maps out just how differently women and men walk at night, illuminating the concerns women have when out after dark.
In the study, participants were shown images of campus areas at Utah Valley University, Westminster University, BYU, and the University of Utah, then asked to click on areas that captured their attention.
The study showed women focused on hazards along the edges of the images, such as bushes and dark areas near the path, while men focused on the actual path, a light, or garbage cans — not perceived safety threats.
BYU Public Health Professor Robbie Chaney led the study, which was co-authored by Alyssa Baer and Ida Tovar.
“The resulting heat maps represent perhaps what people are thinking or feeling or doing as they are moving through these spaces,” Chaney said. "Before we started the study, we expected to see some differences, but we didn’t expect to see them so contrasting. It’s really visually striking.”
In the study published by the journal Violence and Gender, approximately 600 participants, roughly divided along gender lines, were told to imagine themselves walking in the designated areas, and use a heat map of click on the areas that stood out most to them.
“This project has been a fantastic conversation starter to bring awareness to lived experiences, particularly of women in this case,” said Baer. “My hope is that in having concrete data we are able to start conversations that lead to meaningful action.”
The authors hope that these findings will help colleges and universities design campuses that take the fear women must face when walking alone at night into account.
“Why can’t we live in a world where women don’t have to think about these things? It’s heartbreaking to hear of things women close to me have dealt with,” Chaney said.
“It would be nice to work towards a world where there is no difference between the heat maps in these sets of images. That is the hope of the public health discipline.”
