Young people more often feel unsafe than older people

Nearly one quarter of Dutch residents in the age category 15 years and older occasionally feel unsafe. Feelings of unsafety are most frequent among young people and women and in areas with a high urbanisation rate. As most people with a foreign background live in cities, they more often feel unsafe than native Dutch residents.

Many young people feel unsafe

Early this year, 24 percent of the 15-plus population indicated they sometimes felt unsafe, a slight decrease compared to last year, when 27 percent occasionally felt unsafe.
Approximately one third of the under-25 population indicated they sometimes felt unsafe. Just under one fifth of over-65s reported they felt unsafe.

Young women most often feel unsafe

In general, women more often feel unsafe than men. This applies to all age groups. Young women feel about twice as often unsafe as young men. Older women far less often feel unsafe than young women. Young women feel nearly twice as often unsafe as their over-65 counterparts.

Feelings of unsafety by gender and age, 2006

Young women feel unsafe in many places

People more often feel intimidated in places where large, disorderly behaving youth groups are hanging out than in, for example, going-out districts, on the street, in the nearby shopping precinct or in public transport. This applies to every age group and both genders. Young people more often feel unsafe in these areas than older people and women more often than men.

Feelings of unsafety among women by type of situation, 2006

Feelings of unsafety most common among city-dwellers

Feelings of unsafety are strongest in areas with a very high urbanisation rate. One in three persons occasionally feel unsafe there, whereas half as many feel unsafe in rural areas.

No differences between people with a foreign background and native Dutch who live in the same neighbourhood

One third of people with a non-western foreign background sometimes feel unsafe, as against one fifth of native Dutch residents. Further analysis shows that this is because relatively many persons with a foreign background live in (very) highly urbanised areas, where more people tend to feel unsafe. Within the same neighbourhood, people with a foreign background tend to feel unsafe as often as native Dutch people.

Feelings of unsafety, 2006 (corrected for age and gender)

Carin Reep