Gender, Fear and Danger in Dense and Open Urban Forests

Perceived safety is a crucial aspect of environmental experiences in natural environments. While it is well established that dense vegetation and danger threats can hinder safety perceptions of natural environments, relatively little research has examined the role of gender in environmental experiences of nature. This study aims to clarify the role of gender in perceptions of danger, fear and preferences in natural environments and how this may interact with density of vegetation and the presence of different dangers.

The methodology is based on three experiments conducted with adults living in the Southeast of England. In Studies 1 (n=269) and 23 (n=414) participants were shown a slide show of woodlands with varying levels of density, with Study 2 being a replication of Study 1. In Study 3, 300 participants watched videos of woodlands under five different social and physical danger scenarios, and we assessed the impact of density and different dangers on perceptions of fear, risk and preferences.

All studies confirmed that women were more likely to feel at risk in natural environments then men, and more likely to express fear and concerns about dangers, especially social dangers. In Study 3, we found that women felt more fearful in all environments, especially environments with social danger threat.

Overall, the results indicate that women’s experiences of nature can be affected by safety concerns to a larger extent than among men, and that these concerns are related to the density of vegetation and the presence of dangers – especially social. Tackling such potential barriers, notably safety concerns, is crucial to ensure greenspace benefits for every sociodemographic group.