Many women feel unsafe in public spaces, whether on streets, at train stations, or in parks. The danger they face overwhelmingly comes from men: Ninety-five percent of sexualized violence in public spaces is committed by them. Yanni Gentsch was jogging in a forest in Cologne when she suddenly noticed a stranger filming her. She confronted him and recorded the encounter on her phone.
The video went viral. Her experience was far from an isolated incident.
Most women can recount similar experiences. Incidents like that leave their mark: women restrict their freedom, avoid certain places, reconsider what they wear, call someone on their way home, or clutch their keys between their fingers as a makeshift weapon. But why should the women bear that responsibility and not the perpetrators? “Only those who commit violence can prevent it,” says Agota Lavoyer, an expert on sexualized violence.
That mainly means men: In almost all cases of sexual violence in public, men are the perpetrators. The Swedish city of Umeå learned this lesson the hard way. In the late 1990s, a serial rapist terrorized the city, carrying out brutal assaults that scarred an entire generation’s sense of safety. Two decades later, and Umeå is now considered one of the safest cities in Europe. The documentary Fear on the Streets asks how public spaces can become safer — and shows why men must play a central role in creating that change.
