Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. METHODS The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines.

摘要
目的：分析被害经历（victimization）、不安全感感知（perception of insecurity）与日常作息变化之间的关联。
方法：本研究共纳入8170名年龄介于12至60岁的男女受访对象，其中女性占49.9%、男性占50.1%，研究对象通过分层比例抽样法选取。本次调研使用的测量工具改编自《全国被害情况与公共安全感感知调查》，统计分析采用卡方检验完成。
结果：研究结果显示，在被害经历、性别与不安全感感知、日常活动受限程度及防护措施采用维度上均存在显著差异。13.1%的受访对象表示，过去12个月内曾遭遇犯罪侵害。52.7%的女性认为其所在城镇治安状况不安全或极不安全，男性群体中该比例为58.2%。与未受害女性相比，受害女性的日常活动受限情况更为显著；而就男性群体而言，日常活动受限程度较高的受害男性占比高于未受害男性。在受害女性群体中，选择增加犯罪防护措施的女性占比高于预期，而未受害女性中采取较少防护措施的占比低于预期；男性群体中也观察到了相同的结果。
结论：被害经历会显著提升个体的不安全感感知。然而，不安全感氛围在大量公民中普遍存在。高犯罪环境下显现出的性别差异表明，需深入探究两性在不安全感感知及日常作息变化中所扮演的角色。