Fact is statistics suggest that women are far less likely than men to be the victims of violence.
Trouble is, those statistics mean women's fears are all too often often dismissed as "irrational".
According to the new household survey, a third of women in Scotland don't feel safe walking local streets alone after dark.
They can't all be irrational.
What's irrational about 80,000 women being raped every year in the UK?
What's irrational about 51,926 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by Scottish police in 2009-10?
What's irrational about 45% of UK women having experienced some form of domestic violence?
I'll tell you what's irrational. It's UK Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke talking of "serious" rape involving "violence and an unwilling woman".
It's the ramblings of George Galloway, right, dismissing having sex with a woman as she slept as nothing more than "bad sexual etiquette".
Rape is rape if the lady or the gent hasn't consented, even if she's a prostitute or your partner or your gay lover.
What's irrational is the notion long-held by many – men and women – that victims of sexual assault are somehow to blame for their ordeal, usually because of the way they dress.
What's irrational is Edinburgh City Council rescheduling a women's safety march – because of safety fears.
What were these safety fears?
The Reclaim the Night march passed pubs showing Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley.
So?
Well, said the council, "the demonstrators would be subjected to negative drunken attention by men on the street."
So we'll ban the women, then, not the drunks.
We'll deny your freedom, ladies, but it's for your own safety.
If that's the logic of civic leaders, what chance getting sense from any man with a penchant for abusing women?
According to my wife, women view such negative drunken attention as a regrettable fact of female life (mine was obviously positive).
Men who abuse women – and vice-versa – have little self-esteem, so what chance them respecting anyone else.
Sociologists claim the fears of women won't be taken seriously until we men understand them. But, hey, Men Are From Mars...
The SNP say recorded crime in Scotland is at its lowest level for 37 years and the risk of being a victim is falling.
But what about unrecorded crime?
Much violence, sexual and otherwise, is never reported.
It's also a fact that this fear of violence – and much of the violence itself – is more prevalent in lower income groups.
In Scotland's poorest areas, 32% of all adults fear violence, but don't think our leafy suburbs are immune.
The Paralympics showed that attitudes towards disability can change.
Getting some men to change their attitudes may yet prove an Olympian feat.
THE Olympics legacy is giving more than 12million youngsters the chance to experience sport.
The first Host City Development Programme covers 20 countries, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, but I think they missed Scotland.
It seems the promise of London 2012 didn't inspire all our young folk.
Despite the SNP drive to give schoolkids two hours of PE each week, almost half aged between eight and 21 don't participate in any physical activity.
The Commonwealth Games are in Glasgow in two years. Let's hope they can defuse an NHS timebomb.
We moderate all comments on Evening Times on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
DAVID STIRLING: Real fear is that violence won't end
DAVID STIRLING: Real fear is that violence won't end
WE don't need a degree in psy-chology – or the Scottish Household Survey to under-stand why women fear the threat of violence more than men do.
It's the way we're made.
Fact is statistics suggest that women are far less likely than men to be the victims of violence.
Trouble is, those statistics mean women's fears are all too often often dismissed as "irrational".
According to the new household survey, a third of women in Scotland don't feel safe walking local streets alone after dark.
They can't all be irrational.
What's irrational about 80,000 women being raped every year in the UK?
What's irrational about 51,926 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by Scottish police in 2009-10?
What's irrational about 45% of UK women having experienced some form of domestic violence?
I'll tell you what's irrational. It's UK Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke talking of "serious" rape involving "violence and an unwilling woman".
It's the ramblings of George Galloway, right, dismissing having sex with a woman as she slept as nothing more than "bad sexual etiquette".
Rape is rape if the lady or the gent hasn't consented, even if she's a prostitute or your partner or your gay lover.
What's irrational is the notion long-held by many – men and women – that victims of sexual assault are somehow to blame for their ordeal, usually because of the way they dress.
What's irrational is Edinburgh City Council rescheduling a women's safety march – because of safety fears.
What were these safety fears?
The Reclaim the Night march passed pubs showing Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley.
So?
Well, said the council, "the demonstrators would be subjected to negative drunken attention by men on the street."
So we'll ban the women, then, not the drunks.
We'll deny your freedom, ladies, but it's for your own safety.
If that's the logic of civic leaders, what chance getting sense from any man with a penchant for abusing women?
According to my wife, women view such negative drunken attention as a regrettable fact of female life (mine was obviously positive).
Men who abuse women – and vice-versa – have little self-esteem, so what chance them respecting anyone else.
Sociologists claim the fears of women won't be taken seriously until we men understand them. But, hey, Men Are From Mars...
The SNP say recorded crime in Scotland is at its lowest level for 37 years and the risk of being a victim is falling.
But what about unrecorded crime?
Much violence, sexual and otherwise, is never reported.
It's also a fact that this fear of violence – and much of the violence itself – is more prevalent in lower income groups.
In Scotland's poorest areas, 32% of all adults fear violence, but don't think our leafy suburbs are immune.
The Paralympics showed that attitudes towards disability can change.
Getting some men to change their attitudes may yet prove an Olympian feat.
THE Olympics legacy is giving more than 12million youngsters the chance to experience sport.
The first Host City Development Programme covers 20 countries, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, but I think they missed Scotland.
It seems the promise of London 2012 didn't inspire all our young folk.
Despite the SNP drive to give schoolkids two hours of PE each week, almost half aged between eight and 21 don't participate in any physical activity.
The Commonwealth Games are in Glasgow in two years. Let's hope they can defuse an NHS timebomb.
Commenting & Moderation
We moderate all comments on Evening Times on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
Don't show me this again.
Have you got a story?
Contact the news desk on 0141 302 6520
or email news@eveningtimes.co.uk
Most read Most commented
LOCAL HEROES
Nominate your Community Champion today
Recommended Reading