General

Brazilians feel unsafe to walk alone at night

Women, in general, feel more insecure than men

Vitor Abdala

Published on 11/12/2022 - 15:13

Rio de Janeiro

Movimentação de pessoas nas ruas do centro da cidade. — © Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil

More than half of the Brazilians feel unsafe to walk alone at night on the streets. According to research data released this week by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the percentage of people who feel insecure or very insecure to go out on the streets after sunset reaches 51.7%.

The greatest feeling of insecurity was observed in the North Region, where the percentage reaches 60.4%. In the South, the feeling is lower, reaching 38.1% of the people. In the other regions, the percentages are Northeast (54.4%), Southeast (53.1%) and Midwest (50.4%).

"It is a period associated with a lower flow of people, emptier streets, less illuminated. This is a factor that generates fear and insecurity," says IBGE researcher Alessandra Brito.

The percentage of Brazilians who are insecure during the daytime is lower: 20.3% of Brazilians are afraid to walk alone at this time of the day. On average, the feeling of insecurity at any time of day reaches 28.8% of Brazilians.

The survey also asked the interviewees if they felt safe inside and outside their homes. Those who feel safe inside their homes reach 89.5%. Those who feel safe in their neighborhood drop to 72.1%, and those who say they feel safe circulating around the city as a whole fall to 54.6%.

When analyzing urban and rural areas, the percentage of feeling safe at home is practically the same (89.5% for the city and 89.6% for the countryside). But when the feeling is analyzed in relation to the neighborhood and the city, there are divergences.

In the urban area, the people who say they feel safe in their neighborhood are 70.2%, and in the city as a whole, 52.8%. In the rural zone, the feeling of safety in the neighborhood reaches 84.3% of the people, while those who feel safe in the city as a whole are 66.5%.

Women, in general, feel more insecure than men. Those who feel safe at home are 88.6%, in the neighborhood, 69.5%, and in the city, 51.6%. On the other hand, the percentages for men are 90.5%, 75% and 58%, respectively.