Table 2. Use of protection strategies by US women by victimization experience.
| Type of protective strategy | All women (n = 1786) | Personal only (n = 93) | Vicarious only (n = 473) | Personal and vicarious (n = 982) | Neither personal nor vicarious (n = 238) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guns | |||||
| Have one in home | 751 (42.1) | 38 (40.9) | 209 (44.2) | 416 (42.4) | 88 (37.0) |
| Have more than one in home* | 464 (61.8) | 20 (52.6) | 136 (65.1) | 262 (63.0) | 46 (52.3) |
| Given one for protection | 257 (14.4) | 9 (9.7) | 36 (7.6) | 197 (20.1) | 15 (6.3) |
| Acquired by self for protection | 233 (13.1) | 13 (14.0) | 35 (7.4) | 174 (17.7) | 11 (4.6) |
| Ever carry† | 119 (11.5) | 4 (9.8) | 27 (12.6) | 83 (18.0) | 5 (5.6) |
| Ever have while drivingठ| 129 (12.9) | 5 (12.2) | 25 (12.4) | 94 (20.9) | 5 (6.0) |
| Weapons (other than gun) | |||||
| Ever carry a knife | 137 (7.7) | 1 (1.1) | 21 (4.4) | 109 (11.1) | 6 (2.5) |
| Ever carry a club or bat | 101 (5.7) | 2 (2.2) | 16 (3.4) | 79 (8.0) | 4 (1.7) |
| Ever carry other weapon | 194 (10.9) | 11 (11.8) | 36 (7.6) | 134 (13.6) | 13 (5.5) |
| Devices | |||||
| Ever carry pepper spray | 373 (20.9) | 8 (8.6) | 77 (16.3) | 245 (24.9) | 40 (16.8) |
| Ever carry noise maker | 322 (18.0) | 14 (15.1) | 78 (16.5) | 192 (19.6) | 38 (16.0) |
| Home strategies | |||||
| Have a dog for protection | 572 (32.0) | 34 (36.6) | 132 (27.9) | 349 (35.5) | 57 (23.9) |
| Ever hide weapons around the home | 802 (44.9) | 30 (32.3) | 182 (38.5) | 508 (51.7) | 82 (34.4) |
| Have a home security system | 345 (19.3) | 14 (15.0) | 84 (17.8) | 212 (21.6) | 35 (14.7) |
| Have window bars | 88 (4.9) | 3 (3.2) | 14 (3.0) | 62 (6.3) | 9 (3.8) |
| Behavioral strategies | |||||
| Ever look under car§ | 882 (53.9) | 36 (43.4) | 216 (50.5) | 533 (57.9) | 97 (47.1) |
| Ever check back seat§ | 1384 (84.5) | 68 (81.9) | 354 (82.7) | 798 (86.6) | 164 (79.6) |
| Ever keep car doors locked§ | 1530 (93.4) | 76 (91.6) | 403 (94.2) | 861 (93.5) | 190 (92.2) |
| Ever keep doors at home locked | 1718 (96.2) | 91 (97.8) | 447 (94.5) | 953 (97.0) | 227 (95.4) |
| Ever look directly at strangers | 1419 (79.5) | 70 (75.3) | 368 (77.8) | 822 (83.7) | 159 (66.8) |
| Ever walk like you mean business | 1624 (90.9) | 81 (87.1) | 420 (88.8) | 924 (94.1) | 199 (83.6) |
| Ever wear shoes for running | 1683 (94.2) | 86 (92.5) | 44 (93.9) | 932 (94.9) | 221 (92.9) |
| Ever alert and aware of surroundings | 1762 (98.7) | 91 (97.8) | 467 (98.7) | 973 (99.1) | 231 (97.1) |
| Ever get someone to go along after dark | 1494 (83.7) | 68 (73.1) | 397 (83.9) | 837 (85.2) | 192 (80.7) |
| Ever change things want to do | 1263 (70.7) | 57 (61.3) | 308 (65.1) | 750 (76.4) | 148 (62.2) |
| Ever change things need to do | 831 (46.5) | 37 (39.8) | 201 (42.5) | 498 (50.7) | 95 (39.9) |
| Ever had martial arts or self‐defense training | 335 (18.8) | 9 (9.7) | 57 (12.0) | 255 (26.0) | 14 (5.9) |
Values are number (%).
*Percentage based on the number of women who have a gun in the home.
†Percentage based on the number of women who have at least one gun in the home or have acquired one for themselves for protection.
‡Percentage based on the number of women who have at least one gun in the home or have acquired one for themselves for protection, and ever drive.
§Percentage based on number of women who report that they drive.