cover image The Female Fear

The Female Fear

Margaret T. Gordon. Free Press, $29.95 (230pp) ISBN 978-0-02-912490-1

Most urban women suffer from a fear of rape, which is compounded by sexual taboos about discussing it, antiquated rape laws and a male-dominated court system, according to Gordon, a consultant on rape prevention who teaches journalism at Northwestern University, and Riger, associate professor of psychology at Lake Forrest College in Illinois. This significant, comprehensive study, spurred by the past decade's sizable increase in rapes, is based on interviews and telephone surveys of hundreds of men and women. The authors explore the source of this fear of rape, its influence on the quality of women's lives, the results in relationships with men and the methods of coping with the physical trauma. Few women resist rapists, the authors maintain, but to avoid the danger of rape, they severely restrict their activities, especially at night. (Jan.)