Safety concerns influence how women move through the world every day. Such uncertainties shape decisions about where to go, when to travel, and whether to participate at all.
A nationwide women’s personal safety survey from July 2025 examined how women experience and perceive safety concerns. While the responses span 1,500 women ages 18 to 50, many of the situations described—such as moving between locations, traveling after dark, and through unfamiliar areas—mirror life on college campuses where people may feel more exposed and less supported.
Walking alone at night is the most common concern
Across all respondents, 67% identified walking alone at night as their top personal safety concern; again, this remains highly relevant in campus settings, where students, faculty, and staff move between classrooms, dorms, parking areas, and off-campus housing day and night.
Other frequently cited concerns included traveling in unfamiliar areas and in parking garages, as well as using public transportation (38%) and rideshare vehicles (34%). Younger women reported even more concern about public transportation and ridesharing than older respondents.
Safety concerns influence behavior and participation
Safety concerns directly affect behavior. Nearly two in five women (38%) said safety concerns limit their daily activities, either significantly or somewhat. Among younger women, that impact was even greater.
When people feel unsafe in certain areas or at certain times, they may change plans by altering routes, avoiding campus facilities after dark, limiting time in strange areas, or skipping evening activities altogether.
Such decisions affect more than personal security. Taking such precautions changes a student’s level of engagement; it can directly impact their participation in academic and extracurricular programs and, subsequently, their access to important resources.
Informal safety networks are more widely used
When women feel unsafe, most rely on informal communication strategies rather than institutional systems. Seventy percent of respondents reported texting or calling family and friends to share their whereabouts, and many use smartphone location-sharing apps.
Almost one-fifth (19%) reported using structured check-in or safety monitoring tools.
This pattern suggests that when safety concerns arise, people first gravitate toward options that feel immediate and familiar.
The survey also found that more than one-third of women (34%) did not know about any safety resources available in their communities. This lack of awareness was most pronounced among women ages 36–50 (38%) and those in the Southeast (37%).
For colleges and universities, this means the existence of safety programs or infrastructure does not guarantee utilization. Emergency phones, escort programs or safety apps are only effective if students know they exist and how they work, and trust that pressing the button will result in a timely response.
What this means for campus safety leaders
Although the survey reflects women’s experiences broadly, the insights offer practical considerations for campus safety administrators responsible for policy, planning and communication:
- Movement matters. Safety concerns often arise during transitions such as walking between buildings and to parking, or moving through new parts of campus. Safety planning should consider such pathways and “in-between” spaces as carefully as fixed locations.
- Behaviors reflect perceptions. When individuals avoid certain routes or activities due to safety concerns, participation in the richness of campus life can decline. Recognizing and reacting to these behavioral patterns can help institutions evaluate whether existing policies are enabling confidence or unintentionally reinforcing non-use.
- Awareness is key and must be sustained. Official tools, including texting or location-based apps, must be easy to access and operate. And reminders are crucial: safety information delivered during student orientation is often forgotten. Important messaging must be reinforced throughout the year and across multiple channels.
Response reliability and clarity build trust. People are more likely to seek help when they have a realistic expectation of what happens when they report a concern—who will respond, how quickly, what else is involved.
Students need to know not just that a safety escort service exists, but how to request it, how long they can expect to wait, and what the experience will be like. They need to understand, for example, which resources are available at 2 a.m. versus during business hours, or how to access help in different parts of campus.
Without this level of detail and repeated exposure, even well-funded safety initiatives may remain abstract concepts rather than practical tools that students trust and use when they need them most.
Safer campuses will come from listening
Effective safety strategies are built not only on infrastructure and response protocols, but also on an understanding of how people experience risk in their daily lives.
Research-based insights can empower institutions to identify gaps, prioritize improvements, and align safety planning with how members of the community actually experience their environment. When campus leaders design safety systems around the needs of those who feel most vulnerable, spaces become safer, more accessible and more inclusive for everyone.
