Who Fears What? Prevalence and Sociodemographic Patterns of Crime Fear in Gondar City, Ethiopia

Abstract

Research on fear of crime in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly in Ethiopia, remained limited. This study,
employing a cross-sectional survey design, aims to (1) determine the prevalence of overall fear of crime, fear of violent
and property crime among the residents of Gondar city; and (2) assess the pattern and variance of fear of crime across
different sociodemographic groups. Data were collected from adult(N=472) residents and analyzed through
descriptive statistics, t tests, and one-way ANOVA. The result revealed that overall fear of crime was moderate
(M=3.11, SD=0.93), with more than half of the respondents (51.3%) reporting recurrent fear of crime. Fear of property
crime as a category and robbery as a particular crime exceeded fear of violent crime, while hostage taking/kidnapping
was the most feared violent offense. Significant differences also emerged across gender, marital status, religion,
income, and victimization experience. Females, Muslims, and those who have experienced victimization before
exhibited frequent fear. Contrary to previous studies, participants with higher income reported frequent fear of crime,
suggesting its context-specific dynamism. While fear of crime increased with age, the relationship did not reach
statistical significance (p>.05). Overall, fear of crime in Gondar is pervasive and unevenly distributed across social
groups. The findings support the vulnerability hypothesis, which underscores the importance of physical and social
vulnerabilities in explaining fear of crime. As a first empirical inquiry on the Ethiopian urban adult population, the
study contributes evidence to the criminological understanding of fear of crime in sub-Saharan African urban settings.