Fear of sexual assault and personal safety in young female students of Bangladesh

Sexual violence against women is a significant issue in Bangladesh, yet little research explores its impact on young female students' safety concerns. This study examines the relationship between fear of sexual assault and personal safety among 403 female students from Dhaka, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and Khulna. Data were collected using the Personal Safety Scale (PSC) and the Fear of Sexual Crime Scale (FSCS), with hierarchical regression analysis employed to examine the relationships. The findings revealed that even when controlling factors such as age and education, fear of sexual assaults had a significant negative impact on personal safety, with beta= -0.609 (95% CI: -0.31 to -0.41, p < .001). Fear of sexual assault accounted for 42.3% of the variation in safety concerns, with a unique variance of 33.1%. Thus, higher levels of fear of sexual assault significantly correlate with increased safety concerns among female students in Bangladesh.