Married women feel safer than single women

Single young women feel much less safe than married women. In a new survey by the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute, 18% of single women ages 25–34 say they feel physically unsafe most days, compared with just 4% of married women of the same age, more than a fourfold difference. This gap holds even after accounting for financial status and demographics, such as age and race. And it’s not simply about having a man in the house. Men’s commitment matters. Cohabiting women are more than twice as likely as married women to feel unsafe, and 9% say their partner doesn’t help much with safety, compared with 2% of married women.

by Wendy Wang