Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: Gender

Interviewees:

Anonymous (19 - Female - Accounting Major)

Cynthia Corbett (22 - Female - Marketing Major)

Anonymous (18 - Female - Finance Major)

Catherine Moriarty (20 - Female - Marketing Major)

Need Awareness

In terms of sexual violence or sexual harassment...

• When do you feel most unsafe or at risk of experiencing these?
• "Mostly at night or even during the day, sometimes if I have to walk alone in an unfamiliar place."
• "I feel most unsafe when I'm under the influence or alone."
• "At night."
• "I feel at most risk of sexual harassment normally when it is after dark. If there is ever a time when I have an activity or if I am grabbing food late and then have to walk home or walk to a nearby bus station, I feel a little unsafe because there are not many people around and I am only there to fend for myself."
• Under what circumstances?
• "When I'm alone and I don't know the area very well or it isn't well lit. I feel more vulnerable to someone who maybe sees me as a potential victim. And I'm small and probably easy to carry."
• "If I'm under the influence then I tend to feel unsafe if I lose sight of my friends. Otherwise, when I'm with people I tend not to recognize danger. Secondly, being alone at night or in a tight space (like an elevator) with multiple guys that are being obnoxious or seem drunk."
• "When walking alone."
• "If I am alone, I will feel more worried of these events happening. If I am with friends, then it does not occur to me as much."
• How exactly do you recognize the feeling? 
• "My heart starts racing and I feel very anxious and I get sick to my stomach"
• "My fight or flight response kicks in, I instantly want to separate myself from the group that is making me uncomfortable. I also call people that I trust I know will answer the phone to stay on the line and talk to me until I'm somewhere safe."
• "My heart begins to race and I feel like someone is watching me."
• "I recognize the feeling normally when I first realize that I am alone, when I realize that no one else is around and that campus is not busy at all like it is during the day. I then tend to think about it and try to walk faster and get to my destination."
• Are there any specific places that you feel more at risk, or under certain contexts where you feel more vulnerable?
• "When I get off work at 12:30 am downtown I always feel extremely nervous and unsafe. Or walking to my car from a late test on campus since parking isn't close at all."
• "Alone at night and more so on back streets that aren't well lit. I'm always looking around and trying to listen for anything that may be near me and approaching. Also, feel very unsafe when I am drunk and alone. Even if I am in a room full of people I do not feel safe when I'm alone and unable to function normally. Also, groups of guys just make me uncomfortable in closed spaces. If I am waiting for an elevator and a large group of guys are also waiting. I will let them go and wait for the next elevator. I do not want to be alone and outnumbered"
• "No."
• "I definitely feel more vulnerable when I am alone. Or, because campus has the blue light safety blocks, I would definitely feel more scared if I were to walk home alone off campus. You never know what can happen off campus in the town of Gainesville and there are fewer “safety zones”."

• When you typically start to feel this way, what is the first thing that you do?
• "I normally call someone or start walking faster and looking around me."
• "I distance myself from the situation. I leave and try to find someone I know or get on my phone and start a conversation with someone I trust. Anything that makes me feel less alone and like I would have help if something happened."
• "Call someone."
• "The first thing I do is walk faster and look around for any person that may or may not be able to help in case something happens. Or, I tend to call a friend or my parents and just talk to them on the way home."

Information Search

• Have you ever looked into something that could help you feel safer?
• "I have pepper spray and other things for protection but they don't really make me feel safer because if someone approached me they would probably have the advantage because I wouldn't have time to prepare to strike."
• "A lot of people say I should be carrying mace or some equivalent on my keychain, but I've just never taken the initiative and bought something."
• "Yes."
• "I have not really looked into anything that could make me safer. I am not really aware of what else there is to do to keep myself in a safe position."
• Have you ever researched sexual violence statistics, and if so what are search terms that you use?
• "I have a few times mostly in terms of sexual violence on college campuses because it pertains to me most."
• "Yes, I have. The terms I've used are 'statistics', 'likelihood', 'College', 'Party', 'Under the influence', and 'men vs. women sexual violence statistics'."
• "No."
• "I have not really researched it on my own, but I have definitely been educated on this topic. If I were to research it I would probably look into the most common circumstances and most common places people get sexually assaulted at my age."
• Have you ever spoken to your friends or family about this problem?
• "Not really, I've talked to my family and they tell me to always be cautious and all that but never a full discussion."
• "Yes, but not directly. I've never sat down with my friends and just brought up sexual assault. However, we do speak about it in length if it gets brought up in conversation. This is one of the main reasons my friend group does like separate at parties and everyone (including the guys) have to check in once they are home."
• "Yes."
• "I have never really spoken to my friends or family about this problem, other than ensuring that we are all safe and my friends and I do make sure we all get home okay and we keep an eye out for each other at all times."

Research

After conducting these interviews I found these three commonalities: they all said that they feel unsafe when they are alone, they all said that their heart starts racing or they start walking faster to try and get away, and finally they all said they feel safer walking alone when the are on the phone with someone.

Conclusion

The people I have interview have all experienced fear or know of this situation, however, they all do not have something on hand for defense, they haven't all talked to their family or friends about it and they have not all done research on the topic. From this I can conclude that we need to spread the word and teach more people about what to do, who to call and how to feel safer in their day to day lives.