Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Toward a gendered Second Generation CPTED for preventing woman abuse in rural communities

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Security Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Informed by several studies of woman abuse in rural settings, the main objective of this paper is to discuss how key principles of Second Generation Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) can be applied to help design appropriate community-based prevention strategies for improving the security of women living in rural places from abuse by spouses and partners in both ongoing and terminated relationships. The gender-sensitive version of CPTED recognizes that communities are contested places where differing strands of values, norms, beliefs and tolerance for crime influence the security of rural women. Hence, some forms of social organization or collective efficacy (not social disorganization) may promote and condone rural woman abuse, and other forms serve to prevent and deter it. We propose a Second Generation CPTED framework that considers the utilization of four main strategies, each tailored to directly address feminist concerns and enhance a locality's collective efficacy to increase women's security: community culture; connectivity and pro-feminist masculinity; community threshold and social cohesion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A revised version of this paper was presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Seattle. Some of the research reported here was supported by National Institute of Justice Grant 2002-WG-BX-0004 and financial assistance provided by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the vice president for research at Ohio University, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Ohio State University. Arguments and findings included in this paper are those of the author and do not represent the official position of the US Department of Justice, Ohio University or the Ohio State University.

  2. See DeKeseredy (2007) for a review of the extant North American social scientific literature on woman abuse in rural communities.

  3. Following Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski (1987) and DeKeseredy et al (2006), these behaviors include: (1) sexual contact, including sex play (fondling, kissing or petting) arising from menacing verbal pressure, misuse of authority, threats of harm or actual physical force; (2) sexual coercion includes unwanted sexual intercourse arising from the use of menacing verbal pressure or the misuse of authority; (3) attempted rape includes attempted unwanted sexual intercourse arising from the use of or threats of force, or the use of drugs or alcohol; and (4) rape includes unwanted sexual intercourse arising from the use of or threats of force and other unwanted sex acts (anal or oral intercourse or penetration by objects other than the penis) arising from the use of or threat of force, or the use of drugs or alcohol.

  4. See Websdale and Johnson (2005) for more information on these programs.

  5. See Alvi et al (2001) and Renzetti and Maier (2002) for data on women's fear of crime in North American public housing.

References

  • Adams, D. and Goldbard, A. (2001) Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development. New York: Rockefeller Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvi, S., Schwartz, M.D., DeKeseredy, W.S. and Maume, M.O. (2001) Women's fear of crime in Canadian public housing. Violence Against Women 7 (6): 638–661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P.R. (1993) Urban-rural differences in helping friends and family members. Social Psychology Quarterly 56 (4): 249–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barclay, E., Donnermeyer, J.F. and Jobes, P.C. (2004) The dark side of gemeinschaft: Criminality within rural communities. Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal 6 (3): 7–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brassard, A. (2003) Integrating the planning process and second-generation CPTED. The CPTED Journal 2 (1): 46–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C. (2002) The span of collective efficacy: Extending social disorganization theory to partner violence. Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (4): 833–850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunch, T. (2006) Ending men's violence against women. A Call to Men: National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women, http://www.acalltomen.com/page.php?id=52.

  • Cancino, J.M. (2005) The utility of social capital and collective efficacy: Social control policy in nonmetropolitan settings. Criminal Justice Policy Review 16 (3): 287–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L. (2004) Major Criminological Theories. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, G. and Saville, G. (2003) An introduction to 2nd generation CPTED – Part 1, www.cpted.net.

  • Connell, R.W . (1995) Masculinities. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cozens, P.M., Saville, G. and Hillier, D. (2005) Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): A review and modern bibliography. Property Management 23 (5): 328–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S. (2000) Women, Crime and the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S. (2007) Sexual Assault During and After Separation/Divorce: An Exploratory Study. Washington DC: National Institute of Justice. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • DeKeseredy, W.S. and Joseph, C. (2006) Separation and/or divorce sexual assault in rural Ohio: Preliminary results of an exploratory study. Violence Against Women 12 (3): 301–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S., Schwartz, M.D. and Alvi, S. (2000) The role of profeminist men in dealing with woman abuse on the Canadian college campus. Violence Against Women 6 (9): 918–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S., Alvi, S., Schwartz, M.D. and Tomaszewski, E.A. (2003) Under Siege: Poverty and Crime in a Public Housing Community. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S., Alvi, S., Renzetti, C.M. and Schwartz, M.D. (2004) Reducing violence against women in public housing: Can Second Generation CPTED make a difference? The CPTED Journal 3: 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S., Schwartz, M.D., Fagen, D. and Hall, M. (2006) Separation/divorce sexual assault: The contribution of male support. Feminist Criminology 1 (3): 228–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeKeseredy, W.S., Donnermeyer, J.F., Schwartz, M.D., Tunnell, K.D. and Hall, M. (2007) Thinking critically about rural gender relations: Toward a rural masculinity crisis/male peer support model of separation/divorce sexual assault. Critical Criminology 15 (4): 295–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnermeyer, J.F. (2007) Rural crime: Roots and restoration. The International Journal of Rural Crime 1: 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnermeyer, J.F. and DeKeseredy, W. (2008) Toward a rural critical criminology. Southern Rural Sociology 23 (2): 4–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnermeyer, J.F. and Phillips, G.H. (1984) Vandals and vandalism in the rural U.S.A. In: C. Levi-Leboyer (ed.) Vandalism: Motivations and Behaviour. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: North-Holland Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnermeyer, J.F., Oetting, E.R., Plested, B.A., Edwareds, R.W., Jumper-Thurman, R. and Littlethunder, L. (1997) Community readiness and prevention programs. Journal of the Community Development Society 28 (1): 65–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnermeyer, J.F., Jobes, P. and Barclay, E. (2006) Rural crime, poverty, and community. In: W.S. DeKeseredy and B. Perry (eds.) Advancing Critical Criminology: Theory and Application. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 199–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, R.W., Jumper-Thurman, P., Plested, B.A., Oetting, E.R. and Swanson, L. (2000) Community readiness: Research to practice. Journal of Community Psychology 28 (3): 291–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, T. (2004) Quilts for change. Quiltations (September): 1–4.

  • Fisher, C. (1995) The subcultural theory of urbanism: A twentieth-year assessment. American Journal of Sociology 101 (3): 543–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, R. (2003) When bad things happen in good places: Pastoralism in big-city newspaper coverage of small-town violence. Rural Sociology 68 (2): 207–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funk, R.E. (1993) Stopping Rape: A Challenge for Men. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funk, R.E. (2006) Reaching Men: Strategies for Preventing Sexist Attitudes, Behaviors, and Violence. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Life.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagné, P.L. (1992) Appalachian women: Violence and social control. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 20 (4): 387–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heise, L.L. (1998) Violence against women: An integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women 4 (3): 262–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, R. and Carrington, C. (2006) Policing the Rural Crisis. Sydney, Australia: The Federation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornosty, J. and Doherty, D. (2002) Responding to Wife Abuse in Farm and Rural Communities: Searching for Solutions that Work. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research. SIPP Public Policy Paper no. 10.

  • Katz, J . (2006) The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M.S. and Mosmiller, T.E . (1992) Introduction. In: M.S. Kimmel and T.E. Mosmiller (eds.) Against the Tide: Pro-feminist Men in the United States, 1776–1990. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, pp. 1–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koss, M.P., Gidycz, C.A. and Wisniewski, N. (1987) The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55 (2): 162–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krannich, R.S. and Luloff, A.E. (2002) A 50-year perspective on persistence and change: Lessons from the rural studies communities. In: A.E. Luloff and R.S. Krannich (eds.) Persistence and Change in Rural Communities. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing, pp. 171–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krishnan, S.P., Hilbert, J.C. and VanLeeuwen, D. (2001) Domestic violence and help-seeking behaviors among rural women: Results from a shelter-based study. Family Community Health 24 (1): 28–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, S.R., Amundson, D. and Lichter, L. (2003) Perceptions of Rural America: Media Coverage. Washington DC: Center for Media and Public Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liepins, R. (2000) New energies for an old idea: Reworking approaches to “community” in contemporary rural studies. Journal of Rural Studies 16 (1): 23–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, T.K., Stevenson, E., Evans, L. and Leukefeld, C. (2004) Rural and urban women's perceptions to barriers to health, mental health, and criminal justice services: Implications for victim services. Violence and Victims 19 (1): 37–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, T.K., Evans, L., Stevenson, E. and Jordan, C.E. (2005) Barriers to services for rural and urban survivors of rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 20 (5): 591–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazur, A.G. and McBride-Stetson, D. (1995) Introduction. In: A.G. Mazur and D. McBride-Stetson (eds.) Comparative State Feminism. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Messerschmidt, J.W. (2000) Nine Lives: Adolescent Masculinities, the Body, and Violence. Boulder, CO: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, T.W. and Veltkamp, L.J. (1989) Child sexual abuse: The abusing family in rural America. International Journal of Family Psychiatry 9 (3): 259–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navin, S., Stockum, R. and Campbell-Ruggaard, J. (1993) Battered women in rural America. Journal of Human Educational Development 32 (1): 9–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oetting, E.R. and Donnermeyer, J.F. (1998) Primary socialization theory: The etiology of drug use and deviance. I. Substance Use & Misuse 33 (4): 995–1026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, T. (2006a) Well Meaning Men: Breaking Out of the Man Box. Charlotte, NC: A Call to Men: National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, T. (2006b) Becoming part of the solution. A Call to Men: National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women, www.acalltomen.org/downloads.php.

  • Renzetti, C.M. and Maier, S.L. (2002) “Private” crime in public housing: Fear of crime and violent victimization among women public housing residents. Women's Health and Urban Life 1 (2): 46–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S.W. and Earls, F. (1998) Neighborhood Collective Efficacy: Does it Help Reduce Violence? Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saville, G. (1996) Assembling risk and crime potentials in neighbourhoods. Paper presented at the 1st Annual International CPTED Association Conference; 30 October – 1 November, Calgary, Canada.

  • Saville, G. (2004) Editor's introduction. The CPTED Journal 3: 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saville, G. and Clear, T. (2000) Community renaissance with community justice. The Neighborworks Journal 18 (2): 19–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, E.H. (1947) Principles of Criminology, 4th edn. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorne-Finch, R. (1992) Ending the Silence: The Origins and Treatment of Male Violence Against Women. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tittle, C.R. (2000) Theoretical developments in criminology. In: G. LaFree, J.F. Short, R.J. Bursik Jr. and R.B. Taylor (eds.) Criminal Justice 2000. Volume 1. The Nature of Crime: Continuity and Change. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, pp. 51–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Center. (1994) Talk About Sexual Assault: A Booklet for Teens. Victoria, Canada: Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Center.

  • Walby, S. (1990) Theorizing Patriarchy. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Websdale, N. (1995a) An ethnographic assessment of the policing of domestic violence in rural Eastern Kentucky. Social Justice 22: 102–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Websdale, N. (1995b) Rural woman abuse: The voices of Kentucky women. Violence Against Women 1 (4): 309–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Websdale, N. (1998) Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Websdale, N. and Johnson, B. (2005) Reducing woman battering: The role of structural approaches. In: N.J. Sokoloff (ed.) Domestic Violence at the Margins: Readings on Race, Class, Gender, and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp. 389–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisheit, R.A., Falcone, D.N. and Wells, L.E. (2006) Crime and Policing in Rural and Small-town America,3rd edn. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Gerard Cleveland and Gregory Saville for their comments and criticisms.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, L1H 7K4, Ontario, Canada

    Walter S DeKeseredy

  2. Rural Sociology Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210-1067, Ohio, USA

    Joseph F Donnermeyer

  3. Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Athens, 45701, Ohio, USA

    Martin D Schwartz

Authors
  1. Walter S DeKeseredy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joseph F Donnermeyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin D Schwartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Walter S DeKeseredy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

DeKeseredy, W., Donnermeyer, J. & Schwartz, M. Toward a gendered Second Generation CPTED for preventing woman abuse in rural communities. Secur J 22, 178–189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2009.3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2009.3

Keywords

Search

Navigation