A feminist critique of criminologists' concept "fear of crime" begins with recognizing the cultural meanings linked to the abstract categories of the public and the private. The public realm is predominantly a male domain whereas the private sphere of the home is female. Victimization survey findings indicate that men are at greater risk to victimization from interpersonal violence. However, women and the elderly, the least likely to be victimized, report the highest levels of fear of being criminally victimized. Explanations of this gap between women's and men's reported fear of crime point to gender experiences and role expectations. Accounting for women's fear of crime is a perception of their social and physical vulnerability. The conceptualization of violent crime is firmly linked to random acts of violence perpetuated by strangers against innocent victims. This attention to violence committed by strangers obscures the possible fear-producing effects of violence within the home, largely perpetrated against women and girls, and its inclusion as a serious crime. 50 references.