A study tested the hypothesis that the effect of gender and age on fear of crime is mediated by individuals’ perception of risk, and tested the extent to which they engaged in night-time routine activities. The study used data from a survey of a representative sample of the population and LISREL models were estimated. Women reported higher levels of perceived risk, as did individuals with previous experience of victimization. The higher the perceived risk, the less likely was the person to engage in routine night-time activities and the more likely to fear crime. The main finding was that most of the sociodemographic variables (education and marital status) had an indirect effect on fear of crime through their effect on lifestyle activities. Two salient findings were that gender had a direct effect on fear and indirect effects through perceived risk and routine activities, and that there was a relationship between perception of risk and fear of crime. Figures, notes, tables, appendix, references