"UM : Science" [S02-ep14]: From a Sense of Insecurity to the "L'Eco" Segment

[Podcast] - Published on February 2, 2023 in Faculties, Schools, and Institutes, Science and Society

This week on *A l’UM * science, Marie-Christine Sordino, director of the criminal law and forensic science team, joins us to discuss the study she conducted on the sense of insecurity in Montpellier. At the end of the show, François Mirabel, dean of the Faculty of Economics, introduces us to the upcoming conference and debate organized by *Les Rendez-vous de l’Eco*. A program broadcast on Divergence FM-93.9 every Wednesday at 6 p.m.

This weekend, after a somewhat late happy hour at a friend’s place, just as I was getting ready to walk through downtown to get home, a couple who had also been invited offered to walk me home. I’ve always enjoyed walking through the city at night, so I politely declined the offer and was met with a look that conveyed not only confusion but also concern—even reproach—as if I were about to get behind the wheel with 4 grams of alcohol in my blood.

– Are you sure? It's pretty late, after all, and what part of town are you in?

– Oh, and by the way… No, really, that’s not safe—we’ll drive you home.

So if driving while intoxicated is objectively dangerous to oneself and others, why is walking home alone after 11 p.m. considered by some to be a risky practice? What does—or does not—fuel a sense of insecurity to the point of making it an objective reality for some? And what about me? Am I being blind to the reality by insisting on walking home? And what about men in all of this? Why didn’t that same couple offer to give Karim—who had left a few minutes earlier—a ride home?

Faced with all these questions, once I got home “safe and sound,” I decided to find out a little more about the lack of safety in this city, where I’ve been living for almost 20 years now. After a few clicks, I came across this article from Midi Libre dated January 9 of this year, titled “ Sense of Insecurity in Montpellier: Places Frequently Avoided by Residents, Mostly Women .” Journalist Laurie Zenon draws on two surveys conducted in Montpellier’s downtown area in 2022 by the city in partnership with the French Forum for Urban Security and the University of Montpellier. Our guest is Marie Christine Sordino, a law professor, researcher, and director of the Criminal Law and Forensic Sciences team in Montpellier. She led part of this study.

At the end of the program, we will be joined by Professor François Mirabel, who will introduce us to the next “Rendez-vous de l’Eco” event, organized on February 8 by the School of Economics in partnership with Midi Libre, on the topic: “Energy Transition: How Citizens Can Take Action.”

At "UM : Science," here's the lineup—let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Director: Tom Chevalier

Listen to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9