Science at UM [S02-ep14]: From a Sense of Insecurity to the Eco Forum

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

This week on *A l’UM la science*, Marie-Christine Sordino, director of the Criminal Law and Forensic Sciences team, discusses with us the study she conducted on feelings of insecurity in Montpellier. At the end of the program, François Mirabel, dean of the Faculty of Economics, introduces us to the upcoming conference and debate hosted 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 slightly late happy hour at a friend’s place, just as I was getting ready to walk through downtown to go 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 filled not only with confusion but also with concern, even reproach, as if I were about to get behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level of 0.04%.

– Are you sure? It’s pretty late, and where do you live?

– Oh, and by the way… No, really, it’s not safe—we’ll take 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 risky? What fuels—or doesn’t 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 danger by insisting on walking home? And what about men in all this? Why didn’t that same couple offer to drive Karim home, even though he had left a few minutes earlier?

Faced with all these questions, once I got home “safe and sound,” I decided to look into the issue of crime in this city—where I’ve been living for nearly 20 years now—a little more closely. After a few clicks, I came across this article from Midi Libre dated January 9th of this year, titled “ Sense of Insecurity in Montpellier: Places Frequently Avoided by Residents, Mostly Women .” Journalist Laurie Zenon bases her report on two surveys conducted in the downtown area of Montpellier 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, you’ve got the program—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

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