Media exposure and threat of victimization of MTR sex-related crimes among Hong Kong women

Abstract

Although Hong Kong is regarded as one of the safest cities in the world, sex-related crimes in MTR has been more prevalent in recent years. Noteworthy, media is the main source for people getting access to crime information. Applying the new concept of "threat of victimization", this quantitative research investigates the relationship between media exposure and threat of victimization of sex-related crimes in Hong Kong MTR, which is constructed from cultivation theory, through distributing questionnaires to 312 female participants, who are 18-29 year-old and at least achieve territory education level. In addition, the mediating impacts of perceived informativeness and affectivity are tested. Results partially support the cultivation thesis that threat of victimization is predicted by media exposure. Nevertheless, the proposed correlation of media exposure and threat of victimization is completely mediated after considering the two variables respectively. Moreover, it is discovered that those often travel by MTR under crowded situations have higher threat of victimization, whereas confidence in officials is unrelated to threat of victimization. Further studies on the related issues with more considerations of research orientation are recommended.