There is one very fair point about “blaming the victim”, as abhorrent as that sounds on its face. (After all, victims don’t choose to become victims. They don’t generally “invite” attacks in any explicit sense. They don’t want to be hurt or victimized.) @Coloma touched on it and addressed it somewhat indirectly.
That point is that it is vital to continually monitor and review one’s circumstances and living arrangements for changes in the situation and to change one’s own behavior or situation accordingly. That sounds simplistic, and maybe for most of us it is: who actively reviews crime statistics for their area? Who decides to move, maybe even to change employment, just because of a perception – however strongly felt – that something has changed to an intolerable degree? (Consider the number of people who outright promised that they would leave the country outright if the current President were elected. How many have actually followed through?)
To illustrate: Years ago, in my current neighborhood, I never used to lock my car doors when I left the car in the driveway during the day. It’s much more convenient, if I’m going to be using the car or even just getting something out of it later in the day, to simply leave it unlocked, and then just lock it at night before I go to bed. And the neighborhood was perfectly safe; nothing ever happens here. Same with the house. During the day while I was at home the door was always unlocked. About eight years ago my car was entered in the daytime while I was at home napping one afternoon – with the door to the house unlocked, as well! – and some property was stolen. I don’t blame myself for the theft, but I have changed my ways: I lock the car and the house all of the time now. If I leave the driveway, then the car is locked. If I pass through the kitchen, then the house is locked (sometimes even if I’m going to be staying in the kitchen).
Recently I learned that one of my neighbors had his car stolen while he was warming it up in the driveway last winter. Now I’m considering whether – because of that fact – it might actually be time to sell out and move on. I didn’t have to endure a theft or loss (and I will definitely never let the car warm up in the driveway on a cold day!), but I do have to pay attention to what’s going on and consider my actions in response.
New York City has been on another of its periodic downward spirals. I won’t get into the political reasons for that, though that’s certainly worth another discussion elsewhere – and is discussed elsewhere at great length . Some neighborhoods will be more susceptible to crime than others, and some residents more frequently targeted. Again, this is not blaming the victims, but stating facts that should be perfectly obvious.
Those potential victims have to look out for the changes, be alert to them, and make changes in their own behaviors to account for the increased risk, threat and unpleasantness. It might help to be more active in politics in ways that could have long-term positive effects, but that doesn’t help much on a day-to-day basis.
“Moving away” is simply the easiest suggestion to make to avoid these kinds of problems in a deteriorating environment, but that’s not at all the only response. Others are to travel in groups or with a bodyguard, to travel at times of the day or night that avoid loiterers (although there may be a risk of worse criminals at other times, and that has to be recognized, too), to travel with explicit, improvised or implied weapons, whether that’s strictly legal or not for the jurisdiction, to change the travel routes, to befriend the harassers (it’s an actual technique that might work for some people), or even to be a more vicious predator than the attacker / harasser (or to appear to be).
The point is that if crime and harassment victims don’t even notice the environment that they’re in until it’s “too late” – then they will be victims of the crimes that inevitably occur. Maybe we can’t “blame them” for the crime, but we can judge that they did not pay sufficient attention to the changes that were occurring, and because of that did not even know about or attempt coping strategies. If they know of the changes around themselves, as @LeavesNoTrace has expressed she does know, but refuse to take any action at all, whether out of pride, stubbornness, inconvenience or perceived cost, then they will still be victims… as a result of choices that they have made.
Ultimately, we are all responsible for whatever situation we find ourselves in, even if that seems unfair or uncomfortable.