User-Centred Affective Interaction Design for Smart Wearables Supporting Women’s Perceived Safety

Perceived safety in public spaces is shaped by emotional, cognitive, social, and environmental factors, presenting a complex HCI design challenge. This study examines how women’s perceived safety varies across environmental contexts and how these experiences can inform context-aware smart wearable garments. A pilot study (n = 20) refined a 31-item questionnaire, followed by a main study of 199 valid respondents. A two-way ANOVA identified significant main effects of Gender and Living Environment on safety concern, with women reporting greater concern than men across Urban, Intra-urban, and Rural settings. PCA identified one dominant environmental-safety component containing three descriptive design factors: fear of physical harm, environmental discomfort, and socially situated risk. A second PCA identified Proactive Personal Safety and Environmental Awareness as priority smart-garment domains. These findings informed three design models and a proof-of-concept prototype linking user perception, environmental sensing, and adaptive feedback.