Female's Fear?

Over the weekend, as I rode the train with my sister, I came across a sadly, very viable reason for not interacting with other people, mainly those of the opposite sex. A week or two ago, my school provided my grade with the opportunity to address sexual harassment issues. They gave us a mini seminar on what it means and ways in which it can take form. For those of you who are not that familiar with this topic, sexual harassment is defined as the harassment (typically of a woman) in a workplace, or other professional or social situation, involving the making of unwelcome sexual advances or obscene remarks. Although it has been a constant struggle in our society, lately, I have been noticing a lot of protests against such behavior. Little less than a week ago, Ohio University had a rally protesting rape culture and trying to put forward the idea that women should not be objectified, ever.
So back to how this relates... Riding with my sister, we noticed how women tended to sit away from men. Many who got in alone, gravitated towards seats next to other women rather than men, and some of those who found seats that were not next to other people, put their bags on the empty seat next to them. I also realized that to that point, most of the interviews I had done were of women. Maybe it's a subconscious decision or maybe it is a fully conscious decision, but could it be related to feelings of insecurity?
Before I got off the train, I had the opportunity to speak with a girl, Emma, and ask her if she had a preference when picking her seat–women or men? She told me she would much rather sit next to another girl, preferably young, than a man, and if a man, an older man. I found this interesting. Why did age factor into her preference? She told me that she felt more comfortable next to a girl around her age (teen) because there was a sort of unspoken sense of "yeah, I get you. I wont speak to you unless you want to." I laughed because I related to her thinking... Speaking to people my age just comes easier! Then she told me why she would rather an older man than a youngish guy. She told me, "when I ride the train, I'm just trying to get where I need to go. I don't want to be hit on. I just want to listen to music and see the city pass by and not have to tell a guy to back off. It's uncomfortable. Always. If the guy is older or looks professional, I feel like he wouldn't hit on me because he can tell I'm too young, or realize it isn't appropriate."
I think it is also interesting to notice that the chances of getting cat calls varies in area– it says something about the different cultures and forms of interaction in this city.


EDIT***
You should check this campaign out if this post was interesting to you.
http://chicago.everyblock.com/improvement/oct13-cta-courage-campaign-end-street-harassment-6444462/