People give me heat when I mention that this notion that women can go anywhere and do anything they want at anytime just like men do (often stupidly) is dangerous to women.
I don’t say it because I disrespect women or don’t think they are capable, but because men are almost always going to be able to outmuscle a woman, especially if they assault her by surprise. It is a simple fact of life.
And there are many people who think taking a self defense course like the kind they give at a community college is going to help them...and it is possible, it might. Conceal carry would be even better, but either way, why put yourself in that position as a woman?
I think that having to choose to avoid dangerous situations would threaten some deeply-held belief. As you observe, men also do stupid things with a high probability of a bad outcome. However, since they are usually (a) stronger than women and (b) not sexually targeted by men, the bad outcome of sexual assault is far less common.