St. John and the British Virgin Islands have a low crime rate, while St. Thomas and St. Croix have the highest crime rate against women in the archipelago. However, you are far safer in the Virgin Islands than you would be walking the streets of any major U.S. city. Some of the local men (those who have not had sensitivity training) still regard a single woman as an object to hassle with unwanted attention, but such encounters happen in the Virgin Islands no more often than in most urban U.S. areas. Follow the usual precautions that you'd follow in any major U.S. city.
Check out the award-winning website Journeywoman (www.journeywoman.com), a "real life" women's travel-information network where you can sign up for a free e-mail newsletter and get advice on everything from etiquette and dress to safety. The travel guide Safety and Security for Women Who Travel by Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer (Travelers' Tales Guides), offering common-sense tips on safe travel, was updated in 2004.
