Area differences in crime, victimisation and fear of crime have repeatedly been shown to co-vary with structural characteristics such as economic disadvantage, ethnic heterogeneity and residential instability, as well as with social cohesion processes in the community. Since 1997 ‘collective efficacy’, as a macro-social process, has been studied extensively in sociological and criminological research. Studies in the United States have shown that high levels of collective efficacy predict low levels of crime, victimisation and fear of crime. Research has also shown that fear of crime impedes individuals from engaging in everyday activities, women in particular, such as going by bus and visiting restaurants. This study analysed data from the 1998 Malmö Fear of Crime Survey. We combined official data on neighbourhood socio-economic structure with survey data in order to investigate whether there are unique effects of neighbourhood disadvantage, disorder, and collective efficacy on neighbourhood differences in avoidance behaviour, controlling for individual level demographic background characteristics. Results show substantive differences between neighbourhoods with regard to the number of people avoiding to engage in activities that are related to avoiding victimisation. The support for unique neighbourhood effects was however modest and results indicate that the area differences can be explained by area differences in composition, i.e. individual differences in vulnerability.