Honestly I think the current situation probably needs more unpacking before moving onto other points. It's understandable that many men are indignant that women are saying they'd rather run into a bear, but it brings to the forefront that - for women - random strange men are considered less safe to be around than a large wild animal.
The reasoning can generally be boiled down to the possibility of premeditated violence. The majority of men don't pose a threat, but those that do pose so much of a threat that women are given pause about men as a whole.