India is the most dangerous country in which to be a woman, according to a new report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
To compile the ranking, the foundation surveyed 550 experts on women’s issues from around the world, including aid workers, academics, policy experts and NGO staff.
The respondents were asked to name the worst country for women in categories such as healthcare, access to economic resources, cultural practices and sexual violence, as well as the five overall worst countries for female citizens.
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India topped the ranking, rated the worst of all nations for “human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude”, says The Hindustan Times.
The report “cited acid attacks, female genital mutilation, child marriage and physical abuse as some of the most notable dangers facing Indian women”, says Newsweek.
India has been struggling to tackle the country’s sexual violence problem, with pressure increasing amid a high-profile spate of rapes and murders, which have drawn international condemnation and domestic protests.
“Despite the introduction of stricter laws, around 100 sexual assaults are reported to police in the country every day,” says CNN. Many more go unrecorded.
Afghanistan came second, “ranked as the most dangerous country for women in three areas - non-sexual violence, access to healthcare, and access to economic resources,” says Reuters.
The US was the only Western nation to appear a list dominated by developing or war-torn countries.
Although rated highly for safety from human trafficking and access to economic resources, the US ranked poorly in terms of sexual assault and domestic violence - coming joint third with Syria for worst nation for sexual violence and lack of justice in rape cases. Researchers said that the #MeToo revelations probably had an impact on the country’s poor performance.
Here are the ten most dangerous nations to be a woman, according to the Thomson Reuters survey:
- 1. India
- 2. Afghanistan
- 3. Syria
- 4. Somalia
- 5. Saudi Arabia
- 6. Pakistan
- 7. Democratic Republic of Congo
- 8. Yemen
- 9. Nigeria
- 10. United States
