Worldwide Status of women

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http://www.b-fair.net/?p=538


Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. Based on country data available , up to 70 per cent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime – the majority by husbands, intimate partners or someone they know. Among women aged between 15 and 44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.  Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, violence against women devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development. It takes many forms and occurs in many places – domestic violence in the home, sexual abuse of girls in schools, sexual harassment at work, rape by husbands or strangers, in refugee camps or as a tactic of war.
Femicide ─ the murder of women because they are women
* In the United States, one-third of women murdered each year are killed by intimate partners.
* In South Africa, a woman is killed every 6 hours by an intimate partner.
* In India, 22 women were killed each day in dowry-related murders in 2007.
* In Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day.
Trafficking
* Women and girls comprise 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually , with the majority (79 percent) trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Harmful practices
* Approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women in the world have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with more than 3 million girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice.
* Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.1 million and Sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million).
Sexual violence against women and girls
* An estimated 150 million girls under 18 suffered some form of sexual violence in 2002 alone.
* As many as 1 in 4 women experience physical and/or sexual violence during pregnancy  which increases the likelihood of having a miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion . Up to 53 percent of women physically abused by their intimate partners are being kicked or punched in the abdomen.
* In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds.
* In Ecuador, adolescent girls reporting sexual violence in school identified teachers as the perpetrator in 37 per cent of cases.
Rape as a method of warfare
* Approximately 250,000 to 500,000 women and girls were raped in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
* In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence, mostly involving women and girls, have been documented since 1996, though the actual numbers are considered to be much higher.
Cost of violence against women
* Domestic violence alone cost approximately US$1.16 billion in Canada  and US$5.8 billion in the United States.  In Australia, violence against women and children costs an estimated US$11.38 billion per year.
Sexual Harassment
 * Between 40 and 50 per cent of women in European Union countries experience unwanted sexual advancements, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at their workplace.
* In the United States, 83 per cent of girls aged 12 to 16 experienced some form of sexual harassment in public schools.
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Facts on Violence Against Women All Over the World
Violence against women has been increasing at an alarming rate. According top UNIFEM, up to six out of every ten women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime around the world. It further maintains that violence against women and girls has far-reaching consequences, harming families and communities. “For women and girls aged 16-44 years old, violence is a major cause of death and disability,” it states.
It is estimated that 49.7% of the world population are women i.e. 3,132,342,000; men comprising of 3,169,122,000 (UN Population Division).
Statistics on Violence Against Women All Over the World
The following are some of the facts of violence meted on women compiled by Amnesty International and Feminist.com from various researches done by individuals and/or organizations all over the world:
* An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or labor (US Central Intelligence Agency, 2000).
* One in five women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime (WHO 1997).
* In USA a woman is raped every 90 seconds (US Department of Justice, 2000).
* Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds (UN Study on the Status of Women, Year 2000).
* Up to 70% of female murder victims are killed by their male partners (WHO 2008).
* In Kenya more than one woman a week was reportedly killed by her male partner while in Zambia, five women a week were murdered by a male partner or family member (Joni Seager, 2003).
* In the Russian Federation 36,000 women are beaten on a daily basis by their husband or partner, according to Russian non-governmental organizations (OMTC, 2003).
* More than 135 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation and an additional 2 million girls and women are at risk each year (6,000 everyday) (A, UN, 2002).
* 82 million girls who are now aged 10 to 17 will be married before their 18th birthday (UNFP).
* In India there are close to 15,000 dowry deaths estimated per year. Mostly they are kitchen knives designed to look like accidents (Injustice Studies, Vol. 1, November 1997).
* 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually.
* An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year (UNICEF).
* A study in Zaria, Nigeria found out that 16 per cent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were younger than five (UNFPA).
Types of Violence Against Women
Violence against women is manifested through physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse. Below are the two common types of abuse meted on women.
Physical Abuse

This is the most widespread mode of violence meted on women. It includes slapping, hitting, kicking and beating. Often, the violent person is husband, ex-husband, boyfriend and ex-boyfriend. According to Population Reports, in nearly 50 population-based surveys 10% to over 50% of women report being hit or otherwise physically harmed by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. It maintains that most women who suffer any physical aggression generally experience multiple acts over time.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can be meted on women either through verbal, visual or when forced to engage in sex. According to Population Reports, sexual abuse can lead to a wide variety of unhealthy consequences including behavioral and psychological problems, sexual dysfunction, relationship problems, low self-esteem, depression, thoughts of suicide, alcohol, substance abuse and risk-taking.
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Gender and girls’ education
* Over 110 million of the world’s children, two thirds of them girls, are not in school.
* Of the world’s 875 million illiterate adults, two thirds are women.
* During the 1990s, gender parity in primary school enrolment improved in all regions world-wide and in nearly two thirds of the countries with available data. UNICEF is supporting 25 countries to accelerate progress towards achieving gender parity in primary school enrolment by 2005.
* Half of the girls who live in developing countries (excluding China) will be married by their 20th birthday. Increasing girls’ time in school is one of the best ways to foster later, chosen marriage.
Gender and violence against women and girls and child protection issues
* Data shows that at least one in every three woman is a survivor of some form of gender-based violence, most often by some one in her own family. [1999 Johns Hopkins global report]
* Girls between 13 and 18 years of age constitute the largest group in the sex industry. It is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18 are victims of trafficking each year.
* Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects l30 million girls and women globally and places 2 million at risk annually. The prevalence of FGM remained stable at levels above 90 per cent in many countries during the last decade, with little improvement over the years.
* UNICEF supports strengthening knowledge and understanding of gender violence and abuse in many countries and addresses the need for reform of legal systems and policies.
* In some cultures the preference for boy children results in pre-natal sex selection and infanticide of girls. In India, for example, there are 933 Indian women for every l,000 men, resulting in 40 million ‘missing’ women.
Gender and the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and other health issues
1,400 women die every day from pregnancy-related causes, 99 per cent of them in developing countries.
* In Sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has a one in three chance of dying in child birth. In industrialized countries, the risk is 1 in 4,085.
* Direct obstetric deaths account for about 75 per cent of all maternal deaths in developing countries.
* UNICEF currently supports emergency obstetric care in the 12 countries with the highest MMR.
Emergencies
* More than 80 per cent of the world’s 35 million refugees and displaced people are women and children.
* Emergencies puts women at risk of extreme sexual violence and abuse. In Rwanda, for example, 2,000 women, many of whom were survivors of rape, tested positive for HIV during the five years following the 1994 genocide.
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