The United States (US) was named as the only Western nation among the 10 most dangerous countries for women on Tuesday, in a survey of global experts issued by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The survey asked about 550 experts on women’s issues. The countries were ranked according to six key areas, which were healthcare, sexual violence, nonsexual violence, cultural practices, discrimination, and human trafficking.
Nine of the 10 most dangerous nations were in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, while the only Western nation was the US.
The foundation said that this was directly related to the #MeToo movement that revealed a flood of complaints about sexual harassment and assault involving high-profile figures in 2017.
The #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment went viral last October, when Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women dating back decades.
#MeToo allowed hundreds of women to reveal that they had been sexually harassed in any country in the world and became a platform and international conversation, where women and girls now feel safe talking about the harassment and violence they have been subjected to.
According to the report accompanying the survey, the US was ranked third in terms of danger of sexual violence, tied with Syria, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, when respondents were asked where women were at most risk of sexual violence, harassment, and coercion into sex.
On the other hand, the US is ranked sixth in nonsexual violence, such as domestic and mental abuse.
Meanwhile, Syria is now in the seventh year of its catastrophic civil war, thus leading it to being ranked third overall regarding nonsexual violence, including conflict-related violence and forms of domestic physical and mental abuse.
America did not rank in the top 10 worst countries for human trafficking, healthcare, discrimination, or dangers associated with cultural traditions.
However, what landed it in the top 10 most dangerous countries list was how it poorly fared in terms of sexual and nonsexual violence.
Noteworthy, that the foundation issued a similar survey seven years ago, featuring the five most dangerous countries for women. The five nations were featured again in the 2018 report, which were Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia.
According to the 2018 report, India was ranked first in terms of danger this year, followed by Afghanistan, then Syria and Somalia.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia came in fifth place, followed by Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, and Nigeria.
The list was completed by the US in the 10th spot.
“World leaders vowed three years ago to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls by 2030, allowing them to live freely and safely, to participate equally in political, economic, and public life,” Reuters noted.
But despite that pledge, it is estimated that one in three women globally experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime.”
