A survey by the Thomas Reuters Foundation has revealed that India has been ranked as the world’s most dangerous country for women, with the US following at the third spot.
Bypassing war-torn Afghanistan and Syria, the rank places India at a tight spot because of an increased risk of sexual violence and forcible slave labor. Government data has revealed that four cases are reported each hour, with crime against women rising upto 83% between 2007-2016.
Reuters reported that in a poll of 550 experts, the US was jointly ranked third when the respondents were inquired about where women were at most risk for sexual violence, being coerced into sex and harrassment. The poll was a repeat of a 2011 survey that saw Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for women. Respondents put India in the first rank in terms of human trafficking, sex slavery, domestic servitude, and for traditional practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.
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The questions asked ranged across economic resources, healthcare, cultural or traditional practices,non-sexual violence and human trafficking and sexual harrassment and violence.
A Karnataka government official, Manjunath Gangadhara quoted in the report, “India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women … rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated. The (world’s) fastest growing economy and leader in space and technology is shamed for violence committed against women.”
Reuters has also reported that the Ministry of Women and Child Development has declined to comment.
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