According to a poll conducted by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, the United States is the 1oth most dangerous place for women.
The poll released this Tuesday surveyed 548 experts and strongly reinforces the urgency of anti-harassment and sexual abuse campaigns such as the #MeToo movement. The U.S. is the only Western Democracy on the list’s top 1o.
The war-torn countries of Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the survey, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.
The poll was a repeat of a survey from 2011 where experts saw Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for women.
The survey asked respondents which five of the 193 United Nations member states they thought were most dangerous for women and which country was worst in terms of healthcare, economic resources, cultural or traditional practices, sexual violence and harassment, non-sexual violence and human trafficking.
According to those polled, the U.S. was tied for third with Syria regarding risks of sexual violence, harassment, sexual coercion and a lack of recourse for women when it comes to rape.
The poll did invite skepticism, however. Journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh tweeted that the notion of Syria being “more safe” for women than India is problematic.
The Thompson Reuters Foundation poll is based on the perception of over 500 "experts" & not on the perception of common women in India. How can Syria, where ISIS jihadis held women captive as sex slaves, be more safe for women? Why is Indian media buying statistical gibberish? https://t.co/xUZ99LgtNb
— Aarti Tikoo (@AartiTikoo) June 26, 2018
Commentary Magazine‘s Noah Rothman called the survey’s results a “lie.”
“The ‘experts’ surveyed by Thompson Reuters wanted to make a statement about American culture… And they convinced themselves that, in order to popularize that greater truth, they had to lie.”
“People want to think income means you’re protected from misogyny, and sadly that’s not the case,” Cindy Southworth, executive vice president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, told Thomson Reuters.
“We are going to look back and see this as a very powerful tipping point. … We’re blowing the lid off and saying ‘#Metoo and Time’s Up,’” she added.
The poll was conducted between March 26 and May 4 with an even spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific.
Those polled included aid professionals, academics, healthcare staff, non-government organization workers, policy-makers, development specialists and social commentators, according to Thompson Reuters.
Featured image via Flickr
