Women are Overreacting: The Situation is Not That Bad

By: Felipe Ochoa Magrovejo

“Women are overreacting: the situation is not that bad.”

If you think this is an accurate statement, please find your country and think again:

(This list is of countries that IBEI students come from)

Afghanistan: 33% of women between 20-24 were married under the age of 18. The country is placed in the 154^th position in the Gender Inequality Index Rank [1].

Argentina: 27% of women earn less than men in the same job position. Argentinian women have 19 times less probability to have a promotion. 290 women were killed by their partners or ex-partners in 2016, 1,34% more than in 2015.[2] The country occupies the 77^th position in the GIR and the 33^rd position in the Global Gender Gap Index.

Austria: At the age of 15, at least 20% of the Austrian women have suffered from physical or sexual violence[3]. Women in Austria are payed 23% less than men in the same job position and just 65% of all women are enrolled in full-time jobs[4].

Belarus: One out four women in Belarus have experienced physical abuse in 2016. Domestic violence cases reported reached 1.598 in the first seven months of 2016[5].

Belgium (and France): It was estimated that 98% of women have been victims of sexual behavior in the streets or public transportation, 94% in public sphere and 94% at work. 19% of the survey sample felt guilt after the aggression[6].

Brazil: In 2016, a 16-year-old woman was mass raped by 33 men, the aggression was filmed and exposed on social media. In 2014, one women was raped every 11 minutes in Brazil, only taking into account the reported assaults which are estimated as 10% of all cases[7].

Canada: Between 2000 and 2014 the percentage of self-reported cases of sexual assault in Canada still remains the same: 35% of the totality of violent crimes. Out of every 100 cases of sexual violence, 6% is reported to the Canadian Officers. 15% of them were committed against girls under 16 and 57% against aboriginal women[8].

Chile: From a poll developed to 419 companies, just 8% of them have a woman as an executive manager[9]. At state level, 16% of the high-level positions are occupied by women[10].

China: It was reported that a woman from eastern China died after four abortions. She was under her husband’s pressure to conceive a boy[11]. In a poll launched by the UN, one out of five men stated they have committed rape at least once, 2% admitted to have participated in gang rapes and 44% have been engaged in physical violence against an intimate partner[12].

Colombia: More than 50% of displaced population from the armed conflict were women[13]. In the first six months of 2017, 6000 women reported threats, half of them came from intimate partners, 30% of ex-partners and 10% of husbands or boyfriends. Near 400 women were killed in the same period[14].

Croatia: 17% of women have experienced rape or an attempted rape. Just 5% of those cases were reported[15]. If a woman suffered from domestic violence, the law does not guarantee protection of the victim if she has not children with the perpetrator or have lived with him at least 3 years[16].

Czech Republic: 32% of women experienced different forms of violence in their lifetimes. 7% were victim of sexual violence from an intimate partner and 4% from a stranger.[17]

Denmark: 52% of Danish women have reported sexual abuse cases committed by a partner, ex-partner or strangers. Denmark is the country with the highest proportion of sexual violence reports in Europe[18].

Photo credit: << Monk >> on VisualHunt /CC BY-NC-SA

Ecuador: 17.448 women under 14-years-old gave birth between 2009 and 2016, most of them victims of rape[19]. One woman was killed every four days in 2017[20]. Eight out of ten women have suffered a form of violence at least once in their lifetimes.

Egypt: A UN report of 2013 showed that 99.3% of women experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lives[21]. Egyptian Official data reported 20.000 rapes in 2008, activists stated that is ten times higher and the numbers are not decreasing[22]. In the Gender Inequality Index, Egypt occupies the 135^th position.

France (and Belgium): It was estimated that 98% of women have been victims of sexual behavior in the streets or public transportation, 94% in public sphere and 94% at work. 19% of the survey sample felt guilt after the aggression[23].

Germany: From the mass assaults committed on New Year’s Eve 2016, only 80 cases were reported, involving around 1000 men[24]. If considering the taking care of relatives, although women work 50% more than men, they are paid 50% less[25].

Greece: It is one of the three countries with the lowest rank on gender equality in the European Union[26]. One out of four people in Greece know a female victim of domestic violence and 25% of women have been physical or sexually assaulted[27].

Iceland: Even though it is the most egalitarian country in the world, women are paid 13% less than men[28].

India: One child experiences sexual violence every 15 minutes in India and more than 50% of these are women[29]. 47% of Indian women believe that a husband is justified to beat his wife for different reasons (e.g. refuse to have sex, not telling when going out, etc.)[30].

Israel: 28% of the parliamentarians in the Knesset are women. Even though women have more years of studies than men, just one out of five teachers are female[31].

Italy: More than half of working-age women are unemployed. 62% of a women’s work day is unpaid. 121 women were murdered in 2017 and more than 4.000 cases of sexual violence were reported.[32]

Kazakhstan: In 2016, one third of all murders were perpetrated within the family. As a consequence of domestic violence, 36 women were killed and 742 committed suicide.[33]

Kenya: It is estimated that just 1 out of 20 cases of rape is reported in Kenya. The total estimation of rapes reached 40.000 just in 2007. NGOs state the number is currently higher[34].

Luxembourg: Even though the country occupies the 13^th position in the Global Inequality Index and the 34^th position in the Global Gender Gap, 22% of women experienced physical and/or sexual violence of an intimate partner[35].

Mexico: 2.746 women were murdered in Mexico in 2016, seven each day[36]. 7 out of 10 Mexican women have experienced some kind of violence in their lifetime[37]. 80% of indigenous women suffered from moderate or extreme shortages[38].

Netherlands: In 2017, the Netherlands dropped 16 places thus lowering to the 32^nd position in the Gender Gap Index. Even though in educational equality, it occupies the first position -share with other 27 countries-, in the economic participation and opportunity Netherlands are in the 82^nd position.[39]

Nigeria: In 2011, one woman was brutally raped by five men who recorded the act and shared the video through the Abia State University’s campus. In 2017, the same happened in Adeyemi College of Education. In one study held in 2013, 32% of women in Ebonyi State University have been raped and 75% experienced other kinds of non-consented sexual contact[40].

Norway: Even though it is the 8^th most egalitarian country in the world, Norwegian women are payed 86% of a men’s wage. In addition, more women have part-time jobs, 34% compared to 14% of men.[41]

Philippines: One woman or child is sexually abused in the Philippines each hour, just in 2016 more than 7.000 rapes were reported nationwide[42]. This country occupies the 10^th position in the Global Gender Gap Index. However, just 53% of women were enrolled in the labor force compared to 81% of men.

Poland: From 2013 to 2014, rape reported cases rose 38%.[43] Even though Poland has relatively low rate of violence against women in the European Union, the statistics show that at least 13% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence[44].

Portugal: 61.3% women consider themselves as victims of sexual harassment in public spaces[45]. 19% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner[46].

Romania: The European Court for Human Rights has fined the country after a Romanian court rejected a suit filed by a woman against her husband for attacking her eight times. Official statistics said that 60% of Romanian women justified domestic violence[47]. 800 women deaths were related to domestic violence between 2004 and 2011[48].

Russia: According to official data from the Interior Ministry, 14.000 women are being killed in domestic violence contexts. NGOs say the number could be higher because domestic violence is rarely reported[49]. The Russian Federation occupies the 75^th position in the Global Gender Gap Index.

Slovakia: 23% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes. Slovakia occupies the 77^th position in the Gender Index Gap.[50]

Photo credit: lrubilar on Visual Hunt /CC BY-NC-SA

Slovenia: This country obtained the highest points on the European statistics on gender equality. However, women are still more at risk to high poverty (15%), unemployment (13%) and labor disparities among chief executives (5%)[51]. In addition, 13% of women still experience physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetimes[52].

Spain: With the accuracy that sexual assault is rarely informed, women report rape every eight hours in Spain. At least 1.5 million women have been victims of sexual violence until 2015[53]. In 2017, 5 men that raped a woman in San Fermin celebrations hired a detective to demonstrate she was not a victim because she seemed to be happy in her social networks and daily life[54].

Sweden: 7.230 rape cases were reported in 2017, 10% higher than 2016. Cases of sexual molestation also had a rise of 3% reaching the number of 10.800. CITA

Switzerland: 3 out of ten Swiss chief executives are women. In 2014, women were payed 20% less than men in the private sector and 17% less in public spheres.[55]

Turkey: four out of ten Turkish women experienced physical/sexual violence from their intimate partners[56]. In 2015, 303 women were murdered by their partners and in January of this year at least 25 women were raped[57].

Ukraine: 1.85 million women experience domestic violence each year, but just a few cases are reported to the Officers -127.000 in 2016-[58]. From 2010 to 2016, it is estimated that approximately 420.000 women were kidnapped for human trafficking issues outside the country[59].

United Kingdom: Between 2003 and 2017, 284.000 rape offences were reported to the Officers, 41.000 cases in 2017 only[60]. 80% of United Kindgom’s cases of sexual violence are not prosecuted[61].

United States: More than 1.600 women were murdered by an intimate partner in 2015, most of the cases were perpetrated with firearms[62]. Every 98 seconds, a US citizen is victim of sexual assault, more than 80% of the cases are women[63].

Venezuela: In 2016, four out of ten women experienced physical violence in Venezuela. In the same year, 336 girls and women were murdered. It is estimated that at least half of Venezuelan female population has been victim of gender violence at least once a lifetime[64].

Vietnam: 11% of girls under 18 are married in Vietnam. From 2006 to 2014, the cases of child marriage doubled[65].

I invite everyone to do an exercise. 61% (83 individuals) of IBEI’s students are women. Choose your country and apply the statistics to them. I shall begin: If my female colleagues were Ecuadorian, at least 62 of them will experience violence once in their lifetimes. What are your results?

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/283100/recorded-rape-offences-in-england-and-wales-uk-y-on-y/

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/13/reported-rapes-in-england-and-wales-double-in-five-years

[3] Reporte del Centro de Política de Violencia (VPC, por su sigla en inglés) http://www.aztecaamerica.com/notas/noticias/268166/violencia-de-genero-mata-a-1-600-mujeres-en-estados-unidos

[4] https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

[5]Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) recuperado de: https://www.vpitv.com/venezuela/conoce-las-cifras-de-violencia-contra-la-mujer-en-venezuela-a-proposito-del-dia-internacional-contra-la-violencia-de-genero/

[6] https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/vietnam/

SOURCES:

[1] http://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/countries/asia/afghanistan#3

[2] https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/03/08/argentina/1488984429_876545.html

[3] European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2014). Violence against women: an EU-wide survey — Main results, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

[4] 2016 PwC Women in Work Index

[5] https://belarusdigest.com/story/iamnotafraidtosayit-belarusian-women-speak-out-against-sexual-violence/

[6] http://jump.eu.com/sexism-fuels-violence-women/#a1

[7] https://ahackinlondon.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/brazils-rape-culture-in-numbers/

[8] https://www.sexassault.ca/statistics.htm

[9] http://www.uc.cl/component/content/article/27076-estudio-revela-panorama-de-las-mujeres-en-altos-cargos

[10] https://www.publimetro.cl/cl/noticias/2017/03/08/apenas-16-mujeres-ostenta-altos-cargos-tres-poderes.html

[11] http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2103073/chinese-woman-dies-after-four-abortions-year-trying-boy

[12] http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/25/china-refuses-to-admit-it-has-a-rape-problem-i-would-know/

[13] https://aiu.edu/publications/student/spanish/180-207/Mujeres%20Colombianas%20Refugiadas%20en%20el%20Ecuador.html

[14] http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-pais/feminicidio-colombia-deja-399-mujeres-asesinadas-primer-semestre-del-ano

[15] http://www.europeanyoungfeminists.eu/2015/11/13/sexual-violence-in-croatia/