Here are the 10 most dangerous countries for women! Where does Turkey rank?

Kübra KARASU-12punto.com.tr

According to the 2023/24 Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index data, Turkey ranked 99th out of 177 countries regarding women's safety.

In 2018, the London-based Thomson Reuters Foundation asked 550 experts which of the 193 United Nations (UN) member countries they considered the most dangerous for women.

The 2023 edition of the Women, Peace, and Security Index (WPS Index) scored and ranked 177 countries based on women's inclusion, justice, and security.

Compared to 30 other countries in the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, Turkey ranked last among these countries in the categories of education and women's perception of community safety.

AFGHAN AND IRAQI CITIZENS ARE THE TOP IMMIGRANTS TO TURKEY

According to the index, Afghanistan and Iraq have maintained their positions in the top ten lowest-ranked countries for four years, while according to TurkStat's International Migration Statistics, Afghan and Iraqi citizens were among the top five countries of origin for the foreign-born population arriving in Turkey in 2022.

MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES FOR WOMEN ACCORDING TO 2023 DATA

According to the index, the ranking of the lowest-ranked countries is as follows:

177. Afghanistan

176. Yemen

175. Central African Republic

174. Democratic Republic of the Congo

173. South Sudan

172. Burundi

171. Syrian Arab Republic

170. Eswatini

169. Somalia

168. Iraq

The highest-ranked countries are as follows:

1. Denmark

2. Switzerland

3. Sweden

4. Finland

5. Luxembourg

6. Iceland

7. Norway

8. Austria

9. Netherlands

10. New Zealand

PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN TURKEY

According to the research results, no country performed perfectly on the WPS Index. The results revealed significant differences between countries, regions, and indicators.

Turkey ranked as follows in the 4-year report of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index:

105th out of 152 countries in the 2017/18 report

114th out of 167 countries in the 2019/20 report

106th out of 170 countries in the 2021/22 report

99th out of 177 countries in the 2023/24 report

INDIA RANKS FIRST

Key points from the Thomson Reuters Foundation study conducted with 550 experts are as follows:

The research revealed that India is the most dangerous country in the world for women. India was followed by Afghanistan and Syria.

The criteria for the research included 'access to healthcare and economic resources, sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, and human trafficking.'

In a similar study conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2011, the most dangerous countries for women were, in order, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia.

The 10 worst countries to be a woman were ranked as follows:

1. India

2. Afghanistan

3. Syria

4. Somalia

5. Saudi Arabia

6. Pakistan

7. Democratic Republic of the Congo

8. Yemen

9. Nigeria

10. USA

GENERAL DIFFERENCES IN THE THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION 2018 REPORT

According to the research conducted between March 26 and May 4, the reasons why these countries are on the list of 'the world's most dangerous countries for women' are as follows:

1. INDIA - India, where rape, abuse, and daily harassment are normalized across the country, appears in research as one of the most dangerous places in the world for women. Women being subjected to sexual violence, harassment, cultural and traditional practices, forced labor, sex slavery, domestic servitude, and human trafficking also affects this ranking. Although protests and calls for change began after a female student was raped and died on a bus in Delhi in 2012, there has been no significant improvement for women.

THIRD IN ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

2. AFGHANISTAN - Experts placed Afghanistan in second place, stating that women face serious problems nearly 17 years after the Taliban was ousted. After the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, being a woman in Afghanistan is almost like a crime. Afghanistan was chosen as the third most dangerous country in terms of non-sexual violence, access to healthcare, and access to economic resources.

THIRD PLACE ALONGSIDE THE USA

3. SYRIA – In the twelfth year of the war, it is the third most dangerous country for women in terms of conflict-related violence, as well as domestic abuse, access to healthcare, violence against women, sexual assault, and child marriage. It shares third place with the USA regarding the risk of women being subjected to sexual abuse.

THIRD COUNTRY IN SUBJECTING WOMEN TO TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

4. SOMALIA - The fourth country to be dragged into conflict since 1991. It is the third most dangerous country for women in terms of access to healthcare and subjecting them to harmful cultural and traditional practices. It was named the fifth worst country in terms of women's access to economic resources.

SECOND MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY IN TERMS OF DISCRIMINATION

5. SAUDI ARABIA - The reason Saudi Arabia, considered one of the world's wealthiest countries, is on the list is that women live under male guardianship. Overall, it is fifth, but the conservative kingdom was chosen as the second most dangerous country for women in terms of economic access and discrimination, including workplace and property rights. It is fifth in terms of risks arising from cultural and religious practices for women.

FOURTH WORST COUNTRY IN ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND DISCRIMINATION

6. PAKISTAN - It is the sixth most dangerous and fourth worst in terms of economic resources and discrimination, and also has risks arising from cultural, religious, and traditional practices for women, including honor killings. Pakistan ranked fifth in non-sexual violence, including domestic abuse.

SECOND MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY IN TERMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

7. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO - It ranked seventh following a United Nations warning that millions of people are facing "hellish living conditions" after years of factional bloodshed and lawlessness. It is the second most dangerous country for women in terms of sexual violence and ranked between seventh and ninth in the other four questions.

MOST URGENT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

8. YEMEN - It ranks eighth on the list following poor rankings in access to healthcare, economic resources, risks from cultural and traditional practices, and non-sexual violence. Yemen is still struggling with the effects of the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis, with 31 million people in need of vital aid.

FOURTH MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY ALONGSIDE RUSSIA IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING

9. NIGERIA - It ranked ninth in a list where human rights groups have accused the country's military of torturing, raping, and killing civilians during its fight against Boko Haram militants. Nigeria was chosen as the fourth most dangerous country alongside Russia in human trafficking. It ranked sixth worst in the ranking of risks women face due to traditional practices.

THE ONLY WESTERN COUNTRY IN THE TOP 10

10. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - It is the only Western country in the top 10 in terms of risks women face regarding sexual violence, including rape, sexual harassment, coercion into sex, and lack of access to justice in rape cases, and it shares third place with Syria. The survey came after the #MeToo campaign, where thousands of women used social media to share stories of sexual harassment or abuse, went viral.

News Source: Kübra Karasu