Statistics

WHY WE FOCUS ON WOMEN - THE PROOF

Statistics are a powerful and shocking tool for grasping the scale of the denial of women’s human rights, and the extent to which so many women are expected to be 'seen and not heard'.

Violence against women

Violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15-44 than war, cancer, malaria or traffic accidents (World Bank Study World Development Report: Investing in Health, New York, Oxford University Press, 1993.)

It is estimated that one in every five women faces some form of violence during her lifetime, in some cases leading to serious injury or death (WHO report, p. 2)

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her (General Assembly. In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women: Report of the Secretary General, 2006. A/61/122/Add.1. 6 July 2006)

‘One out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused’

54% of UK rapes are committed by a woman’s current or former partner. (Walby, Sylvia and Allen, Jonathan (2004) Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey (London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate)

In the majority of incidents of domestic violence in 2007/8 the victims were women 85% (Home Office Report: Crime in England and Wales 2007/2008)

Female victims are more likely to be killed by someone they know: in 2007/8, 73% of female victims knew the main or only suspect at the time of the offence. Of these female victims, 48% were killed by their partner, ex-partner or lover. By comparison, 48% of male victims knew the main or only suspect. Of these male victims, 13% were killed by their partner, ex-partner or lover (Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08)

‘One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape’

It is estimated that worldwide, one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime (Referred to by Mara Jos Alcal. State of World Population 2005. The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals. UNFPA. 2005. 65).
The victims in today’s armed conflicts are far more likely to be civilians than soldiers. Some 70% of the casualties in recent conflicts have been non-combatants most of them women and children. Women’s bodies have become part of the battleground for those who use terror as a tactic of war. In Rwanda, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide. The numbers were as high as 60,000 in the war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Equally, in Sierra Leone, the number of incidents of war-related sexual violence among internally displaced women from 1991 to 2001 was as high as 64,000 (Vlachova, Biason (eds). Women in an Insecure World. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. 2005.)

In Rwanda, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide. The numbers were as high as 60,000 in the war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Equally, in Sierra Leone, the number of incidents of war-related sexual violence among internally displaced women from 1991 to 2001 was as high as 64,000 [Vlachova, Biason (editors). Women in an Insecure World. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. 2005]. Download short film and order free copies of books here.

Estimates of the number of trafficked persons range from 500,000 to two million per year, and a few organisations have estimated that up to four million persons are trafficked every year. Although women, men, girls and boys can become victims of trafficking, the majority of victims are female (Referred to by Mara Jos Alcal et al. State of World Population 2006. A Passage to Hope. Women and International Migration. UNFPA. 2006. Download the report here.

Trafficking is often connected to organised crime and has developed into a highly profitable business that generates an estimated US$7-12 billion per year (Referred to by Mara Jos Alcal et al. State of World Population 2006. A Passage to Hope. Women and International Migration. UNFPA. 2006]

You can find more statistics relating to violence against women below.

Women at home

For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2002, Recommendation 1582 (2002) on Domestic Violence against Women)

‘71% of women in rural Ethiopia have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by intimate partners’

Out of 10 countries surveyed in a 2005 study by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of women in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Tanzania reported having been subjected to physical or sexual violence by intimate partners, with figures reaching a staggering 71% in rural Ethiopia. Only in one country (Japan) did less than 20% of women report incidents of domestic violence [Garca-Moreno et al. 2005. WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses, Geneva: WHO]

Women’s health

Worldwide, 17.7 million women are HIV-positive, more than ever before. In sub-Saharan Africa, they make up 61% of all people living with HIV. (DFID, HIV and AIDS Factsheet, May 2009)

Over half of new HIV infections worldwide are occurring among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and more than 60% of HIV-positive youth in this age bracket are female (UNIFEM Facts and Figures 2009 HIV/AIDS and Violence)

A study conducted in Tanzania in 2001 found that HIV-positive women were over 2.5 times more likely to have experienced violence at the hands of their current partner than other women; in addition, young women generally know significantly less about HIV and AIDS than their male counterparts (Maman, S., Mbwambo, J., Hogan M., Kilonzo, G., Sweat, M. and Weiss, E. (2001). HIV and Partner Violence: Implications for HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Programs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. New York: The Population Council Inc. 30).

Young women are particularly vulnerable to coerced sex and are increasingly being infected with HIV and AIDS. Over half of new HIV infections worldwide are occurring among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and more than 60% of HIV-positive youth in this age bracket are female (UNIFEM Facts and Figures HIV/AIDS and Violence).

Just one third of all births in the poorest countries involve skilled health personnel [United Nations Population Fund, 81 Maternal mortality figures show limited progress in making motherhood safer, October 2007. (accessed 30/01/08).)

99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries, with women continuing to die of pregnancy-related causes at the rate of one a minute. [United Nations Population Fund, Maternal mortality figures show limited progress in making motherhood safer, October 2007. (accessed 30/01/08)]

‘In developing countries, a woman dies of pregnancy-related causes every minute’

Every year, 536,000 women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks following delivery. Almost all of these deaths (99%) occur in developing countries (UN Millenium Goals, p. 26)

Every day, around 1,500 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth (UNICEF, 2009 ‘The State of the World’s Children: Maternal and Newborn Health)

The plight of girls

In Pakistan and India, a girl has a 30-50% higher chance of dying than a boy between the age of one and five. (Fikree, F. ‘The role of gender in health disparity: the South Asian context’, British Medical Journal, 2004; 328:823-826 (3 April), (accessed 2/2/08).)

It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries, and two million girls a year are at risk of mutilation (Referred to by General Assembly. In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women: Report of the Secretary-General, 2006. A/61/122/Add.1. 6 July 2006. 39).

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual worldwide number of ‘honour killing’ victims may be as high as 5000 women (UNFPA. 2000. The State of the World Population).

It is not only in Islamic countries or communities that ‘honour killings’ are prevalent. Brazil is cited as a case in point, where killing is justified to defend the honour of the husband in the case of a wife’s adultery (Radhika Coomaraswamy. Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence against Women. Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women. E/CN.4/2002/93. 31 January 2002. 12).

It is estimated that African women and children spend 40 billion hours fetching water every year, equivalent to a year’s labour for the entire workforce of France. (Taskforce on Water and Sanitation, Health, Dignity and Development: What will it take?, UN Millennium Development Project, Earthscan, London: 2005)

Education

Globally, 10 million more girls are out of school than boys (Calculated from data contained in the UN’s The Millennium Development Goals report 2007, New York: 2007, p11).

In 2007, girls accounted for 54% of the world’s out-of-school population [UN Millenium goals report, p.16]

41 million girls worldwide are still denied a primary education. (UNESCO, Education for all: Global monitoring report 2008, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2007, p184.)
‘41 million girls worldwide are still denied a primary education’

Two thirds of the 137 million illiterate young people in the world are women and, in the case of Afghanistan, there are just 36 literate young women for every 100 young men. (UNFPA, 36 State of the World Population 2005, Gender Equality Fact Sheet) (accessed on 26/11/09);

Women and poverty

Women produce up to 80% of food in developing countries, but are more likely to be hungry than men, and are often denied the right to own land (Food and Agriculture Organization, (accessed 29/01/08); Food and Agriculture Organization, The feminisation of hunger what do the surveys tell us? 2001, (accessed 29/01/08); Food and Agriculture Organization, The state of food insecurity in the world 2005, Rome: 2005, p17).

Women in developing regions are more likely than men to work in agriculture, and as contributing but unpaid family workers. Worldwide, over 60% of unpaid family workers are women ? meaning that women continue to lack access to job security and social protection (UNDP, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: June 2007, p.13)

Up to 90% of workers in global supply chains are women. (ActionAid, Who Pays? How British Supermarkets are Keeping Women Workers in Poverty, London: 2007, p10].

0% to 90% of the clothing and fresh produce

Women and power

As of January 2007, ‘women represented at least 30 per cent of parliamentarians in only 19 countries.’ (UNDP, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: June 2007, p.13a).

Fewer than one in six parliamentarians are women. While women’s representation in
Rwanda is 49%, 10 countries have no women in parliament, and in 40 others, women account for fewer than one in ten elected representatives. (Inter-Parliamentary Union database on ‘Women in National Parliaments’,(accessed 29/01/08)].

‘While women’s representation in Rwanda is 49%, 10 countries have no women in parliament’

Globally, women make up just 17% of parliamentarians (Ibid); UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2007, UNICEF, New York: 2006, p.56).

In 2003 only 15% of parliamentary seats across the world were held by women