Which are the world's 10 most dangerous countries for women?

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - India was named as the world’s most dangerous
country for women in a survey of global experts released on Tuesday.
Seven years ago a Thomson Reuters Foundation experts' survey found the five most dangerous
countries for women were seen to be Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan,
India, and Somalia. This year we set out to see if the situation had changed. We wanted to find
out whether more was being done to address the overall risks faced by women, and specifically
regarding healthcare, access to economic resources, customary practices, sexual violence, non-
sexual violence and human trafficking. We expanded our poll to the 10 most dangerous
countries with some surprising results.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women’s issues ranked war-
torn Afghanistan and Syria in second and third place, with Somalia and Saudi Arabia next.
The survey was a repeat of a similar poll in 2011 which ranked the most dangerous countries
for women as Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India and Somalia.
It asked which five of the 193 United Nations member states were most dangerous for women
and the worst for healthcare, economic resources, traditional practices, sexual and non-sexual
abuse, and human trafficking.
Here is the list of the 10 countries ranked as the most dangerous for women by the survey:
1. INDIA - Tops the list, with levels of violence against women still running high, more than five
years after the rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi sparked national outrage and
government pledges to tackle the issue.
India ranked as the most dangerous on three issues – the risks women face from sexual
violence and harassment, from cultural and traditional practices, and from human trafficking
including forced labor, sex slavery and domestic servitude.
2. AFGHANISTAN - Second in the list, with experts saying women face dire problems nearly 17
years after the overthrow of the Taliban.
Ranked as the most dangerous country for women in three areas – non-sexual violence, access
to healthcare, and access to economic resources.
3. SYRIA - Third after seven years of civil war. Ranked as second most dangerous country for
women in terms of access to healthcare and non-sexual violence, which includes conflict-
related violence as well as domestic abuse. Joint third with the United States on the risks
women face of sexual abuse.
4. SOMALIA - Fourth after being mired in conflict since 1991. Ranked as third most dangerous
country for women in terms of access to healthcare and for putting them at risk of harmful
cultural and traditional practices. Named as fifth worst in terms of women having access to
economic resources.
5. SAUDI ARABIA - Overall fifth, but the conservative kingdom was named the second most
dangerous country for women in terms of economic access and discrimination, including in the
workplace and in terms of property rights. Fifth in terms of the risks women face from cultural
and religious practices
6. PAKISTAN - Sixth most dangerous and fourth worst in terms of economic resources and
discrimination as well as the risks women face from cultural, religious and traditional practices,
including so-called honor killings. Pakistan ranked fifth on non-sexual violence, including
domestic abuse.
7. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Listed as seventh with the United Nations warning
millions of people face “hellish living conditions” after years of factional bloodshed and
lawlessness. Ranked as second most dangerous country for women as regards sexual violence,
and between seventh and ninth in four other questions.
8. YEMEN - Eighth in the list after ranking poorly on access to healthcare, economic resources,
risk from cultural and traditional practices, and non-sexual violence. Yemen is still reeling from
the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis with 22 million people in need of vital assistance.
9. NIGERIA - Ranked as ninth, with human rights groups accusing the country’s military of
torture, rape and killing civilians during a nine-year fight against Boko Haram militants. Nigeria
was named fourth most dangerous country along with Russia when it came to human
trafficking. It listed sixth worst on the risks women face from traditional practices.
10. UNITED STATES - The only Western nation in the top 10 and joint third with Syria for the
risks women face in terms of sexual violence, including rape, sexual harassment, coercion into
sex and a lack of access to justice in rape cases. The survey came after the #MeToo campaign
went viral last year, with thousands of women using the social media movement to share
stories of sexual harassment or abuse.