Around the world, 5.3 million girls and women are the targets of sexual violence in the past year, U.N. data shows. The rate is growing, and already more women were the victims of sexual violence than in any other previous year, including 2015.
In 2017, about 10 women are killed every day because of circumstances stemming from rape, according to an analysis of 23 countries by the group Women Deliver, which advocates for girls’ education.
A combination of new violence and more awareness of it all has led to a combination of solutions to stop it, according to the report, Fighting to save a world: Progress on Women’s Rights 2016.
About 45 million children were denied an education between 2014 and 2015 — the worst year for child marriage globally since the Millennium Development Goals were launched.
Last year, 168 countries improved their rape laws or strengthened existing ones. Others pushed for stronger penalties for offenders.
In several countries, the laws clarified the definition of rape to include other sexual offenses and included the “special protection” of the elderly.
Reducing gender inequality remains a daunting problem. In 70 countries, including 48 that have formally ratified the U.N.’s global goals for gender equality, men and boys still dominate political, academic and economic spheres.