On December 20th we reported that a survey in India found that 92 per cent of women working in information technology, hospitality, civil aviation and call centers feel unsafe travelling home after work. 92% of women respondents in Delhi claimed that they did not feel safe at night (in fact two of every three women had experienced sexual harassment), 85% in Bangalore, 82 % in Kolkata, and 18% in Hyderabad.
We learn now from the Yemen Times that the same sorry statistics are found in Yemen, where a recent report by the Safe Streets Initiative for Combating Harassment in Yemen found that 90 percent of Yemeni women are subjected to sexual harassment, and that most sexual harassment happens on the streets. Sana’a ranked first (and Taiz and Aden were ranked second) as the cities with most newly reported harassment cases of rape, inappropriate touching and verbal harassment.
The study found that “girls face constant harassment, whether it is on the street, in the markets or in the work environment. … Many women complain that trying to counteract harassments deprives them of social and professional advancement. If they cause a fuss, women have often been known to lose promotion or job opportunities.”
Read about the UN initiative designed to protect women: http://www.unwomen.org/2011/06/un-launches-initiative-to-make-cities-safer-for-women-and-children/