Infographic: The Countries That Are Safe & Unsafe for Women (2024)

Eight men were arrested in India's Northeastern Jharkhand state for allegedly raping a foreign tourist while holding her and her husband at knifepoint. The case has been tied to a video by a Spanish-Brazilian travel blogger couple identifying themselves as the victims in the attack. The pair had been traveling overland by motorcycle and had been camping. The case has caused an outcry internationally and in India, where outrage over rampant sexual violence against women has hit headlines repeatedly, catalyzed by several high-profile rape cases, like those of a 22-year-old intern in Delhi in 2012, a 71-year-old Catholic nun in West Bengal in 2015 or a 26-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad in 2019. Two of these three women were killed.

According to the Georgetown Institute 2023 Women Peace and Security Index, India scored 0.595 out of 1 points, placing it in rank 128 among 177 countries rated in the index. The report attested an especially high amount of political violence aimed at women, counting the seven-most incidents of all countries. India also fared poorly due to the rate of boys to girls being born with the sixth-worst score in the ranking. The nation was among the most improved in women's financial participation, while scoring much lower education, employment and parliamentary representation.

The index employs a broad view of women's security, not only analyzing the incidence of violence against women and prevalence of discrimination, but also women's independence, taking the view that women who are educated, employed and autonomous are much safer from violence. Asia and Africa were identified as the least safe places for women by the index. In Latin America, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador stuck out as places that are especially dangerous. In Europe, Southeastern Europe and Italy fared worse than the rest of the continent.