Solo woman

If you're a solo woman traveler, you know how important it is to pick not only a desirable location but also a safe country to travel to. According to the Travel Industry Association, about 32 million American women travel solo in a year. Whether traveling alone or in a group, safety is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, many countries around the world are still dangerous for women travelers. See what places made the list!

In an attempt to determine which countries are the most dangerous for female travelers, husband and wife journalists Asher and Lyric Fergusson studied and ranked the 50 most popular tourist countries.

Their Women’s Danger Indexranked each country based on eight factors: street safety for women, intentional homicide of women, non-partner sexual violence, intimate partner sexual violence, legal discrimination, global gender gap, gender inequality index, and violence against women attitudes.

Most Dangerous Countries for Women

• South Africa and Brazil top the list due to extremely high rates of violence against women, including sexual violence and intentional homicide. South Africa's per capita murder rate was the highest in 20 years!
• Russia and Mexico are notably dangerous due to high intentional homicide rates against women and significant limitations on women's societal and economic participation.
• Iran's prominent place on the list is largely attributed to its vast gender gap, impacting women's roles in the economy, health, and political empowerment.

Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Solo Female Travelers:

#1) South Africa is the country ranked most dangerous country in the world for solo female travelers. Only 25% of South African women said they felt safe walking alone at night, the lowest of any country. South Africa is notorious for sexual violence.

It is estimated that over 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime. Additionally, South Africa ranked the worst for the intentional homicide of women. South Africa was the only country to receive an “F” on the index.

#2) Brazil ranks as the second-most dangerous country for women. Only 28% of women reported feeling safe walking alone at night and the country has the third-highest rate of intentional homicide against women.

Brazil also ranked sixth for the percentage of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partners at 36.9%.

#3) Russia has the second-highest rate of intentional homicide against women, which is the biggest reason for its third-place spot on the list. Russia also ranks as one of the top ten countries to have laws and regulations that limit women’s ability to participate in society and economy.

#4) Mexico ranks fourth overall for the most dangerous countries for women, as well as ranking fourth for the percentage of women who feel safe walking at night and for intentional homicide against women.

Only about 33% of women in Mexico reported feeling safe walking alone at night. Additionally, Mexico ranks third for non-partner sexual violence, which about 16% of women experience.

#5) Iran’s place on the most dangerous country list is largely due to its first-place ranking for the gender gap. Iran scores the worst in the Global Gender Gap study. It also scored quite terribly with inequality and discrimination categories placing this country fifth worst in our index. One area that Iran did perform well in was the fact that they had very low levels of intentional homicide against women."

This index measures disparities between men and women in economic participation, educational attainment, health, and political empowerment. Additionally, Iran ranked third for legal discrimination against women.

#6) The Dominican Republic ranks sixth for gender inequality which measures health, empowerment and the labor market.

The Dominican Republic has the fifth-lowest percentage of women who feel safe walking alone at night, at 33%, and the fifth-highest rate of intentional homicide against women.

#7) Egypt is the seventh-most dangerous country for female travelers. Egypt has the fourth-highest global gender gap and the seventh-highest gender inequality. Only 47% of women reported feeling safe walking alone at night. Additionally, Egypt ranks sixth for laws and regulations that limit women’s ability to participate in society and the economy.

#8) Morocco. About 45% of Moroccan women experience physical or sexual violence from their intimate partner, the highest percentage on the list. About 32% of women agree that violence against women is justified under certain circumstances, the tenth highest of the countries ranked.

Additionally, Morocco ranks tenth for legal discrimination against women.

#9) As the ninth-most dangerous country for women, India ranks fifth for intimate partner violence, which is 37.2%. According to the gender inequality index, India ranks first.

About 45% of Indian women surveyed agreed that a husband or partner is justified in beating their wife or partner under certain circumstances.

#10) Finishing the top ten most dangerous countries for women is Thailand.

Thailand ranks second for intimate partner violence, which about 44% of women reported. Additionally, about 61% of women agreed that violence against women is justified under certain circumstances, the highest among the 50 countries studied.

On the opposite end, the following ten countries are the safest for women:

Spain, Singapore, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Portugal, Croatia, Canada, Denmark, Iceland and Poland.

- In the 2023 Women, Peace and Security Index (WPSI), lower scores indicate greater danger. The WPSI is compiled by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS).

- In the 2019 Women's Danger Index (WDI), higher scores indicate greater danger. The WDI is compiled from eight sub-metrics, whose scores are listed after the compiled total. The WDI was initially compiled by the travel website Asher & Lyric.

Read>>>20 Best and Safest Places for Women to Travel Solo Internationally (msn.com)

Which country is the least safe for women?

According to the most recent data, South Africa is the least safe country for women in the world.

And What About the United States?

United States

Ranking 19th on their list was the USA. This makes it the most dangerous Western country in the world which was very unexpected! Now that Trump has said he's going to "protect women whether they like it or not," I'm not sure this rating is going to improve. But I digress.

Scoring badly on street safety, non-partner sexual violence and a host of gender inequality issues makes the United States particularly bad for female travelers.

For women aged between 20 and 24, homicide is the 3rd most likely way to die which accounts for a staggering 7.5% of all deaths in this age group. And for black females in the same age group, homicide is responsible for a whopping almost 16% of deaths.

Conclusion

One in three women around the world currently experience gender-based violence. Harmful practices such as trafficking, forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation occur both in public and in private spaces. Today, these forms of violence are recognized as a major violation of human rights, a public health challenge and one of the clearest forms of gender discrimination. It’s also widely acknowledged that women experience heightened levels of violence in cities.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal rights in all fields and in leadership at all levels of decision-making, and by ensuring decent work and equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value for all women, as well as preventing and eliminating all forms of discrimination, violence and harassment against women and girls in private and public spaces. - Resourcetheconversation.com

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