According to Plan International, a nongovernmental organization for children’s rights, “sexual harassment is the main security risk faced by girls and young women around the world.” On October 2, the NGO published the results of an online survey of around 400 experts from 22 cities around the world, who “work on women’s rights, children’s rights and urban safety.”
This survey revealed the risk of girls and young women being sexually harassed and reveals the most dangerous and safest cities for this population. According to this report, 78% of the experts consulted explained that sexual harassment is “an extremely high or high risk for girls and young women in their city”.
On the other hand, “77% said that, in their opinion, it happens a lot or quite frequently in public”. 60% of these experts also stated that women who are victims of sexual harassment almost never or never report.
“Cities in developing countries are growing at an unprecedented rate, with millions of girls living in urban areas by 2030. We must act now or we risk denying an entire generation of girls their right to learn and play an active role in society,” said Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, CEO of Plan International.
The most dangerous cities for girls and young people
According to the Plan International report, of the most insecure or dangerous cities for girls and young women, 2 are Latin American. On the one hand, there is Bogotá, Colombia. This city was qualified by experts as the most insecure place in the world for girls and young women, taking into account “the risk of sexual harassment in their city.”
Lima, Peru, is also mentioned, which was qualified as the most dangerous city for girls to go out alone to the street or to get on public transport. The other two cities that were qualified by experts as the most insecure for this population are: Johannesburg and Kampala.
On the one hand, Johannesburg, South Africa, ranks second in the risk thermometer. In addition, it is the “most dangerous for sexual violence and also for robbery and theft”, explained the NGO. On the other hand, Kampala, Uganda, “was seen as the city where girls are most at risk of being kidnapped and killed,” said the NGO.