HCHR- Among all human rights abuses in the United States, violations of women’s rights and violence against them are evident in all social, economic, racial, and geographical classes.
If we take a look at the status of women in the United States, we will find out that the same U.S. which claims to support women and pretends to defend the rights thereof around the world, is indeed bogged down in repeated and widespread human rights violations against American citizens, including immigrants, asylum seekers, and racial, religious, and colored groups. Indigenous women still experience disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual violence. In addition, they have experienced high rates of disappearance and murder. The exact number of Indigenous women victims of violence or who went missing remained unknown as the U.S. government did not collect data or adequately coordinate with the survivors and families of the victims.
As revealed in a 2022 report prepared by Fernand de Varennes, the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, after his visit to the United States: “Of particular concern is the increasing virulence of intersecting misogynous and racist hate speech, which means that minority women are particularly vulnerable to some of the most violent and dangerous forms of hate speech on social media.
The number of female homicides by violent partners with a firearm has accelerated in recent years. When it comes to gun violence, the United States is the most dangerous country for women among high-income nations.
A study by Thomson Reuters Foundation says the United States is one of the five most unsafe countries for women. In a 2022 report, the U.S.-based WESH television station examined the troubled situation of female prisoners in the United States and the results of the Senate’s official investigations in this regard.
Associated Press investigations about federal prisons for women have revealed harrowing facts about the penitentiaries in the United States. Women prisoners face rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers. The number of women incarcerated in the U.S. is also rapidly increasing. Women make up 6.5% of the total population of American prisons. Examining the situation in the federal prison for women in California, which is one of the few federal prisons for women, revealed the depth of the crisis in the U.S. penitentiaries.
Studies about sex trafficking estimate that between 15,000 to 50,000 women and children are forced into sexual slavery in the United States every year, and the total number varies wildly as it is complicated to research. A study conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services estimated the number between 240,000 and 325,000, while a report from the University of Pennsylvania put it at between 100,000 and 300,000.
Moreover, a police officer assaults women and American citizens every five days. Women in prison are harassed and assaulted by officers and guards. This is while when the female prisoners are released, they are threatened that they will be retaliated against and even killed if they reveal these abuses. Sexual assault by police officers is widely prevalent and is described as the systemic problem of the police system.
The research center’s statistics show the tangible consequences of sexism and white supremacy in the United States, and how the country systematically devalues women of color and their workforce. This persistent and pervasive wage gap is partly due to gender and racial discrimination, workplace harassment, job segregation, and the lack of workplace policies that support family caregiving.
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