The risk analysis and mapping company Maplecroft, United Kingdom, has released some of its annual Human Rights Risk Atlas data. The Atlas includes 23 indices, one of which is the Women’s and Girls’ Rights Index (WGRI). WGRI evaluates the potential risk of “sexual violence, discrimination, trafficking, and sexual exploitation[.]” Of the 197 countries reviewed, 80 have “extreme” levels of risk to women and girls. That is a little over 40% of nations represented. Maplecroft notes that this is a slight decrease in risk from last year, but the company states that this drop is only a result of cosmetic improvement. Violence and discrimination are still prevalent throughout the world.

The ten worst countries include: Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, DR Congo, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, and Nigeria. Meanwhile, only 5% of the countries studies rank in the “low” risk category. These include: Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, and New Zealand. Maplecroft notes, however, that even these countries face problems with women’s human rights.

The company publishes it research every year so that multinational companies can monitor “potential risks of complicity in human rights abuses throughout operations and supply chains.” The entire atlas will be released on 10 December 2011, International Human Rights Day.

Compiled from: Human Rights of Women and Girls at ‘Extreme Risk’ in Nearly Half the World – Maplecroft Index, European Women’s Lobby (27 November 2011).