Because sex crimes tend to be under-reported, the full extent of the problem in the United States is not always apparent. The National Violence Against Women Survey found that, on average, 17.6% of women and 3% of men in the United States will be raped in their lifetimes.
The idea that sexism can have negative consequences within workplaces and specific areas of public life is well-established. But how sexist attitudes on the part of individuals can operate in the aggregate at the societal level — their national economic and social consequences — has not been well documented.
The U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, one of the “Palermo protocols” adopted in 2000, was an attempt by the international community to address the growing problem of human trafficking. Since then, significant national and international resources have been devoted to its enforcement.
Violent sexual crimes against women continue to represent a devastating social problem that, because of the social stigma and deep cultural biases, often remain under-reported. Globally, one in four women will likely experience sexual violence by an intimate partner and one in three girls report their first sexual experience being forced, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
