Less than a month after authorities found Mollie Tibbetts’s murdered body, another young woman, Celia Barquin Arozamena, was found stabbed to death on a golf course. These two examples of apparently random violence against women reflect the horrors that women experience every day in the United States.
For the first time, human rights experts have ranked the U.S. among the top 10 most dangerous countries for women in the world, according to Reuters. This recognition should open the country’s eyes to the normalization of misogynistic violence. Policymakers must mitigate the problem.
American exceptionalism runs rampant among many people who feel that the U.S. is the best or greatest country in the world. This newfound fact demonstrates that the U.S. has plenty of distinct flaws compared to other countries.
“Most of the other countries in the top-10 determined by the foundation’s survey are countries with ongoing military conflicts or insurgencies, or where long-held religious and political views have kept women on an unequal footing in terms of law enforcement and treatment in society generally,” as reported by CBS News.
For these reasons, the U.S. has demonized the other countries on the list, making them appear evil and threatening. Now, however, the U.S. can no longer distinguish itself from the nations it spreads horror stories about.
Cindy Southworth from the National Network to End Domestic Violence believes there is misinformation regarding prestige and violence.
“People want to think income means you’re protected from misogyny, and sadly that’s not the case,” Southworth said, according to CBS News.
Although the U.S. may be considered one of the most powerful nations in the world, ranking in the top 10 most dangerous countries for women is a serious statement. It’s no secret that the U.S. needs extensive reform in regard to misogyny and violence against women.
Hopefully this ranking, along with the recent murders of Tibbetts and Arozamena, will jar government officials enough so they take notice and advocate for legislative change.