issue 158 - April 1986
The facts on this page do not make pleasant reading - for women or men. Of course there are people who manage to experience love and pleasure in their sexual relationship. But these figures imply that such people are in the minority. In the developing world, the fear of an unwanted pregnancy hangs over large numbers of couples, while the pain and terror of sex for the circumcised and infibulated virgin or the child bride can barely be imagined. And in every country each and every heterosexual union takes place under the oppressive shadows of pornography, incest and rape.
Percentage of married women currently not using modern contraception who do not want any more children.
Clitoridectomy and infibulation
At current rates, 50% of US marriages, 33% of Australian and British marriages, and 40% of Canadian marriages will end in divorce.
In most countreis the majority of prostitutes operate from brothels or with the 'protection' of a pimp. Pimps and brothel owners keep the lion's share of what a prostitute earns.
Where prostitution is illegal or restricted, it is the prostitute rather than her customer who is prosecuted. These figures are for one year in San Francisco, US.
Definition: Rape is penetration of the penis into the vagina of a woman against her will. Penetration of the anus or mouth of a woman or man against their will is termed 'indecent assault', as are most other sex crimes.
The main statistics below are from a sample of 1,236 London women. They were 62% of a random sample of 2,000 approached by the researchers.
1 in 6 women have been raped
1 in 12 rapes are reported to the police
3 in 4 attackers are known to the victim
1 in 20 rapes are gang rapes
1 in 2 rapes involve violence in addition to the rape
1 in 2 occur in the home of the rapist or victim
1 World Fertility Survey.
2 Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, UK.
3 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1 981 Census.
4 Holmann, A.D. 'Contraception in Adolescence', WHO Bulletin.
5 Bancroft, J.. Human Sexuality and its Problems'. Churchill Livingstone. 1983.
6 Hosken. F.P., Female Sexual Mutilations: the facts and proposals for action', Women's International Network News, 1980.
7 Thiam, A Women's Fight for the Abolition of Sexual Mutilation', Int. Social Science Jornal, Vol. 18
8 Statistics Canada, 1983.
9 Hite S.. The Hite Report on Male Sexuality', MacDonald, 1978.
10 WHO Study Group an Youth. collected papers, 1984.
11 Barry, K.. 'Female Sexual Slavery. New York University Press. 1979.
12 Bandhopadhyaya, B.. 'A Woman's Last Resort'. Manushi. NO.23, 1984.
13 Thista. K., 'Providence and Prostitution' Change UK. 1980
14 Abuse of Women in the Media', Consumers' Association of Penang, Malaysia. 1982.
15 Hall. RE.. 'Ask Any Woman'. Falling Wall Press. 1985
16 Brownmiller, S. Against Our Will'. Penguin Books. 1976.
17 Consumers Association of Penang. Utusan Konsumer Report, 1983.
18 Child Assault Prevention Programme. 'Preventing Child Assault', MacDonald and Evans, 1985.
19 El Saadawi, N. The Hidden Face of Eve. Zed Press. 1980.
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