The Prevalence of Sexual Assault in the Developing World by blogger Ryan Flynn

47% of Peruvian women have been victims of attempted or completed sexual assault according to Gary Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission. According to the CDC, in the United States, 18.3% of women have been victims of attempted or completed sexual assault. While neither number is good at all, why is Peru's percentage two and a half times as high as the U.S.'s?

The difference comes down to two major things: differences in GDP per capita and the prevalence of violence in developing countries like Peru. The GDP per capita in Peru was $6,659.81 USD in 2013, whereas the U.S.'s GDP per capita in 2013 was $53,142.89. Now this may not seem like a big deal; I mean it's only money, right? 

The problem here is that in many developing countries, Peru one of them, services such as lawyers and justice systems can only be utilized if you can pay for them. At $6,659.81 per year, the ability to acquire those services to attain justice for a sexual assault is drastically lessened assaulted many sexual assault victims just have to endure and go on with their lives. 

The other major problem facing the developing world when it comes to decreasing sexual assaults is the prevalence of violence in society. This goes hand-in-hand with the problem of income. In many developing countries, the justice system and police force work for the highest bidder, and many times do not even look into reports from low-income communities.

For example, in a recent case conducted by International Justice Mission in Bangalore, India, the accused was a brick factory owner who kidnapped more than a dozen women and children to work in his factory. To keep order he would systematically rape them and beat them. IJM found this out and visited the factory with a district magistrate, who witnessed first-hand the situation. The case took six and a half years to bring to a full trial, and the judge over the case in the end decided to reassign the case to another judge, who without viewing any evidence, acquitted the accused of any wrongdoing. In almost seven years of working on the case, IJM staff met with the police 26 times, made 53 visits to other relevant government officials, made 73 trips to the courthouse, and met with 10 different prosecutors. And yet, the accused still were not found guilty.

The only way to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault in the developing world is to reduce the levels of violence in low-income communities, improve justice systems, and improve GDP per capita to eliminate for-profit law enforcement. This is a daunting task, but with non-profits working around the clock on other issues, we are bound to one day improve on these conditions as well.