Sexual Violence against Women in Asia

In a recent article in the Graphic Details section of The Economist, it was reported that more than ten percent of surveyed men in six Asian nations said that they raped a woman who was not there partner and that number rose to nearly twenty-five percent if their partners were included. This finding is based on data from a UN study to assess the number of rapes which occur in the Asian region and was published in the Lancet Journal of Global Health.

The survey was administered from January, 2011 to December, 2012 to men ages 18 through 49 who lived in six Asian nations,Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, Bangledesh, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. The interviews were done in a  face-to-face manner and the men were ask about their sexual behaviors. The men were asked if they had ever "forced a woman who was not your wife or girlfriend at the time to have sex" or if they “had sex with a woman who was too drunk or drugged to indicate whether she wanted it," but the word "rape" was never used in the interview.

Read more:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/09/daily-chart-7?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail
http://www.economist.com/
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70069-X/fulltext
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/latestcontent

Global alcohol consumption

An article in The Economist reports that the world’s inhabitants drank the equivalent of 6.1 liters (1.6 gallons) of pure alcohol per person in 2005, according to a report from the World Health Organization. The biggest boozers are mostly found in Europe and in the former Soviet states. Moldovans are the most bibulous, getting through 18.2 liters (4.8 gallons) each, nearly 2 liters (1/2 gallon) more than the Czechs in second place. Over 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of a Moldovan's annual intake is reckoned to be 'unrecorded' home-brewed liquor, making it particularly harmful to health. Drinking such moonshine accounts for almost 30% of the world's total alcohol consumption. The WHO estimates that alcohol results in 2.5 million deaths a year, more than AIDS or tuberculosis. In Russia and its former satellite states one in five male deaths is caused by drink.

Retail Sales Fall for the Third Straight Month

The monthly retail and food services report came out on Monday, and experts across the board agree that the numbers do not support a vigorous recovery.  Retail sales dropped for the third straight month, a trend that has not occurred since 2008.  On the other hand, retail sales increased by 3.8 percent since June 2011, and the auto industry, which faced grave prospects just a few years ago, experienced a healthy rebound, with sales growing 8.7% over the past year.