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

Half of Iranians Lack Adequate Money for Food, Shelter

According to a recent Gallup Poll of based on telephone surveys of Iranian adults during 2011 through 2012, half of respondents say there have been times in the past year when they had trouble paying for adequate shelter and food for their families. The 50% figure is the highest among 19 populations in the Middle East and North Africa region that Gallup surveyed in 2012 and 2013.

Iranian’s election of moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani to the presidency has been widely interpreted as evidence of their desire for meaningful change in the country. Widespread economic hardship among the Iranian people carries mixed implications for the future of relations between Washington and Tehran under President Rouhani. Some Western leaders may take the effects of the international sanctions on the Iranian people as a sign that the sanctions are working and should be maintained. However, U.S. officials claim that the Iranian people are not the target of the sanctions. Almost half of Iranians (46%) say they hold the U.S. responsible for the international sanctions against their country, while 13% blame their own government.  What's more, Gallup finds that most Iranians (68%) still support the country's efforts to develop its nuclear capabilities. Additionally, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently reported no signs that sanctions have slowed down Iran's nuclear program.