A new report by the United Nations Population Fund has found that discrimination and violence against women and girls “remain firmly rooted in cultures around the world.”
“Passed down from one generation to the next, ideas about ‘real men’ and ‘a woman’s place’ are instilled at an early age and are difficult to change,” according to the report, “The State of the World Population 2000.”
The report highlighted a number of ongoing concerns, including efforts to make family planning available to all people around the world.
“Today about one-third of all pregnancies – 80 million a year- are believed to be unwanted or mistimed,” the report said. “If women could have the number of children they wanted, the average family size in many countries would fall by nearly one child.”
It said there are some 500,000 maternal deaths in developing countries because of lack of health care before and after birth.
The report also estimated that there are 50 million abortions each year, 20 million of which are unsafe. It said some 78,000 women die each year from unsafe or illegal abortions.
The report also said at least one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused.
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