Little black dress, big statement: Hollywood stars and activists signalling their support for Time’s Up Frazer Harrison/Getty
MORE than 600 million women live in countries where sexual violence is not a crime, according to the United Nations. Shocking as that is, it does mean that 3 billion women do have legal protection against the most extreme forms of sexual harassment.
Despite this, figures for sexual abuse are alarmingly high. In the US, in their lifetime. Worldwide, 30 per cent have experienced sexual violence in their relationships, ranging from 16 per cent in east Asia to 65 per cent in central sub-Saharan Africa (see diagram). , whose is to defend fundamental human rights and promote social progress, has been plagued , and .
Special report: The origins of sexism
The imbalance of power between men and women is being hotly debated. But no one benefits from a patriarchal society, so how did we get here, and where should we go next?
So why is sexual violence so universal – and yet so variable in prevalence from place to place? An answer to the first question was proposed in the book A Natural History of Rape by biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig Palmer. They argued that rape is an evolutionary adaptation that allows men to pass on more of their genes.
Their thesis caused public outrage. Tim Birkhead at the University of Sheffield, UK, called it “morally irresponsible”. And the facts speak against it. While one study found that…
