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| China releases US human rights record in 2002 （12） |
| CCTV.COM 2003-04-03 16:04:03 |
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V. Women and Children are in Worrisome Situation
Discrimination against women is common in the United States. USA Today reported on January 6, 2003 that women hold merely 14 percent of seats in Congress. According to a survey report released by researchers at Rutgers university, discrimination against ethnic minorities was found in one third of business firms in the United States, and discrimination against women was reported in one fourth of 200,000 firms. In hospitals, shops, restaurants and bars, women of African, Latin American and Asian descent made up 70 percent of those who have been hurt.
American women are likely to become victims of crimes and violence. A study report published by the Harvard School of Public Health on April 17, 2002 said that American females are at the highest risk of murder, and the US female homicide victimization rate is 5 times that of all the other high income countries combined. The United States accounts for 70 percent of all female homicides in the 25 high income countries, and 4,400 American females are murdered each year, with about half by firearms.
American women are also likely to become victims of sexual assaults. In 2002, several scandals of sexual assaults on women by clergies were exposed. According to reports, over the past five years, in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and Wisconsin, a number of faith healing－related sexual assaults were exposed, with some faith healers found to have raped women during the therapy.
Police and public prosecutors believe that hundreds of women in Los Angeles and other places were sexually abused when they sought help from faith healers （March 13, 2002, L.A. Times）. Agence France Presse （AFP） reported that a survey conducted by researchers at St. Louis University in 1996 but kept under wraps after completion shows that about 40 percent of American Catholic nuns （nearly 35,000） have been sexually abused, often at the hands of a priest or another nun. （Jan. 5, 2003, Washington, AFP）. （more）
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Editor: Wang Yin Source:Xinhua
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