11 Facts About Women Around the World

1. Every 90 seconds, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. Most of these deaths are preventable, but due to gender-based discrimination many women are not given the proper education or care they need.
2. As many as 1 in 4 women experience physical or sexual violence during pregnancy. Take a stand and collect cell phones to benefit domestic violence programs.
3. Women make up 80% of all refugees and displaced people. Instruments of genocide such as sexual violence and rape are often directed at women and girls.
4. Women are seldom included in formal peace processes. Women are usually not represented among decision-makers and military leaders, the usual participants in these processes.
5. Women gained the right to vote in America in 1920.

6. As of January 2012, women held 15.1% of all presiding officer posts in governments the world.
7. More than 16.4 million women in the world have HIV/AIDS.
8. The US government estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 victims (mostly women and children) are trafficked globally each year, and 14,500 to 17,500 are trafficked into the US.
9. Women account for 70% of the population living in absolute poverty (on less than $1.00 a day).
10. Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18.
11. 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime.