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Part I. Multivariate Scales Produced from WomanStats Data
A. Multivariate Scales
i. Multivariate Scales
a. Scale #1: Physical Security of Women   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-1:

Multivariate Scale #1 (Physical Security of Women) MULTIVAR-SCALE-1: Originally coded February 2007 (look for updates in database); Professor Mary Caprioli's Physical Security of Women Scale. WomanStats variables examined include DV (Scale-5, Practice 1 and 2, Scale-1, Data 1 (Domestic Violence), LRW (LRW-Scale-11 (Rape and Sexual Assault), LRCM (Law 2, Practice 1 and 2, Data 1 (Marital Rape), MURDER (Murder Scale-3). In 2013, we also asked coders to examine newer variables as well, including EWCMS (Practice 3, Law 5, Data 2 and 3), GEW (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1), Suicide Scale 1, UVAW Practice 1, and LRCM Practice 2, Law 3, Data 2. (NOTE: This scale does not include female infanticide, which is covered under the ISSA scales.)

0 – There are laws against domestic violence, rape, and marital rape; these laws are enforced; there are no taboos or norms against reporting these crimes, which are rare.  There are no honor killings or femicides.*

1 - There are laws against domestic violence, rape, and marital rape; these laws are generally enforced; there are taboos or norms against reporting these crimes (or ignorance that these are reportable crimes), which crimes are not common.  Honor killings and femicides do not occur.

2 - There are laws against domestic violence, rape, and marital rape; these laws are sporadically enforced; there are taboos or norms against reporting these crimes (or ignorance that these are reportable crimes), which are common.  Honor killings and/or femicides are quite rare, occurring only in small pockets of the population, and are condemned by society.

3 – There are laws against domestic violence, rape, but not necessarily marital rape; these laws are rarely enforced; there are taboos or norms against reporting these crimes (or ignorance that these are reportable crimes), which affect a majority of women.  Honor killings and/or femicides may occur among certain segments of society but are not generally accepted within the society.

4 – There are no or weak laws against domestic violence, rape, and marital rape, and these laws are not generally enforced.  Honor killings and/or femicides may occur and are either ignored or generally accepted.  (Examples of weak laws—need 4 male witnesses to prove rape, rape is only defined as sex with girls under 12—all other sex is by definition consensual, etc.)

*By the term femicide, we mean the targeted killing of women per se, though perhaps not for reasons of honor/shame. Practices that sanction murder where the overwhelming proportion of victims are female, but where there may be a few male victims, can be taken as femicide. One possible example is witchcraft killings.

A few coding rules:

  • Do not compare countries as you are coding.  Scale each one individually based on the data within WomanStats.
  • Don’t rely on statistics for DV, rape, etc.  Remember that women often do not report these crimes for reasons ranging from shame, corrupt judiciary & police, to the possibility of being killed.  Rely on the narratives to put the statistic in context.
  • The scale uses the term enforcement.  Here you should understand the lack of enforcement to include kangaroo courts (dishonest, corrupt, relying on norms that discriminate against women vs. law), high acquittal rates, and low punishment.
  • Whether or not a country is improving is irrelevant to the violence scale.  The only time improvements might be an issue would be in the unlikely event that the country falls between two scales.  If you think this is the case, then flag that score for discussion.
  • If you think there isn’t enough information on a country to code it properly, then assign a score of –99 and provide a justification.  Remember that the absence of complete information on crimes against women is in itself an indication.
  • Please write down any questions that you might have so that we can discuss them.  And also flag countries for which you know information is incomplete/lacking.
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b. Scale #2: Discrepancy Between National Law and Practice Concerning Women   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-2:

Multivariate Scale #2 (Discrepancy Between National Law and Practice Concerning Women) MULTIVAR-SCALE-2: Originally coded July 2007 (look for updates in database). NOTE: Original 2007 coding includes decimals; for the 2009 coding, we moved to a straight ordinal scale with no decimals. Working under Professor Valerie Hudson's supervision, Carl Brinton created this Scale of the Degree of Discrepancy Between National Law and Practice on Issues Concerning Women in Society. This scale has three sub-clusters: Right to Physical Security/Bodily Integrity, which examines WomanStats variables INFIB (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Infibulation)), LRW (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Rape and Sexual Assault)); LRCM (Practice 1, Law 2, Data 1(Marital Rape)), DV (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Domestic Violence)), TRAFF (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Trafficking)), and which sub-cluster is weighted by three. The second sub-cluster is Right to Education, which examines WomanStats variables AFE (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Access to Formal Education), ASR (Practice 1 and Law 1 (Area of Study Restrictions), and is unweighted. The third sub-cluster is Rights within the Family, which examines WomanStats variables AOM (Practice 1, Law 1, Data 1 (Age at First Marriage)), ATDW (Practice 2, Law 5 (Access to Divorce)), and MARR (Practice 1 and Law 1 (Volition in Marriage)), and is weighted by two. Brinton, now at Yale, has detailed descriptions about the operationalization of this scale that go far beyond what we are able to present in the codebook: please email him directly at gaokeren@gmail.com

Conceptual Framework: The CEDAW Convention speaks to the three sub-clusters examined in this variable, providing benchmarks for assessing state protection of the rights of women in these areas. More specifically,

1) Right to Education
CEDAW Article 10
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women:
(a) The same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for access to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in educational establishments of all categories in rural as well as in urban areas; this equality shall be ensured in pre-school, general, technical, professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types of vocational training;
(f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization of programmes for girls and women who have left school prematurely

2) Rights within the Family
CEDAW Article 16
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women:
(a) The same right to enter into marriage;
(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent;
2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.

3) Right to Physical Security/Bodily Integrity
CEDAW Article 1 
For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
CEDAW Article 2
Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:
(a)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
CEDAW Article 4
States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination.  States should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to this end, should:
(a)   Consider, where they have not yet done so, ratifying or acceding to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or withdrawing reservations to that Convention;
(b)   Refrain from engaging in violence against women;
(c)   Exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons;
(d)   Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women who are subjected to violence; women who are subjected to violence should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered; States should also inform women of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms;
(e)   Consider the possibility of developing national plans of action to promote the protection of women against any form of violence, or to include provisions for that purpose in plans already existing, taking into account, as appropriate, such cooperation as can be provided by non-governmental organizations, particularly those concerned with the issue of violence against women;
(f)   Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and all those measures of a legal, political, administrative and cultural nature that promote the protection of women against any form of violence, and ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur because of laws insensitive to gender considerations, enforcement practices or other interventions;

Scale points:

Missing Data (there are a few countries which did not have enough data to scale)

0: The laws are consonant with CEDAW and are well enforced by the government; such enforcement is a high priority of the government.

1: The laws are consonant with CEDAW; these are mostly enforced, and the government appears to be fairly proactive in challenging cultural norms which harm women.

2: The laws are consonant with CEDAW, but there is spotty enforcement; the government may or may not signal its interest in challenging cultural norms harmful to women.

3: Laws are for the most part consonant with CEDAW, with little effective enforcement; improving the situation of women appears to be a low priority for the government.

4: There is virtually no enforcement of laws consonant with CEDAW, or such laws do not even exist.
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c. Scale #3: Inequity in Family Law/Practice Between Men and Women   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-3:

Multivariate Scale #3 (Inequity in Family Law/Practice between Men and Women) MULTIVAR-SCALE-3: This scale, developed by Professor Rose McDermott, now at Brown University, seeks to capture how inequitably family law is conceptualized according to gender.  Intercoder reliability for this coding round (for information in the database as of July 2007) was 85%.  Originally coded July 2007; look for updates in the database.

The following variables are examined in the coding of this scale in 2007 and 2011.

LRCM (Marital Rape) Practice 1; Data 1; Law 2;; AOM (Age at First Marriage) Practice 1; Law 1; Data 1;; MARR (Marriage) Practice 1; Law 1;; PW (Polygyny) Law 1;; ABO (Abortion) Law 1;; ATDW (Attitude Towards Divorce)--all available information;; IAW (Inheritance as Wife) Practice 1; Law 1 and Law 2.

After 2011, we developed a number of univariate scales that allow us to use those scales rather than the practice and law components of particular variables.  Therefore, in 2016, the following variables are examined:

1) Marital Rape: LRW-SCALE- ; LRW-SCALE- (supplemented by LRCM PRAC-1 where needed); 2) Age of Marriage: AOM-SCALE-1; AOM-SCALE-2; AOM-SCALE-3; 3) Consent in Marriage: MARR-PRAC-1; MARR-LAW-1; MARR-SCALE-3; 4) Polygyny: PW-SCALE-1; 5) Abortion Law: ABO-SCALE-1; 6) Divorce: ATDW (all available information); 7) Women's Property Rights: LO-SCALE-1; LO-SCALE-2; LO-SCALE-3 (supplemented by IAW Prac-1 and IAW LAW-1 and LAW-2 when the LO Scale is missing for a country)

Notes on Variable Selection for Scale:

  • CUST is not usually different from what is contained in ATDW info, and therefore is excluded because it is largely redundant for purposes of this scale.
  • IW, though originally included in the operationalization. is excluded because it typically does not add any additional information over and above the score the country would have received on family law otherwise, and its exclusion makes the components more manageable, and thus reliable.
  • We recognize that marital rape mainly distinguishes industrial countries from those which are less developed, but we find this to be an important aspect of family law regardless, and so include it in the scale.

Coding protocol:

  1. Where there is a discrepancy between law and practice, lean toward actual practice in the coding.
  2. When in doubt, err on the side of caution, being more conservative in scoring to take account of women in inequitable circumstances. Conservative means higher scores (3 as opposed to 2). To take account of women in inequitable circumstances refers to the fact that we wanted to take account of women who live in enclaves where their treatment might be worse than the in the dominant society, but as a percentage of the overall population they may only be a less than significant minority.
  3. Each component of the scale (ABO, PW) is scored independently, and then the arithmetic average is taken as the total score.  Where that average falls in the middle, divorce and abortion law are weighed more heavily
  4. Do not score a component element that either does not have sufficient information or whose information relies on singles cases, although it is fine to use information that discusses commonalities within specific regions or denominations within a country. 

Additional Coding Principles Used in the 2011 and 2016 Scaling Effort:

  1. Bride price can be considered as a restriction on a woman’s ability to chose her marriage partner
  2. Divorce coding advice - We thought property was less important than custody and so we saw scale point 1 as cases where women can inherit property and can get custody after divorce, and scale point 3 where divorce really means women do not have a good shot at custody or property but scale point 2 as where women may have one but not the other (can get custody but not property, or property but not custody).  In my memory, it was much more common, depending a bit on geographical region, for women to be able to get custody but not property but we always erred on considering it worse (3 as opposed to 2) if custody was harder than property. – Rose McDermott
  3. Abortion advice - China's one child policy which encourages abortion does qualify as a type of discrimination in family law because it does not allow married couples to make their own decisions about how many children they would like to have. 
  4. When scoring MARR variables you can use underage marriage as a sign of forced marriage.
  5. When scoring LRCM (Marital Rape) you can use the prevalence of forced marriage as a sign or corresponding levels of marital rape.
  6. The existence of triple talaq as an acceptable form of divorce demonstrates inequity in access to divorce.
  7. In countries with a Federal state system, if one state is allowed by the Federal government to have unequal laws then the whole country is hurt by that state’s laws in terms of the scale.

 

Description of Scale Points:


0: Legal age of marriage is at least 18, and most (80%+) marry over that age. Marriages younger than 16 are virtually unheard of.  Polygyny is illegal and extremely rare.  Women are free to choose their spouse. Women know their rights to consent and divorce and are free to exercise those rights without fear of reprisal. Marital rape is illegal and actively prosecuted. Women and men have equal rights to divorce. Woman can inherit property upon the death of a parent or upon divorce. Abortion is safe and legal and not imposed by the state on women (i.e. forced abortions are not an issue).  

1: Legal age of marriage is 16 or higher and most (80%+) marry over age 16.  Polygyny is illegal and uncommon.  Women are free to choose their spouse. Women know their rights to consent and divorce and are free to exercise those rights without fear of reprisal.  Marital rape is illegal. Women and men have equal rights to divorce. Woman can inherit property, but laws tend to favor men in property rights, including asset division after divorce. Abortion is legal (although may not be available on demand (for the asking)


2: Legal age of marriage is 16 or higher, but girls marrying younger are common (up to 25%).   There is often an age difference between the legal age of marriage for men and women, such that girls are allowed to marry at younger ages than males. Polygyny is legal but unusual (<5% of women).  Girls may not have full rights to choose their spouse. Women may or may not know their rights to consent and divorce. Marital rape may be illegal, but is not prosecuted and practice often allows it. Generally speaking, the grounds for divorce for men and women are the same, although there may be exceptions (i.e., exempting infidelity on the part of the male, or infertility on the part of the female).  Divorce laws systematically favor men, and women do not have equal rights in child custody matters.  Abortions may be restricted, but there are many reasons for permission to be given, including financial reasons.

 

3: Legal age of marriage is 15 or lower, but girls marrying younger are common ( between 25-50%).   Age discrepancies in the average age of men and women getting married is often greater than 7 years or more,with women often averaging less than 15 years old at time of marriage.  Polygyny is legal and not uncommon (>5% but less than 25% of women).  Girls often cannot chose their spouse. Although obstacles exist that force women to meet a higher standard of justification than men, women can seek divorce but are generally unaware of that right. Women in certain areas of in certain ethnic or religious groups may either be unaware of their rights to consent in marriage and to divorce, or may fear reprisals if they exercise those rights; such rights may be very limited. Marital rape is not acknowledged in law. Divorce laws systematically favor men, and women do not have equal rights in child custody matters, or in inheritance law.  Abortions are severely restricted to cases where the life of the mother is at risk, possibly also rape and incest.


4: Legal age of marriage does not exist or allows girls younger than 12 to marry. Girls commonly (more than 25%) marry around the age of 12 or even before puberty.  Women are rarely asked for consent before marriage, and women are often forced to marry much older men in this way.  Polygyny is legal and common (>25%). Women must overcome tremendous legal obstacles to sue for divorce, while men can seek divorce for many reasons. Women may be unaware of their right to give consent in marriage or to divorce their husbands, may not legally possess such rights, or may feel that the exercise of those rights would bring dire physical or social consequences. Women are not awarded custody or inheritance. Marital rape is not illegal. Abortions are illegal (you may also take cases where states impose abortions on women, i.e., forced/coerced abortions). 
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d. Scale #4: Clan Governance Index   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-4:

Appendix B: Clan Governance Algorithm

The following algorithm was used for the creation of the Clan-based Governance Index. It operates on the simple principle that the higher the number of subcomponent variables indicating significant subordination of female interests to male interests in marriage, the more influence clans have in the governance of society. First and foremost, then, this is an index of the degree of female subordination in marriage and family.

  • Use Inequitable Family Law as base for Index.
  • Add Patrilocality score to Index.
  • If Property Rights is 2, add 1 to Index.
  • If Age of marriage scale is 3 or 4, add 1 to Index.
  • If Polygyny is 3 or 4, add 1 to Index.
  • If Cousin marriage is 2, add 1 to Index.
  • If Level of violence against women is 3 or 4, add 1 to Index.
  • If Honor-based violence is 2, add 1 to Index.

However, the use of this algorithm is problematic because of a high percentage of missing values for Property Rights in Practice (32% missing), Honor-based Violence (23.43% missing), and Cousin Marriage (21.14% missing). To address this problem, we used a Multiple Imputation Method (IRMI: Iterative Robust Model-Based Imputation) in the open source statistical package R that works well with non-random missing and ordinal data. The resulting Index created using imputed data will be referred to from now on as the “Clan Governance Index.”
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e. Scale #5: Government Framework for Gender Equality   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-5:

Government Framework for Gender Equality

This scale was created by Professor Senem Ertan, and first scaled in 2015 (look for updates in the database).  This is a multi-dimensional scale which utilizes three subscales that identify a general framework for feminist government action: 1) Legal declaration of gender equality (CONST-SCALE-1);  2) Existence of gender equality action plan (ATC-SCALE-2); 3) Commitment to the international gender equality framework of CEDAW (ATC-SCALE-1). These three subscales, when added together to produce a scale ranging from 0-7, capture legislative, practical and international determinants of feminist government policies.

 

Scale Legend, Government Framework for Gender Equality
0-1 Strong policies across all three dimensions (law, action plans, CEDAW)

2-3 Strong policies exist on most, but not all, dimensions

4-5 Gender equality policies may exist, but are inadequate on more than one dimension

6-7 No or very weak policies on gender equality across all three dimensions
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f. Scale #6: Patrilineality/Fraternity Syndrome Scale   MULTIVAR
MULTIVAR-SCALE-6:

MULTIVAR-SCALE-6: Patrilineality/Fraternity Syndrome Scale

Purpose: The purpose of this multivariate scale is to determine to what degree the country relies on the patrilineal/fraternal security provision mechanism within its society.  It examines 11 variables for that purpose: MARR-SCALE-1, MULTIVAR-SCALE-3, AOM-SCALE-3, PW-SCALE-1, MARR-SCALE-3, MULTIVAR-SCALE-1, MURDER-SCALE-1, LO-SCALE-3, MARR-SCALE-2, ISSA-SCALE-1, and LRW-SCALE-9. The scale was originally coded in 2017; look for updates in the database.

Calculation of Baseline: Start with the Prevalence of Patrilocal Marriage Scale (MARR-SCALE-1) (ranges from 0-2) and add the Inequity in Family Law in Law and Practice score (MUTIVAR-SCALE-3; ranges from 0-4) to it.  This is your baseline.  Why? Patrilocal marriage is the most telling indicator of the patrilineality/fraternity security provision mechanism, and Inequity in Family Law in Law and Practice is a broad view of the position of women within their households.

Further Calculation: Then pull out the extremes of all the other Syndrome variables and mark the country if the extreme is present, as follows:

  • If the Age of Marriage for Girls Combined Law and Practice Scale (AOM-SCALE-3) is 3 or 4, add 1 to the baseline.
  • If the Polygyny Combined Scale of Law and Prevalence Scale (PW-SCALE-1) is 3 or 4, add 1.
  • If the abridged 3-point Brideprice/Dowry scale (MARR-SCALE-3; abridgement rubric is 0-3=0, 4-5=1, 6-9=2; 10=3) is 2 or 3, add 1.
  • If the Physical Security of Women Scale (MULTIVAR-SCALE-1) is 3 or 4, add 1 to the baseline.
  • If the Culturally Based Exemption for Femicide Scale (MURDER-SCALE-1) is 2, add 1.
  • If the Property Rights Combined Law and Practice Scale (LO-SCALE-3) is 3 or 4, add 1.
  • If the Cousin Marriage Legality and Prevalence Scale (MARR-SCALE-2) is 3, add 1.
  • If the Son Preference and Sex Ratio Scale (ISSA-SCALE-1) is 2, add 1; if it is 3 or 4, add 2.
  • If the Rape Exemption if Offer Marriage Scale (LRW-SCALE-9) is 1, then add 1.

Range: The Patrilineality/Fraternity Syndrome Score can thus range from 0-16, with 16 being interpreted as meaning the society fully encodes Patrilineality/Fraternity Syndrome as its security provision mechanism.  Four countries were missing one subscale score in the 2017 scaling, and their values were imputed to keep the national score comparable to the rest of the nations.  These nations are Central African Republic, Libya, Syria, and Vanuatu. Please note Syria's imputation was actually 12.5, which was rounded up for input into the database to allow mapping to be possible.

Map: For the map's five legend colors, the cut points were [0,1,2], [3,4,5], [6,7,8,9], [10,11,12], [13,14,15,16]. If you wish to use a dichotmous measure, then 0-5 would be  (roughly) non-Syndrome societies, and 6-16 would be (roughly) Syndrome societies.

 

 
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ii. The Hill/Karim Scales
Scale #1: Women's Inclusion   MULTIVAR
HILLKARIM-SCALE-1:

HillKarim-Scale-1 measures women’s inclusion. The inclusion model features 35 variables related to women’s inclusion in education, political institutions, and the workforce, and this variable covers 174 countries for the years 1973-2014. In this scale, higher values correspond to greater inclusion for women. Data for each scale include a score for each country-year (labeled “Mean”), as well as a standard deviation (labeled “SD”) and the lower and upper bounds of the 95% credible interval for the score (“2.5” and “97.5”). Please see overall description and links above. Historical Hill/Karim Inclusion scores for Yugoslavia and North Vietnam can be downloaded here.
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Scale #2: Women's Security   MULTIVAR
HILLKARIM-SCALE-2:

HillKarim-Scale-2 measures women’s security. Our security model includes 47 variables that measure the extent to which women are economically vulnerable and/or dependent on men for material well-being, exposure to the risk of bodily harm from physical violence or medical conditions, and male dominance in everyday decision-making. The years of coverage are 1960-2014. In this scale, higher values correspond to greater levels of security for women. Data for each scale include a score for each country-year (labeled “Mean”), as well as a standard deviation (labeled “SD”) and the lower and upper bounds of the 95% credible interval for the score (“2.5” and “97.5”). Please see overall description and links above.  Historical Hill/Karim Security scores for Yugoslavia and North Vietnam can be downloaded here.
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Scale #3: Women's Legal Rights   MULTIVAR
HILLKARIM-SCALE-3:

HillKarim-Scale-3 measures women’s legal rights. Our rights model features 75 variables related to formal law, including laws related to freedom of movement for women, domestic violence, and property and suffrage rights. The years of coverage are 1960-2014. In this scale, higher values correspond to more extensive rights for women. Data for each scale include a score for each country-year (labeled “Mean”), as well as a standard deviation (labeled “SD”) and the lower and upper bounds of the 95% credible interval for the score (“2.5” and “97.5”). Please see overall description and links above.  Historical Hill/Karim Inclusion scores for Yugoslavia and North Vietnam can be downloaded here.
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Part II. WomanStats Data and Scales for Single Variables
A. Women's Physical Security
i. Health (See also Maternal and Infant Mortality and other health indicators for maternity in Section F)
a. Differential Health and Access to Health Care Based on Gender   DACH
FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE CARE, SEE MISA VARIABLE CLUSTER (MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE)
DACH-PRACTICE-1:

Are women restricted from full access to health care because of their gender? [For example, does the doctor have to be a woman? Do husbands ever have to OK procedures? Is there a lack of doctors specializing in gynecological/obstetrical care?] Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? On the other hand, does the government have special programs targeting health for women, or do they sponsor education programs specifically for women about their health, such as education about and supplies for menstruation, or education concerning reproductive health? [Note: contraception variables are found in DACH-PRACTICE-2 and DACH-DATA-2.) What percentage of doctors are women? (This last might also be found in Area of Study Restrictions.)
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DACH-PRACTICE-2:

Do women typically have access to contraceptives? Do women face barriers in practice when attempting to access contraception? Explain degree of access, types of contraception, obstacles to access, etc. [This does not mean that women necessarily use contraceptives; access and barriers to access are what we are looking for here. Also include information on emergency contraceptives, if that is available.]  Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?
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DACH-PRACTICE-3:

How are disabled women treated in the society?  Are there differences in how disabled men and disabled women are treated?  Please take this broadly, so for example, are there any government programs to specifically help disabled women?  Is education available to disabled women?  Are disabled women able to obtain health care?  Are disabled women subject to discriminatory treatment, such as sterilization?  Etc.
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DACH-LAW-1:

Are there laws concerning differential access to health care for men and women (disabled or not)?  Or, conversely, is health care a legal right for both men and women?
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DACH-DATA-1:

What is the life expectancy of women and men? What are the mortality/morbidity rates in the society, disaggregated by gender? (We have the MMR variable for maternal morality and the IM variable for infant mortality.)
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DACH-DATA-2:

What is the percentage of women who have access to contraceptives? Percentage of women who use contraceptives? Percentage of women of reproductive age who have their needs for family planning met? Please identify which concept is being addressed by the provided data.
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DACH-DATA-3:

What is the average age of first sexual intercourse for girls/women? (For average age at first marriage, see AOM cluster.) Note any differences to boys/men, if available.  Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences noted in the literature? (This variable was added in 2020, so data collection may lag.)
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DACH-SCALE-1:

Female Life Expectancy, Ordinal Ranking

0: Female life expectancy is greater than or equal to 79 years 

1: Female life expectancy is between 71 and 78 years 

2: Female life expectancy is between 63 and 70 years

3: Female life expectancy is between 54 and 62 years

4: Female life expectancy is less than or equal to 53 years

99: Missing Data
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DACH-SCALE-2:

Difference Between Female and Male Life Expectancy

0: The difference between female and male life expectancy is between 9 and 12 years

1: The difference between female and male life expectancy is between 4 and 8 years

2: The difference between female and male life expectancy is between -1 and 3 years

99: Missing Data
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b. Infibulation/FGM/Other Mutilations   INFIB
INFIB-PRACTICE-1:

What is the attitude toward these practices, and how are laws against them enforced? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? Are there reasons given for the practice?
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INFIB-LAW-1:

What are the laws regarding these practices? Also, are there any government policies aimed at mitigating these practices?
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INFIB-DATA-1:

What is the most frequent type of infibulation / FGC practiced, if any? What other types of practices exist within the society? Include practices that mutilate female anatomy besides traditional FGC; for example, “breast ironing” in West Africa.
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INFIB-DATA-2:

Provide prevalence data here. Among other relevant pieces of information, such as actual percentages of women circumcised/infibulated, you may also indicate relative prevalence of these practices based on three categories— (1) frequent or common, (2) occasional (not rare) and regional only, and (3) rare or never.
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INFIB-SCALE-1:

(Female Circumcision Prevalence): Originally coded July 2007 (look for updates in database). Professor Rose McDermott's Scale of Female Circumcision Prevalance: Designed to provide a scale for the prevalence of female genital mutilation in a given state. Prevalence rates includes all four types of FGM, as defined by the World Health Organization, that is, it includes the entire spectrum of cutting, from "milder" forms to more extreme forms. This data is derived from Womanstats variable Infib Practice 1, Data 1, and Data 2. Note that this scale attempts to be somewhat more precise than INFIB Data 1, in that it assigns percentage prevalence numbers within a larger ordinal scale, but is not an interval scale, as is INFIB Scale 2. Note about scaling: Only in the case of disagreements between our scalers about how a country should be coded, we take the higher score.

0: essentially never

1: rare or limited to particular ethnic minority enclaves

2: 11-25% of women have had their genitals cut

3: 26-50% of women have had their genitals cut

4: more than half of women have had their genitals cut

 

Notes to the Rubric: If authorities within the nation explicitly state there are women at risk for female genital cutting in the country, even if figures at not given as to the prevalence of such risk, code this country as a 1. 
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INFIB-SCALE-2:

Scale of Legality of Female Genital Cutting (Based on WomanStats variable INFIB LAW 1; first scaled 2020, look for updates in the database).  This variable examines both how comprehensive the laws against genital cutting are, as well as whether the law is enforced or not.  To count, the law must criminalize genital cutting of children at a minimum; it does not have to ban the practice for adults.  The law does not have to include the word "female," but does have to include "genital cutting" or "genital mutilation."  We code countries as a "2" if there is no explicit law against genital cutting, but the country notes that the practice can be prosecuted under laws against bodily assault or bodily harm.

0  There are laws against FGC and travel to perform FGC, and these are strictly enforced.

1 There are laws against FGC, but they are either not comprehensive (such as failure to ban travel to perform FGC), or have loopholes, or are not strictly enforced.

2 There are no laws against FGC as a specifically-named act (and this includes cases where FGC can only be performed in a medical setting, or must be prosecuted under a non-specific law such as assault).
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INFIB-SCALE-3:

INFIB-SCALE-3 simply combines INFIB-SCALE-1 and INFIB-SCALE-2 to provide a more complete view of FGC as a phenomenon in a country.  That is, it examines not only the prevalence of the practice, but also law surrounding the practice.  This variable was first scaled in 2020; look for updates in the database.

0 There is essentially no FGC and laws against the practice are strict, comprehensive, and enforced.

1 There is very little FGC, or laws may not be comprehensive or enforced well.

2 There is very little FGC and laws may not be comprehensive or enforced well.

3 FGC may be as high as 25% and laws may not be comprehensive or enforced well.

4 FGC may be as high as 50% and laws may not be comprehensive or enforced well.

5 FGC is highly prevalent and laws may not be comprehensive or enforced well.

6 FGC is highly prevalent, and there are no laws banning the practice.
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c. Caloric Intake   CIWM
CALORIE INTAKE/BMI OF WOMEN VS. MEN
CIWM-PRACTICE-1:

Is there a difference in gender-normed caloric consumption or BMI between men and women in society, and if so, does it indicate a preference towards men or women? Is malnutrition observed more frequently among females than males in this society?
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CIWM-DATA-1:

How many calories do females consume compared to males? Compare BMI of men and women in society. (These will have to be gender-normed for comparison purposes) Include here any comparison of malnutrition rates between males and females.
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d. Menarche Average Age of Onset   MAAO
MAAO-PRACTICE-1:

Are there rituals, observances, or celebrations that attend the onset of menarche?
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MAAO-DATA-1:

What is the average age of menarche? If comparatively high or low, are there environmental or social conditions that appear to affect the age of menarche in this country?
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e. Issues with STDs   ISTD
ISTD-PRACTICE-1:

What is the awareness level of women vs. men in regards to AIDS or STDs? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in AIDS acquisition? What incentives or impediments to AIDS/STD treatment access (including access to drugs) exist, and what societal norms or governmental policies influence this access? Is access influenced by gender?
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ISTD-DATA-1:

What percentage of women have AIDS/STDs? You can also include information about most prevalent STDs here. What is the percentage of Women with AIDS and total AIDS prevalence? Compare to figures for men.
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ISTD-DATA-2:

What is the trajectory of the AIDS/STDs in the subpopulation of women and how does this compare to the over all trajectory?
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ISTD-DATA-3:

What is the overall rate of AIDS/STDs in the country?
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f. Issues with Married Women and STDs   IMSTD
IMSTD-PRACTICE-1:

Can a women refuse sex to her husband or require that he wear a condom? The idea is, can a wife protect herself from her husband whom she may suspect of infidelity and therefore is at higher risk to carry an STD?
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IMSTD-DATA-1:

What percentage of married women have AIDS/STDs? Compare to men. (See also ISTD-DATA-1.)
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g. Mental Illness and Substance Abuse   MISA
(NOTE: THIS CLUSTER OF VARIABLES WAS ADDED IN 2008, AND THEREFORE ITS CODING LAGS BEHIND THAT OF OTHER VARIABLES IN THE DATABASE.)
MISA-PRACTICE-1:

Are there differences in the incidence of mental illness between men and women in society? Are there differences in treatment or medication of mentally ill men compared to mentally ill women? Do not overlook postpartum depression here. Also, are PMS and/or other gynecological disorders considered mental illnesses? Can you characterize the level of support/funding for mental health care by the government, especially as concerns women?
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MISA-PRACTICE-2:

Are there differences in the incidence of substance abuse between men and women? (These can be legal or illegal substances which may be abused.) Are men more or less likely to abuse certain substances than women? Are there social norms for tolerance of substance abuse by men as compared to women, or vice versa? Can you characterize the level of support/funding for substance abuse treatment by the government, especially as concerns women?
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MISA-DATA-1:

Place here any quantitative data on the incidence of mental illness disaggregated by gender. Do not overlook postpartum depression here.
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MISA-DATA-2:

Place here any quantitative data on the incidence of substance abuse disaggregated by gender.
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h. Potentially Harmful Beauty Practices   PHBP
(NOTE: THIS CLUSTER OF VARIABLES WAS ADDED IN 2008, AND THEREFORE ITS CODING LAGS BEHIND THAT OF OTHER VARIABLES IN THE DATABASE.)
PHBP-PRACTICE-1:

Describe beauty customs that may affect the health and wellbeing of women. Discuss the level of social pressure to adhere to these customs. (Do not put infibulation/female genital cutting here; we are not discussing purity practices in this variable, but rather beauty practices.) You can include discussion of eating disorders here if they are linked to societal norms of beautiful weight. Typically, we have put breast ironing in INFIB, since its purpose is safety, not beauty.
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PHBP-PRACTICE-2:

Discuss government or NGO initiatives and support for women who do not conform or wish to cease conforming to these harmful beauty practices.
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PHBP-LAW-1:

Does the government outlaw or sanction or regulate potentially harmful beauty practices?
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PHBP-DATA-1:

Place here any quantitative data on incidence of particular beauty practices that may be potentially harmful to women.
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ii. Violence (See Section E.ii for Domestic Violence and Female Infanticide)
a. Rape and Sexual Assault   LRW
(ALSO SEE EWCMS AND GEW FOR RAPE IN AND BY THE MILITARY AND OTHER ARMED GROUPS)
LRW-PRACTICE-1:

Are laws against rape and sexual assault enforced? [Include conviction and incarceration rates.] Are reasons given for the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in this country? What are soceital attitudes surrounding the rape victim? The perpetrator? In societal attitudes are women seen more at fault? What are attitudes surrounding the incidence of rape? Is rape and sexual assault somehow normal, expected, accepted? Are there any indications of the presence of rape culture? ("Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.  Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety." (http://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/). Are women portrayed as or otherwise expected to be overwhelmed by or passive in the face of male sexuality/sexual violence? Are men portrayed as or otherwise expected to be sexually aggressive? Are there indications that female consent, pleasure in the sexual act is not necessary? (Note: The questions having to do with rape culture and the attitudes surrounding rape were added in December 2014).
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LRW-PRACTICE-2:

Are there taboos against reporting rape or sexual assault? [Include elements that work to fight against those taboos, such as women’s shelters, hotlines, etc.]
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LRW-PRACTICE-3:

Can a woman be killed (i.e., honor killings) or otherwise punished if she is raped or sexually assaulted– even if she is obviously innocent? Can a woman be forced by her society to marry her rapist for the sake of honor, whether or not that practice is legal? (See LRW LAW 4)
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LRW-LAW-1:

Are there laws against rape and sexual assault? Is there a law against statutory rape, and what is the age of consent cut-off for statutory rape?
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LRW-LAW-2:

What are the punishments and how is fault decided?
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LRW-LAW-3:

Who can be a legal witness [e.g., must the witness be a male?] and does the woman’s testimony count? Consider other factors, such as whether the court looks at the woman’s sexual history or dress, etc.
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LRW-DATA-1:

How prevalent is rape and sexual assault? [Look for incidence, qualitative, or quantitative information.]
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LRW-LAW-4:

Are there laws in the country absolving a rape perpetrator if they marry or agree to marry their victim?
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LRW-SCALE-1:

(SEXUAL ASSAULT): First and ONLY coding was July 2007 (Superseded by Scales 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in 2011).. Professor Rose McDermott's Scale on Sexual Assault: Designed to provide quantitative data on the percentage of women who have been victimized by sexual assault. This is often from an in house study and so it is likely an underreport of actual incidence because many women may not be aware or admit to such practices, especially if their perpetrator is present at the interview. Most often this question asks about all forms of sexual assault, and thus often encompasses sexual assaults that fall short of technical rape. This data was derived from Womanstats variable LRW Data 1.
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LRW-SCALE-2:

(RAPE INCIDENCE): Originally coded July 2007; there is an April 2008 update, but then superseded by Scales 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in 2011). Professor Rose McDermott's Rape Scale: Designed to provide quantitative data on the number of rapes per 100,000 population. Where discrepancies existed in the data, I used the most recent data. Most of this data is from Interpol, although some figures are from the UN. Please compare these numbers across states with caution, because there is often severe under-reporting, especially in areas where associated stigma is great. This data was derived from Womanstats variable LRW Data 1.
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LRW-SCALE-3:

(RAPE CONVICTIONS): First and ONLY coding was July 2007 (Superseded by Scales 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in 2011). Professor Rose McDermott's Rape Conviction Scale: Designed to provide quantitative data on the rate of convictions for rape per 1,000 population. This data was derived from Womanstats variable LRW Data 1.
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LRW-SCALE-4:

LRW SCALE 4: OFFICIALLY REPORTED RAPE PREVALENCE (per 100,000 total population): 

This scale pulls data from the LRW-DATA-1 variable. The initial scaling published in 2018 covers available rate rates between the years of 2005 and 2015, taking the most recent reported rate within that time frame for each country, and shows the prevalence of reported rapes.* Look for updates in the database.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!: Users are warned that this scale only reflects reported rape rates, and for many, if not most, countries, this is a completely unreliable indicator of the actual prevalence of rape within a society! Users are advised to gain a more holistic understanding of rape prevalence by looking at the other LRW scales, including the overall composite scale, LRW-SCALE-11.

The source of data for most countries in this scale was the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which publishes the number of police-recorded rape offenses as a rate per 100,000 total population. The scale categories reflect the UNODC metrics:

0 – fewer than 1 reported rapes/100,000 total population

1 – 1-10 reported rapes/100,000 total population

2 – 11-30 reported rapes/100,000 total population

3 – 31-60 reported rapes/100,000 total population

4 – more than 60 reported rapes/100,000 total population**

However, data was only available from the UNODC for 125 countries. For countries without UNODC data, scalers tried first to find raw data on the number of rapes reported to the police, primarily found in the State Department Human Rights Reports. These figures were then used in an appropriately prorated manner to calculate an annual rape rate per 100,000. 

If reported rape rates were unavailable, scalers used survey data that estimated the number of women who were raped in a year. This survey estimate was then converted into a rape rate per 100,000.

Several survey data sources did not provide annual estimates of rape prevalence, but instead provided estimates for the percentage of women who experienced rape in their lifetime. These data were converted to an annual rape rate per 100,000 using the following formula:

1- F(t)=e to the (-lambda x t) power, where F(t)=cumulative incidence; e=2.71828; lambda=rate; t=time units

Additionally, it is important that those who use this scale understand that some of the survey estimates conflate rape with “sexual violence” or “sexual abuse” generally. In these instances, survey data may overestimate rape prevalence. Furthermore, it is arguable that survey reports of rape and reports of rape to police may yield different rates.  For all these reasons, we re-emphasize that LRW-SCALE-4 is not reliable, and must be supplemented by additional information for a more comprehenadive view, which is what LRW-SCALE-11 does.

*Data for Qatar was pulled from 2004 because there was no more recent data for that country.

**Conventional principles of rounding were used to assign scale scores.
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LRW-SCALE-5:

LRW-SCALE-5: SCALE OF STRENGTH OF TABOOS AGAINST REPORTING RAPE: Original coding July 2017, examining two time periods: 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.  Please look for updates in the database. S. Matthew Stearmer's Scale of Prevalence, Culture, and Legality of Rape. Variables Examined: LRW Practice 1, 2 and 3.

0 – Virtually no barriers to reporting rapes

1 – Some cultural barriers to reporting rapes

2 – Cultural barriers regularly keep women from reporting rape

3 – Cultural barriers to reporting rape are intense, but a woman is not under risk of possible physical duress if she does report the rape

4 – Cultural norms on reporting are severe (including physical punishment, exile from family, or death) and the woman may face this punishment even if innocent.

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-6:

LRW-SCALE-6: SCOPE OF LAWS CONCERNING RAPE:  Original coding performed in 2017, for time periods 2005-2010 and 2010-2015. S. Matthew Stearmer's Scale of Prevalence, Culture, and Legality of Rape. Variables Examined: LRW Law 1, 2 and 3.

0 – Rape, date rape, and marital rape are all illegal.  There are no exemptions in the law for the presence of alcohol or other 'victim-blaming' exemptions.

1 – Rape, date rape, and marital rape are all illegal.  Some exemptions exist in the law for the presence of alcohol or other 'victim-blaming' exemptions.

2 -- Rape is illegal, but date rape AND/OR marital rape are not expressly forbidden by the law.  The law includes exemptions for presence of alcohol, victim status, and/or even if the rapist offers to marry the victim.

3 -- There are no specific laws making rape illegal.

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-7:

LRW-SCALE-7: ESTIMATE OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN RAPE VICTIMIZATION AND REPORTED RAPE PREVALENCE (or, estimate of under-reporting): Originally coded in 2017 for 2005-2010 and 2010-2015; look for updates in the codebook.  S. Matthew Stearmer's scale of how bad the under-reporting of rape is in a given society.  Variables examined: All LRW-PRACTICE variables, LRW-DATA-1.

0 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that rape rates are similar to the officially reported rape statistics.

1 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that rape rates are higher than officially reported rape statistics.

2 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that rape rates are significantly higher—much, much higher--than officially reported rape statistics.

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-8:

LRW-SCALE-8: ESTIMATE OF MARITAL RAPE VICTIMIZATION: Originally scaled in 2017 for time periods 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.  S. Matthew Stearmer's Scale; variables examined are LRCM-PRACTICE-1 and LRCM-DATA-1.

0 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that marital rape is rare or infrequent.

1 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that marital rape is not uncommon but by no means universal.

2 -- Authoritative sources (but non-governmental), indicate that marital rape is a significant problem (high prevalence).

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-9:

LRW-SCALE-9: LEGAL EXEMPTION FOR RAPISTS IF MARRIAGE OFFERED: Originally coded in 2017 for time periods 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.  S. Matthew Stearmer's scale of whether the law permits exoneration of a rapist that marries or offers to marry his victim.  Variables examined: LRW-LAW-4, LRW-PRACTICE variables.  Also, this scale notes cases where--although there is no marriage exemption in the rape law--there may be other laws that allow such exoneration (such as in the case of the kidnapping of a woman).  This scale also marks countries where although there is no marriage exemption in the formal law, customary law supercedes official law and the practice is widespread.

0 -- No exoneration for rapists who marry or offer to marry their victim

1 -- Exoneration possible for rapists who marry or offer to marry their victim

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-10:

LRW-SCALE-10: EXISTENCE OF ENCLAVES OF HIGHER RAPE RATES: Originally coded 2017 for time periods 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.  S. Matthew Stearmer's scale, examinig LRW-PRACTICE variables, attempts to ascertain if rape is more prevalent among certain minority groups or in refugee or IDP camps or other enclaves.  An extreme score is given if the military or rebel groups actually use rape as a weapon in civil conflict.

0 -- There do not appear to be enclaves where the situation of rape is worse. This may be because there are no enclaves, or no refugee camps.

1 -- Enclave populations and/or refugee camps face a significantly higher prevalence of rape.

2 -- Rape is used as a weapon by the military or by rebel groups.

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-11:

LRW-SCALE-11: COMPREHENSIVE RAPE SCALE: This scale combines LRW-SCALE-4, -5. -6. -7. -8. -9, and -10 for a comprehensive picture of rape within a country, looking not only at reported prevalence, but also degrees of underestimation, issues of law, existence of enclaves of greater frequency of rape, strengths of taboos against reporting rape, and so forth. It is operationalized by combining the score of each of these 7 scales, resulting in a scale that ranges from 0-18.  For mapping purposes, we have divided that range into 5 levels.  However, the database contains the full 0-18 score.  A missing score on any of the subscales results in a missing score on LRW-SCALE-11.

 

 
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LRW-SCALE-12:

LRW-SCALE-12: Legal Age of Consent for Females

LRW-SCALE-12 draws upon LRW-LAW-1, AOM-LAW-1, LRW-SCALE-9, and inquires as to the legal age of consent for females, as well as the extent to which penalties are waived under what are considered to be extenuating circumstances. It is a 7 point scale, and the meaning of the scale points is:

 

0 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 16 or above, with no exceptions.

 

1 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 16 or above, but there are legal exceptions that waive penalties.

 

2 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 14 or 15 for females, with no exceptions.

 

3 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 14 or 15 for females, but there are legal exceptions that waive penalties.

 

4 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 12 or 13 for females, with no exceptions.

 

5 The stipulated age of consent for sex (or marriage if sex outside of marriage is banned) is 12 or 13 for females, but there are legal exceptions that waive penalties.

 

6 There is no stipulated age of consent for sex or marriage, or assertion of consent or puberty is sufficient for the law to waive any penalties.
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b. Familial Sexual Assault: Marital Rape/Incest   LRCM
LRCM-PRACTICE-1:

Are laws against marital rape enforced? [include conviction and incarceration rates.] Are there reporting taboos that would deter individuals from reporting these crimes?
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LRCM-PRACTICE-2:

Are laws against incest enforced? [include conviction and incarceration rates.] (Note: This variable was added in 2009, and therefore its coding lags behind that of other variables in the database.)  Are there reporting taboos that would deter individuals from reporting these crimes?
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LRCM-LAW-1:

Is rape sufficient grounds for divorce? [This includes two questions—(1) if a woman is raped by another man, can her husband divorce her on those grounds? and (2) if a wife is raped by her husband, does she have the right to divorce him?]
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LRCM-LAW-2:

Are there laws against marital rape?
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LRCM-LAW-3:

Are there laws against incest? (Note: This variables was added in 2009, and therefore its coding lags behind that of other variables in the database.)
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LRCM-DATA-1:

How prevalent is marital rape? [Look for incidence, qualitative, or quantitative data.]
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LRCM-DATA-2:

How prevalent is incest? [Look for incidence, qualitative, or quantitative data.]
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c. Suicide Rates of Women of Childbearing Age (15-44)   SUICIDE
SUICIDE-PRACTICE-1:

Are there indications that suicide is a common social response by women to domestic violence? Are there indications that women may be forced to commit suicide by relatives under the guise of "honor suicide" to avoid laws on "honor killings"?
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SUICIDE-DATA-1:

Use this variable to take qualitative information concerning the incidence of suicide, or other prevalence data that does not fit into the data categories below.
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SUICIDE-DATA-2:

(reporting women's rates only) Total female suicide rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 total population.
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SUICIDE-DATA-3:

(reporting women's rates only) Total female suicide rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 female population
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SUICIDE-DATA-4:

(reporting men's rates only) Total male suicide rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 total population.
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SUICIDE-DATA-5:

(reporting percentage of women to men) This percentage expresses the female suicide rate (ages 15 to 44) as a percentage of the male suicide rate (ages 15 to 44).
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SUICIDE-SCALE-1:

(Ordinal Suicide Scale) Designed to scale the degree of sanction or pressure for suicide for women in a given nation, examining cultural practices that support suicide or pressure suicide (e.g., suicide as a result of domestic violence, "honor" killings, or "honor" suicide). (Note: Several nations have issues of immigrant populations that reflect different sanctions than the indigenous populations. Such immigrated-to nations will therefore receive scores that average the score of indigenous and immigrant populations [e.g. a nation whose indigenous population would receive a 0 score and whose immigrant population would receive a 2 score, would receive a final score of 1]). Note that there is a strong causal relationship between female suicide and domestic violence, and thus we also examine the prevalence of DV in the society as an indirect way to approach level of female suicide. This data was derived from Womanstats variable SUICIDE PRACTICE 1, with a look also at the DV scales.  

0: No evidence of cultural practices that support suicide or pressure suicide (e.g., suicide as a result of domestic violence, "honor" killings, or "honor" suicide). If domestic violence is the only causal factor identified, then domestic violence affects 25% or less of women in society.

1: Some evidence of cultural practices that support suicide or pressure suicide (e.g., suicide as a result of domestic violence, "honor" killings, or "honor" suicide). These practices may exist primarily in enclaves within the society, where such practices may be prevalent. If domestic violence is the only causal factor identified, then domestic violence affects between 25%-50% of women in society.

2: Substantial evidence of cultural practices that support suicide or pressure suicide (e.g., suicide as a result of domestic violence, "honor" killings, or "honor" suicide). This category may include cases where national law causes severe emotional distress for women that has been observed to lead to increased suicide rates, such as nations where women who are raped are not allowed to access abortion. If domestic violence is the only causal factor identified, then domestic violence affects more than 50% of women in society.

 
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SUICIDE-SCALE-2:

Scaling of the rates of female suicide (15-44) within a nation. This data was derived from Womanstats variable SUICIDE DATA 3.

Notes:

  • CAVEAT EMPTOR: Data on female suicide rates is likely to be VERY unreliable, subject to underreporting or even in some cases, overreporting. Many countries are missing data altogether. We have attempted to temper this issue through the combination scale SUICIDE-SCALE-3, which may be a better choice for your research purposes.
  • The age range for the scale is actually 15-54, not 15-44 (because that is the age range we had access to from data sources such as the WHO).
  • A “missing value” score does not necessarily mean that there is no data available at all for the country - the country could have data from a year outside of the scale's temporal window.  So, for example, the temporal range of suicide data for the 2019 scaling was 2008-2018.  If the country's most recent suicide data was from 2007, that data would have been incorporated into the 2010 scaling which provides data up to 2007.
  • The suicide rates were calculated by the scalers from raw suicide data provided by the WHO and population data for women ages 15-54 from the US Census Bureau’s International Database.

0: Frequency low- 0 to .99 total female suicide rate (ages 15 to 54) per 100,000 female population aged 15-54

1: Frequency medium- 1.00 to 2.99 total female suicide rate (ages 15 to 54) per 100,000 female population aged 15-54.

2: Frequency high- above 3.00 total female suicide rate (ages 15 to 54) per 100,000 female population aged 15-54.

 
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SUICIDE-SCALE-3:

The additive combination scale of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2

99: Missing Data- either missing data in SUICIDE SCALE 1 or SUICIDE SCALE 2

0: the additive score of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2 is 0

1: the additive score of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2 is 1

2: the additive score of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2 is 2

3: the additive score of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2 is 3

4: the additive score of SUICIDE SCALE 1 and SUICIDE SCALE 2 is 4

 
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d. Murder/Attack Rates; Women of Childbearing Age (15-44)   MURDER
(SEE LRCM FOR MARITAL RAPE AND INCEST. SEE SUICIDE FOR SUICIDE. SEE DV FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. SEE LRW FOR RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.)
MURDER-PRACTICE-1:

Are there socially acceptable reasons for attacking and murdering a woman, e.g., witchcraft, elopement, suspicion of promiscuity, infidelity, rape, etc.? Does the practice of honor killings exist within the society? Do these differ in comparison to murder of men? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?  Do these practices undermine enforcement of laws against murder?  For example, would an honor killing of a woman be handled outside the normal legal path for a murder?  Could a woman who survived an attempted killing be able to successfully press charges?  Etc.
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MURDER-PRACTICE-2:

Are there other common social practices that could result in the deaths or injury of women? For example, are acid attacks an issue in this nation? What about dowry deaths? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?
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MURDER-LAW-1:

Are there laws that provide for special penalties in cases where women have been attacked or killed as a result of acid attack or dowry murder or honor killings (or related phenomena)?  For example, are there special "femicide" laws in place?
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MURDER-DATA-1:

Use this variable for qualitative information in the incidence of murder, or other prevalence data that does not fit into the categories below.
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MURDER-DATA-2:

Are there any figures on specific kinds of female deaths, such as dowry deaths or deaths from acid attacks or honor killings? What about rates of injury from such practices? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in prevalence? Also see SUICIDE DATA 1 and 2.
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MURDER-DATA-3:

(reporting women's rates only) Total female murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 total population.
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MURDER-DATA-4:

(reporting women's rates only) Total female murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 female population.
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MURDER-DATA-5:

(reporting men's rates only) Total male murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 total population.
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MURDER-DATA-6:

(reporting percentage of women to men) This percentage expresses the female murder rate (ages 15 to 44) as a percentage of the male murder rate (ages 15 to 44).
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MURDER-SCALE-1:

(Ordinal Murder Scale) Designed to scale the sanction of or pressure for female murder in a given state, examining cultural/social practices that condone murder and/or injuring of women. This includes murder as a result of accused witchcraft, elopement, suspicion of promiscuity, infidelity, rape, "honor" killings, religious or ethnic practices, dowry deaths, acid attacks, etc. (Note: Several nations have issues of immigrant populations that reflect different sanctions than the indigenous populations. Such immigrated-to nations will therefore receive scores that average the score of indigenous and immigrant populations [e.g. a nation whose indigenous population would receive a 0 score and whose immigrant population would receive a 2 score, would receive a final score of 1]). This data was derived from Womanstats variables MURDER PRACTICE 1, MURDER PRACTICE 2, and MURDER DATA 2.

99: Missing Data

0: No evidence of cultural/social practices that condone murder and/or injuring of women (e.g., murder as a result of accused witchcraft, elopement, suspicion of promiscuity, infidelity, rape, "honor" killings, religious or ethnic practices, dowry deaths, acid attacks, etc.).  When brought to light, these crimes are meaningfully prosecuted. Statistics on these crimes are kept.

1: Some evidence of cultural/social practices that condone murder and/or injuring of women (e.g., murder as a result of accused witchcraft, elopement, suspicion of promiscuity, infidelity, rape, "honor" killings, religious or ethnic practices, dowry deaths, acid attacks, etc.). (Note to coders: code countries a 1 if there is evidence of several isolated gender-related homicides promoted by culture, however, such cultural practices do not seem widespread).   Here we would also put profound apathy--these crimes are often not tackled by law enforcement, giving women the feeling that the state does not care, and the state often does not even collect statistics on these types of crimes. Here we would also put enclaves that amount to less than 25% of the population.

2: Substantial evidence of cultural/social practices that condone murder and/or injuring of women (e.g., murder as a result of accused witchcraft, elopement, suspicion of promiscuity, infidelity, rape, "honor" killings, religious or ethnic practices, dowry deaths, acid attacks, etc.). (Note to coders: code countries a 2 if there is evidence of many gender-related homicides promoted by culture and such cultural practices seem widespread).  Also consider sex-selective infanticide here.
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MURDER-SCALE-2:

Scaling of the rates of female murder within a nation, for ages 15-44. This data was derived from Womanstats variable MURDER DATA 4.

99: Missing Data

0: Frequency low- 0 to 1.29 total female murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 female population 15-44.

1: Frequency medium- 1.30 to 2.99 total murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 female population 15-44.

2: Frequency high- 3.00 and above total female murder rate (ages 15 to 44) per 100,000 female population 15-44.
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MURDER-SCALE-3:

The additive combination of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is expressed in this scale.

99: Missing Data- either missing data in MURDER SCALE 1 or MURDER SCALE 2

0: the additive score of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is 0

1: the additive score of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is 1

2: the additive score of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is 2

3:the additive score of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is 3

4: the additive score of MURDER SCALE 1 and MURDER SCALE 2 is 4
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MURDER-SCALE-4:

Scaling of the rates of female murder within a nation, for all ages of females. This data was derived from Womanstats variable MURDER DATA 4.

99: Missing Data

0: Frequency low- 0 to 1.29 total female murder rate per 100,000 total female population.

1: Frequency medium- 1.30 to 2.99 total murder rate per 100,000 total female population.

2: Frequency high- 3.00 and above total female murder rate per 100,000 total female population.
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e. Sex Trafficking of Females and Related Practices Such as    TRAFF
SEE ALSO PROSTITUTION (IRP) IN SECTION D– SECURITY IN THE COMMUNITY

Trafficking may be either across borders or within the country. Note that we do have a Prostitution variable cluster (IRP) which may duplicate some of the information here. Furthermore, some variables in this cluster, such as TRAFF LAW 2 and 3, focus on trafficking across borders. Phenomena included in this variable include sex trafficking, mail order brides, procreative trafficking, etc. It would also include slavery (such as ritual slavery), and barter of women (such as women as payment for debts).
TRAFF-PRACTICE-1:

Are the laws against trafficking enforced? Are there policies or programs to prevent trafficking? What reintegration policies does the government implement to assist women removed from trafficking so they will be less likely to become a victim again? Do NGOs have programs to facilitate rehabilitation/reintegration? [Include institutions / resources available to combat trafficking. Don’t include specific case studies; instead, summarize them—e.g. “we have seen some convictions in the data.”] Remember to try and distinguish trafficking from domestic prostitution, which is dealt with in Section D-Security in the Community.
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TRAFF-PRACTICE-2:

What are the practices exactly? [These could include information regarding mail order brides, procreative trafficking, prostitutes, ages targeted, presence or lack of deception. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?] Include information on domestic wife renting.
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TRAFF-PRACTICE-3:

Are victims deported or otherwise punished? Also see variable on Asylum for Women.
RSS
TRAFF-LAW-1:

Are there laws against the trafficking of people—especially women and children? Remember that there are various forms of trafficking, such as sex trafficking, procreative trafficking, mail order brides, etc. [Include laws that are not specifically designed to stop trafficking, but that still apply—e.g. kidnapping, prostitution, regulation of surrogacy, etc.] What are the punishments? Are there legal barriers—such as certain types of proof or witnesses needed?
RSS
TRAFF-LAW-2:

Are there laws against the nation’s citizens engaging in sex trafficking or procreative trafficking or using sex slaves in other countries?
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TRAFF-LAW-3:

Is there governmental support for trafficked women, such as third party hosting of trafficked women who cannot be repatriated? Is asylum available to victims of trafficking?
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TRAFF-DATA-1:

What is the prevalence of trafficking? You may include different types of trafficking, such as procreative trafficking. Try to distinguish between sex trafficking and domestic prostitution, which is dealt with in Section D-Security in the Community. Also, the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons score for the country can be placed here.
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TRAFF-SCALE-1:

Originally coded January 2007 (look for updates in database). Professor Valerie Hudson's Scale of Trafficking, based on all WomanStats TRAFF variables (practice, law data).  There is examination of the legal framework the country has to combat trafficking, the enforcement of those laws, and the success of that enforcement in curbing trafficking.   

General notes to coders:

a) Remember to keep prostitution and trafficking separate in your mind!

b) Where there has been a war/invasion, and all of our data is from before that event, do not code the country.

c) In general, you are looking at Tier ranking, practice, law, enforcement, and data. You must have information on at least 2 of these to give a scoring. If you do not have at least 2 of these, do not score the country.

d) Do not rely on information that is not in the database, and do not compare countries as you are ranking them, e.g., “I think Iran is worse than Jordan, so I will score it higher.”

SCALE POINTS

Scale Point 0: There are laws against trafficking in the country and into or from other countries. These laws are enforced. The country is in full compliance (ranking of 1) with the Trafficking Persons act of 2000. Trafficking appears to be rare. You cannot move from a Tier 2 ranking to a Tier 1 ranking over consecutive State Department reports and be scored as a 0 immediately after the assignment of the Tier 1 ranking. Some time must elapse to see how the situation evolves, and so the country should be coded as a 1.

Scale Point 1: There are laws against trafficking in the country and into or from other countries. These laws are enforced, but either enforcement is becoming more lax over time or reports of significant trafficking undetected by authorities is increasing. In other words, though a Tier 1 country, there appear to be growing problems. The country is in full compliance (ranking of 1) with the Trafficking Persons act of 2000. For countries in which prostitution is legal, the country can still be scored as a 1 if they have taken strong measures to insure that the prostitution is not entangled with trafficking.

Scale Point 2: There are laws against trafficking in the country. (If the country only has laws about prostitution, slavery, etc., but no laws against trafficking per se, they cannot be coded as a 2.) These laws are not always enforced. The country is in non compliance (ranking of 2) with the Trafficking Persons act of 2000 but efforts are being made to comply.

Scale Point 3: There are limited laws against trafficking in the country. The country is in non compliance (ranking of 2) with the Trafficking Persons act of 2000 and only limited/marginal efforts are not being made to comply.

Scale Point 4: There are no laws against trafficking in the country, or from or into the country. The country is not in compliance (ranking of 3) with the Trafficking Persons act of 2000. Victims are not supported in any way. The government may even benefit from and therefore facilitate trafficking.
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f. Labor/Domestic Servant Trafficking/Migration    LDS
(NOTE: THIS CLUSTER INCLUDES INFORMATION ON BOTH IN-COUNTRY AND CROSS-BORDER LABOR/DOMESTIC SERVANT TRAFFICKING.)
LDS-PRACTICE-1:

Is this country either a significant provider or consumer of migrant female labor, particularly for jobs such as domestic servant, nanny, etc.? Are there certain countries from which the migrant female labor comes, or to which the migrant female labor goes? Is there in-country labor/domestic servant trafficking?
RSS
LDS-PRACTICE-2:

What problems concerning female migrant labor (cross-border or in-country) have been reported, such as abuse or exploitation? If there are laws protecting such women, what is the level of enforcement of these laws?
RSS
LDS-LAW-1:

Does the government provide any protection or education for women in such potentially vulnerable circumstances?
RSS
LDS-DATA-1:

What is the prevalence of female migrant labor in this economy? This concerns both females entering this country to labor, or females leaving this country to labor elsewhere. Please include comparisons to level of male migrant labor, if available. You may also include prevalence of in-country trafficked labor/domestic servants.
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g. Unspecified Violence Against Women   UVAW
UVAW-PRACTICE-1:

Does source material mention that there is violence against women within the society, without indicating what type of violence is being referred to? (Please do NOT include specified violence, such as homicide, rape, domestic violence, etc. Specified violence should be placed under the variables dealing with that specific phenomenon.) (This variable was added in 2011, and so coding may lag behind that of other variables.)
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B. Women's Economic Security
a. Employment Restrictions Based on Gender   ERBG
ERBG-PRACTICE-1:

In practice, are women kept out of certain areas of employment based on their gender? Do forced retirement or restrictions on night-time or other types of work exist? Do the working conditions for women tend to be worse than working conditions for men, which would deter women from employment? (Be sure to note general tendencies of one gender predominating in a profession. Note gender polarizations, e.g., where either women make up about 1% or less, or 99% or more, of an economic sector.) Are there other practices that discriminate on gender, such as forced retirement at different ages, or bans on female labor at night or in certain occupations, or issues of credit for pensions/social security? Look for sexual harassment practices here. On the other hand, does the government have programs in place to train specifically women for non-traditional employment? Does women's participation or lack of participation in labor unions affect employment practices concerning women?
RSS
ERBG-PRACTICE-2:

(E.g., World Values Survey #78.) Does the society hold the general attitude that men have more right to jobs than women? [Add any other relevant data such as differences in unemployment rates.]
RSS
ERBG-PRACTICE-3:

Are there customary hiring and/or promotion discrepancies based on gender? [For example, are promotions based on seniority instead of skill, which would often put women at a disadvantage?] Include here any figures on percentages of women in high-ranking managerial positions in business or other types of organizations such as NGOs.
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ERBG-PRACTICE-4:

Is women's entrepreneurship limited by industry or any other constraints in society? Are some industries seen as "for men" or "for women"? Do women entrepreneurs face discrimination in access to capital, property, or other assets? (See LO-Practice 1) Does society view men as more capable, or more legitimate entrepreneurs than women? Are female owned businesses looked down upon in society or not seen as legitimate as male owned businesses?
RSS
ERBG-LAW-1:

Are women legally kept out of certain arenas of employment based on their gender? [For example, does forced retirement policies for women, or restrictions on night-time or other work for women exist?] On the other hand, does the government have programs/laws to facilitate women's employment?
RSS
ERBG-LAW-2:

Are there legal hiring discrepancies based on gender? Or, on the other hand, does the government mandate equal pay by law?  Are there government programs to lessen pay gaps? Are there laws or government programs against sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace? 
RSS
ERBG-DATA-1:

Is there an earning gap between men and women in comparable professions, especially those of high status? [High status professions might include professors, managers, doctors, lawyers, etc.] Consider also discrepancies or inequities in retirement pensions.
RSS
ERBG-DATA-2:

What is the percentage of women in the workforce? What percent of the economically active female population is unemployed? Provide comparison figures for men. What percentage of top management positions are held by women?
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ERBG-DATA-3:

What percentage of the work force is married - disaggregate by gender. We are looking to see if there is a drop in employment at marriage and/or if there is a drop when the first child is born.
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ERBG-DATA-4:

What percent of active workers are engaged in full time vs. part time work? - disaggregate by sex.
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ERBG-DATA-5:

Include information here on women's participation in the informal economy. What is the percentage of women in the informal economy? Compare rates to men? Please indicate if this figure refers only to agricultural work or the economy as a whole. Please indicate if this is for informal EMPLOYMENT or self-employment/entrepreneurship. 
RSS
ERBG-DATA-6:

What is the percentage of women owned businesses? Compare rates to men? 
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ERBG-SCALE-1:

This is an ordinal variable of female laborforce participation as % of the female population aged 15+, based on World Bank figures.  The purpose of creating this ordinal scale was to make it easier to map.  In keeping with the custom of WomanStats, a higher score indicates that female laborforce participation is quite low.

0  Female laborforce participation as % of female population aged 15+ is greater than 65%.

1  Female laborforce participation as % of female population aged 15+ is 40-65%.

2  Female laborforce participation as % of female population aged 15+ is less than 40%
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b. Single mothers' economic status   SMES
(THIS INDICATOR WILL INCLUDE WIDOWS, DIVORCED MOTHERS AND NON-MARRIED MOTHERS)
SMES-LAW-1:

Does the government have programs or laws, such as tax laws, that economically assist single mothers?
RSS
SMES-DATA-1:

What is the percentage of single-mothers in poverty? As compared to other types of households, including single fathers?
RSS
SMES-DATA-2:

What is the economic situation of female-headed households? As compared to other types of households?
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SMES-DATA-3:

What is the percentage of female headed households? As compared to other types of households? Also include comparison of single mother household prevalence to single father household prevalence.
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c. Mothers' Unpaid Labor Value   MULV
MULV-PRACTICE-1:

E.g., World Values Survey #116: "Is choosing to be a housewife fulfilling?" What would societal attitudes be concerning whether choosing to be a housewife is seen as fulfilling or not? Also, we want to know if societal attitudes suggest that being a mother is viewed as fulfilling.
RSS
MULV-LAW-1:

Does the state provide benefits [such as retirement] for those who stay out of the formal labor force to care for children? Are there special social security provisions for them, or special tax credits or other tax policies to help them?
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MULV-DATA-1:

What is the estimated economic value of unpaid work in the nation (preferably disaggregated by gender, and expressed in monetary terms as well as a percentage of GDP), and what methodology was used for that estimation? What percentage of women are economically inactive in the formal economy? [These are women who, for whatever reason, have chosen not to participate in the traditional workforce outside of the home. Compare to men.] Do women drop out of the labor force at marriage or birth of a child or not at all?
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d. Caring Unpaid Labor   CL
CL-PRACTICE-1:

Does the society expect specifically women to perform unpaid volunteer work or caring labor in order for the society to function well? (See also MULV DATA 1). (Note: This variable was added in 2009, and therefore its coding lags behind that of other variables in the database.)
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CL-PRACTICE-2:

Are there gender differences in expectations concerning who cares for elderly or disabled parents?  Are daughters or sons expected to take care of elderly or disabled parents?  Is one expected to give physical care while another is expected to provide financially?  How strong are these types of expectations?
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CL-LAW-1:

Does the government give benefits to unpaid caretakers of the elderly and handicapped? [These would be women/men who stay at home to care—not institutions receiving government money. Benefits could include tax credits, special social security consideration, tax laws that aid caregivers, etc.]
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CL-DATA-1:

What percent of women live in poverty?  Are women more likely to be poor if they engage in caring labor?
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e. Breakout of daily labor hours   DLB
DLB-DATA-1:

How much time (and on what activities) does a women spend completing her required daily duties as compared to a man? This includes jobs in the public and private sphere as well as all responsibilities relating to the home. Please also characterize how rigid the gender division of labor is in this society.
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f. Urban/rural concentration of women/patterns of migration   CWC
(SEE ALSO TRAFFICKING ISSUES IN SECTION A, PART II.)
CWC-DATA-1:

What percentage of women are located in Urban areas vs. the Rural areas of the country? Compare to men.
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CWC-DATA-2:

What concerns are noted about high concentration in either location. For example many women in rural areas might not have access to health services, whereas high concentrations of women in cities may depress the job market making even useful skills underpaid.  Are there particular ethnic groups associated with the rural areas whose women might face additional discrimination?
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CWC-DATA-3:

Does the nation have a significant influx of refugees? From where? Is there a significant migration of refugees from this country to another country? To which countries? Are there special issues concerning female refugees? How about internally displaced persons (IDPs)? What are the patterns of migration here, and are there special issues concerning female IDPs?
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CWC-DATA-4:

Does the nation have a significant influx of migrants? From where? Does the national have a significant outflow of migrants? To where? Are there special issues concerning female migrants, such as suspicions of trafficking, FGM, polygyny, etc. among this population? Are there special issues concerning the fate of wives and families left behind by male migrants? For example, do women actually receive remittances, do the men marry women in the countries to which they have migrated (bigamy issues), etc.?
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C. Women's Legal Security
a. Citizenship Laws   CLCW
CLCW-PRACTICE-1:

What are the practices surrounding women’s citizenship? [This could include related issues such as the need for male permission to travel abroad, ability to get an ID card, etc.] Be sure to include any definitions of citizenship. Does the state only recognize the family and/or the head of the family as the legitimate unit of interaction between the state and its subjects? Perhaps the mother's name is not on her children's birth certificates?  Must a married woman use her husband's surname, or may she use her maiden name? We are looking for how a woman might not have full access to state institutions due to citizenship laws themselves, e.g., unable to use ration cards because they are not the head of the household. How does this compare to practices concerning men?
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CLCW-LAW-1:

Do women forfeit citizenship if they marry outside of their nationality? Men?  Are women or men are able to have their husband or wife obtain citizenship if they are of a different nationality?
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CLCW-LAW-2:

Are women allowed to hold official identification papers, such as ID cards?  Are there other types of official papers for which there are differences between men and women?  For example, are women able to hold passports and travel without male or guardian permission? Must a married woman use her husband's surname, or may she use her maiden name? How do the circumstances for women compare to that for men?
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b. Citizenship Laws Concerning Children   CLCC
CLCC-PRACTICE-1:

Is there any evidence that girl babies are less likely than boy babies to have their births officially registered, thus creating an obstacle to claiming rights as a citizen, such as the right to vote and own property, later in life? (This variable was created in 2014.)
RSS
CLCC-LAW-1:

In dual citizenship marriages or liaisons, how is children’s citizenship legally decided, and how does this decision affect their status and rights? [For example, do laws favor father’s citizenship? Or do they deny the father’s citizenship to the children, thereby cutting the children off from the benefits of being citizens of the country they inhabit?]
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CLCC-LAW-2:

Does the law jeopardize birth registration based on the marital status of the mother? Can an unwed mother register her child? (This variable added in 2014.)
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c. Land Ownership and Property Rights   LO
LO-PRACTICE-1:

Are credit, businesses, property, etc. customarily withheld from women, even if they are legally entitled to it?  For example, are types of stigma for women, such as being a divorcee, commonly used to deny a woman rights to property, credit, businesses, etc.?  [Include whether credit is withheld from women due to lack of assets. Also include whether a woman’s husband must sign for her to obtain credit, businesses, property, etc.] Compare to men. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?
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LO-LAW-1:

Do women have legal access to land, loans, credit, and business ownership? Comparison to men? Is the government taking any special measures to advance women’s property ownership? Has the country signed and/or ratified any international treaties dealing specifically with women and property law, and what are the specific declarations concerning women and property law?
RSS
LO-DATA-1:

Look for the presence of civil society groups (NGOs, grassroots movements, etc.) oriented to female entrepreneurship, economic participation, and land/property ownership. (See also NGOFW DATA variables.)
RSS
LO-DATA-2:

How long have civil society groups (NGOs, grassroots movements, etc) oriented to female entrepreneurship and property ownership been in the country? (See also NGOFW DATA variables.)
RSS
LO-DATA-3:

What is the percentage of land owned by females? What is the percentage of landowners who are female? What percentage of females are landowners? (Clearly indicate which of these questions you are answering).
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LO-SCALE-1:

Property Rights Practice for Women: Description of the Scale: This scale, developed by Professor Valerie M. Hudson and adumbrated by Jessica Hogstrom and Arielle Badger Newman, seeks to measure the actual practice of women's property rights, and was originally added to the database in 2012, with updates added periodically. This scale specifically looks only to practice, and does not include any information regarding codified law of the state. This scale is unique in that it is the only scale that looks beyond codified law and actually assesses women’s property rights in practice, giving a more realistic understanding of what property rights are in actuality for women. The variables used to identify information regarding these six Components are as follows: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-DATA 1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-3, ADCM-PRACTICE 1, IAW-PRACTICE 1, IAD-PRACTICE 1, PW-PRACTICE 3, ATFPA-PRACTICE 2. The data is conceptualized as follows:

The Property Rights Practice scale is comprised of five Components-- (A) do women in practice have equal rights and opportunities to access property and do they face discrimination in accessing property?, (B) in practice, do women (wives and daughters) inherit equally with men?, (C) in practice, how are household assets managed?, (D) in practice is there an equal division of assets upon divorce or dissolution of the family unit?, and (E) how equitable property rights in practice in polygynous unions?.

Weight was divided between these five components with more emphasis on women’s access to property, followed by ability to legally inherit, management of household assets within the family, then finally by division of assets upon divorce, and equitable division of property among polygynous unions. Component A was weighted 3; Components B and C were each weighted 2; Components D and E were each weighted 1.

Data from the database was used to ascertain if a nation had , somewhat comprehensive or somewhat discriminatory laws, or discriminatory laws. The description for each scale point along the six elements is described below:

 

0 (COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICES):

Component A-In practice, women have access to land, loans, credit, business ownership and other forms of property and rarely face discrimination. Women own, buy, sell or transfer property at will, without the interference of a man or the need for a man's consent, and regardless of their marital status. Look at percentage of land ownership (Weight 3)

Component B-In practice, daughters inherit, and they inherit equally to sons, regardless of their marital status. In practice, surviving female spouses inherit equally to surviving male spouses. This applies to women in common law/customary/religious marriages. (Weight 2)

Component C-Spouses together manage the assets of the family, and joint property sharing between spouses is practiced. The administration of their common property requires the consent of each spouse. Property acquired by the spouses during marriage is jointly owned and each of the spouses own, use, and dispose of the property, irrespective of whether it was acquired out of the earnings of the husband or of the wife and regardless of whose name is on the title and these practices extend to women in common law/customary/religious marriages. Spouses together jointly make household decisions in which the opinions of both spouses are considered. (Weight 2)

Component D-Women receive an equal (50/50) division of assets upon divorce (or when the family unit dissolves). When determining the division of assets, value is placed upon the care of children and other domestic duties in the division of marital property (perhaps in the form of economic or monetary value). (Weight 1)

Component E-Where multiple wives are legal, women have equitable property rights and receive an equal division of property upon death/divorce for each wife. (Weight 1)
 

1 (SOMEWHAT COMPREHENSIVE/SOMEWHAT DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES):

Component A – In practice, women have access to land, loans, credit, business ownership and other forms of property but frequently face discrimination. Women usually own, buy, sell or transfer property at will, and the interference of a man or the need for a man's consent is sometimes required, although their marital status may have an effect on their ability to own property. (Weight 3)

Component B – In practice, daughters frequently inherit, though they do not always inherit equally to sons, and their marital status may be an inhibiting factor. In practice, surviving female spouse may inherit but their inheritance is often less than surviving male spouses and these practices frequently do not extend to women in common law/customary/religious marriages. (Weight 2)

Component C – Spouses frequently manage the assets of the family together, or some other marital property regime is practiced. In practice, either spouse may administer his or her own property and the administration of any common property does not require the consent of each spouse. Property acquired by the spouses during marriage is frequently considered jointly owned and the spouses frequently have equal rights to own, use, and dispose of the property, irrespective of whether it was acquired out of the earnings of the husband or of the wife, although the name on the title may be an inhibiting factor for women and these practices frequently do not extend to women in common law/customary/religious marriages. Spouses together may discuss household decisions but extra weight is given to the husband's preferences. (Weight 2)

Component D – In practice, women frequently receive a division of assets upon divorce, though this division is usually not equal (50/50). The care of children and other domestic duties in the division of marital property (perhaps in the form of economic or monetary value) is not usually considered. (Weight 1)

Component E – Where multiple wives are legal, women usually have equitable property rights and usually receive an equal division of property upon death/divorce for each wife. (Weight 1)
 

2 (DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES):

Component A – In practice, women are not able to access land, loans, credit, business ownership and other forms of property. Women cannot own, buy, sell or transfer property at will. The interference of a man or the need for a man's consent is generally required, and their marital status is generally an inhibiting factor. (Weight 3)

Component B – In practice, daughters do not generally inherit or if they do, daughters often give up their inheritance to another male family member. In practice, surviving female spouses do not usually inherit; rather, the property is automatically inherited by another male. If the surviving female spouse does inherit but chooses to remarry, she risks losing the inheritance and these practices generally apply women in common law/customary/religious marriages. (Weight 2)

Component C – Spouses do not manage the assets of the family together, but rather this is usually the duty of the husband (or the head of the household, who is assumed to be male). The wife cannot administer her own property freely, and the administration of any common property does not require the consent of the wife. Property acquired by the spouses during marriage is not jointly owned and the wife does not have equal rights to own, use, and dispose of the property and these practices generally apply women in common law/customary/religious marriages. Husbands do not consult their wives when making household decisions. (Weight 2)

Component D – Women rarely receive an equal (50/50) division of assets upon divorce. The care of children and other domestic duties in the division of marital property (perhaps in the form of economic or monetary value) is not considered. (Weight 1)

Component E – Where multiple wives are legal, women generally do not have equitable property rights and generally do not receive an equal division of property upon death/divorce for each wife. (Weight 1)

 

Coders sorted the data from these variables into the five Components of the scale, assigning each individual data point to the scale description of either a 0 (generally good practices), 1 (mixed good and bad practices), or 2 (generally bad practices).  

All data, even if contradictory, was included in the scaling process. If a piece of data for Component A is found to fit a 0 and another piece of data for Component A fits a 1, both are taken into account in our final scoring.

 

The scale requires that at least 3 Components be addressed in order to assign a scale value (2 from A-C and 1 additional Component). Below are the rules for scaling for 2012 and 2017:

  • Of the three Components that had to be addressed, 2 had to come from Components A-C and 1 had to come from any of the remaining Components (D and E). This means that 3 pieces of data were needed at a minimum.

  • Assigning at least 1 piece of data to a Component was sufficient to consider that Component complete.

  • At least 2 sources of data had to be used (for example, a CEDAW report plus a media article) in order to scale a country. At a minimum, this would imply that one source supplied enough data for two components.

  • Coders used every piece of applicable data in the database. For example, if there were 3 pieces of data for property ownership, all were used.

  • Only one question in each Component (A-E) was required to be answered in order to assign the score even if the Component was comprised of multiple questions. Given the lack of data, answering only one question in a Component was often the best that could be done.

  • All contradictory data was included in the scaling process and discussed.

  • All applicable data from 2012-2017 was used for the 2017 scaling.

  • All applicable data from 1995-2012 was used for the 2012 scaling.

Once the data was sorted into the appropriate category, 0, 1, or 2 for the components (A-E), then we calculated the score for the individual country. First, we calculated an average for each Component, A-E. We then multiplied the Component average by the Component weight to achieve the weighted average for each Component. After finding the weighted average for each Component, we added together all of the Component weighted averages and divided it by the sum of the Component weights to calculate the final score. We then used conventional rounding methods to round scores to the nearest whole number. For example, 0.5 and above became a 1, 1.5 and above became a 2. See an example below:

 

 

Scale Point 0

Scale Point 1

Scale Point 2

Average scale point rating for data set example

Component weight

Average rating x weight

Component A

0

0

0

0

3

0

Component B

0

1

1

1.5

2

3

Component C

0

2

2

1.5

2

3

Component D

0

0

2

2

1

2

Component E

0

0

2

2

1

2
         

Total

10

The denominator in this equation is the sum of the scale point values that had data (in this case component A is left out since there were no data points in A).

Scale Point Calculation

=10/(2+2+1+1)=1.66
       

Final Scale Point Assignment

2



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LO-SCALE-2:

LO SCALE 2: Property Rights Law for Women: This scale, developed by Professor Valerie M. Hudson and adumbrated by Jessica Hogstrom and Arielle Badger Newman, seeks to measure to what degrees codified law protects women's property rights, and was originally added to the database in 2012, with updates added periodically. The following variables were examined to scale each country: LO LAW 1, ATDW LAW 1, ADCM LAW 1, IAW LAW 1, IAW LAW 2, IAD LAW 1, POLY LAW 1, POLY LAW 2.  The scale is conceptualized as follows:

The Property Rights Law scale is comprised of six components—A) is the rule of law strong, that is, does civil law trump customary law?, B) do women legally have equal rights and opportunities to access property?, C) can women (wives and daughters) legally inherit equally with men?, D) what is the management of household assets?, E) how equal is the division of assets upon divorce?, and F) how equitable are property rights among wives in polygynous unions?

Weight was divided between these six components with more emphasis on civil law being supreme to customary law and law regarding women’s equal rights to access property, followed by ability to legally inherit, management of household assets within the family, then finally by division of assets upon divorce, and equitable division of property among polygynous unions. Components A and B were each weighted 3; Components C and D were each weighted 2; Components E and F were each weighted 1.

Data from the database was used to ascertain if a nation had comprehensive laws, somewhat comprehensive or somewhat discriminatory laws, or discriminatory laws. The description for each scale point along the six elements is described below:

  

All data, even if contradictory, was included in the scaling process.  The existence of contradictory data for a given Component can occur for a couple of reasons: (1) the laws themselves may be contradictory; (2) reports were coded that stated the nature of the laws and the reports cited the laws differently; or (3) a piece of data answered part of a Component, receiving one score, and another piece of data answered another part of that Component and received a different score. If a piece of data for Component A is found to fit a 0 and another piece of data for Component A fits a 1, both are taken into account in our final scoring.

The scale requires that at least 3 Components be addressed in order to assign a scale value (2 from A-C and at least 1 additional Component). Below are the rules for scaling for 2012 and 2017:

  • Of the three components that had to be addressed, there had to be one piece about land ownership and then two of the other categories.

  • 1 piece of data sufficed to complete a component.

  • To scale, 3 total pieces of data were needed at a minimum, one from land property and one from two other components.

  • At least 2 sources of data had to be used (for example, a CEDAW report plus a media article) in order to scale a country. This would imply that at least one source had to supply enough data for two components.

  • Coders used every piece of applicable data in the database. For example, if there were 3 pieces of data for property ownership, all were used. There was usually only a few pieces of data so there wasn’t a problem of too much data.

  • All contradictory data is included in the scaling process

  • All applicable data from 2012-2017 was used for the 2017 scaling

  • All applicable data from 1995-2012 was used for the 2012 scaling

  • Only one question in each components (A-F) was required to be answered to assign the score even if there were multiple questions to address.

  • Given the lack of data, answering only one question was sometimes the best we could do. Sometimes we only had answers to one of the questions to give an indication of inheritance or management of household property.

 

Once the data had been sorted into the category, 0, 1, 2 for the components (A-F), then we found the score for the individual country. First, we calculated an averages for each component, A-F. With this component average, we then found the weighted average for each component. After finding the weighted average for each component A-F, we took the sum of these component weighted averages and divided it by the sum of the component weights to find the final score. We then used conventional rounding methods to round scores to the nearest whole number. For example, .5 and above became a 1, 1.5 and above became a 2. See an example below:

 

 

Scale Point 0

Scale Point 1

Scale Point 2

Average scale point rating for data set example

Component weight

Average rating x weight

Component A

0

0

0

0

3

0

Component B

0

1

1

1.5

3

4.5

Component C

0

2

2

1.5

2

3

Component D

0

0

2

2

2

4

Component E

0

0

2

2

1

2

Component F

0

0

2

2

1

2
         

Total

15.5

The denominator in this equation is the sum of the scale point values that had data (in this case component A is left out since there were no data points in A).

Scale Point Calculation

=15.5/(3+2+2+1+1)=1.722
       

Final Scale Point Assignment

2

  
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LO-SCALE-3:

Property Rights in Law and Practice for Women: This scale is simply the addition of LO SCALE 1 and LO SCALE 2, for a more holisitc look at women's property right both in practice and in law. Since those two scales range from 0-2, LO SCALE 3 ranges from 0-4. (Note: This scale was added in 2012.)
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d. Legal Barriers to Holding Office   LBHO (laws)
(SEE ALSO SECTION G-WOMEN’S SECURITY THROUGH VOICE)
LBHO-LAW-1:

Are there legal barriers against women holding office in any of the three branches of government (judicial, executive, and/or legislative)? Men?
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LBHO-LAW-2:

Are there incentives or quotas for women office holders and men in any of three branches of government (judicial, executive, and/or legislative)?
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e. Voting Rights   VOTE
VOTE-PRACTICE-1:

Are there practices or customs that keep women from exercising a legal right to vote? Look for barriers such as travel, illiteracy, fees, etc., in addition to problems with husbands or general cultural bias. Also consider whether a married woman must register to vote with her husband's surname, or her maiden name. Compare these to barriers for men.
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VOTE-LAW-1:

Do women have the legal right to vote? Do men? How do rights for men and women compare?
RSS
VOTE-DATA-1:

What is the suffrage age for men and women?
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VOTE-DATA-2:

What is the percentage of eligible men and women that exercise their right to vote?
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D. Women's Security in the Community
a. Issues Regarding Prostitution   IRP
(SEE ALSO TRAFFICKING ISSUES IN SECTION A, PART II.)
IRP-PRACTICE-1:

What are societal attitudes towards prostitution? [E.g., The World Values Survey question #209 is a specific question on this topic, but you can take any information you can find.] Include information on the degree of acceptance of prostitution in the society. Also, is there any reason a woman would feel she had no choice but to be a prostitute, i.e. this may be one of the few ways widows or divorcees can get by in a particular society, or because one has a different gender identity or sexual orientation, etc. You can include other practice-related information, such as how prostitutes are treated by the general public, how sex buyers are viewed, regional/ethnic/tribal differences, etc. Is prostitution viewed as a necessary evil, as just another form of work, etc.?  Is there a controversy over how to approach the issue of prostitution within the society?
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IRP-PRACTICE-2:

If the prostituted women are from foreign countries, are victims in practice deported? Do women from foreign countries fear deportation, and does that hinder them from, for example, registering as prostitutes, accessing government services, etc.? Are women from foreign countries more subject to police mistreatment, blackmail, etc.? Is there any indication that the laws concerning prostitution are fueling trafficking? (See also Trafficking variables.)
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IRP-PRACTICE-3:

How much bargaining power does a female prostitute have via a vis her male client? For example, in practice, can a woman prostitute require that a man wear a condom, or can she rule out certain sexual services she does not want to engage in? Vis a vis her pimp or the brothel owner? Has research in the country shown health-related effects of prostitution in that country that might indicate that a female prostitute has low bargaining power, such as higher rates of STDs, murder, rape, assault, etc.? Or does the country avoid carrying out such health inventories?
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IRP-PRACTICE-4:

What resources exist to help women leave prostitution? What reintegration policies, if any, does the government implement to assist former female prostitutes and sex workers so they will be less likely to return to those occupations? Are any other form of reparations available to former sex workers i.e. financial, psychological/emotional support? What are NGOs doing to help these women?
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IRP-PRACTICE-5:

Overall, what is the gap between the law and the enforcement of the law?  Does law enforcement make any real attempt to enforce the country’s laws on prostitution? In practice (as versus formal law), do punitive measures appear focused on the pimp/brothel owner/trafficker, the sex buyer, or the prostitute—that is, do we see selective enforcement? If prostitutes are required to register/be licensed, do they in fact register? In addition, if the prostitutes in law enjoy certain benefits, such as exit support, health services and pensions, are those benefits actually provided and actually accessible by the women? Are the laws on solicitation/online sexual services enforced, or is there little enforcement?
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IRP-LAW-1:

Is prostitution illegal? How is prostitution defined in the law? Are there only certain types of prostitution that are illegal (such as street prostitution)? What are the laws on solicitation/online prostitution? Are only certain individuals allowed to be prostitutes, e.g., citizens, adults, etc.? (For example, are there laws against underage prostitution?) If prostitution is illegal, who is punishable if prostitution has taken place—the prostitute, the sex buyer, the pimp/brothel owner/trafficker? What are the range of punishments for each type of individual (pimp, prostitute, john, etc.)? Does the country categorize its legal approach in a particular way, such as “legalization,” “decriminalization,” “abolition,” etc.?
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IRP-LAW-2:

Are there laws or regulations mandating that the government assist former female prostitutes and sex workers so they will be less likely to return to those occupations? (See also IRP-PRACTICE-4 and TRAFF-LAW-3.) Does law offer prostitutes any protections or different exit options? (See TRAFF-PRACTICE-3 and TRAFF-LAW-3 for treatment of foreign women victims of sex trafficking.)
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IRP-LAW-3:

If the law permits prostitution, does the law give the prostitute any rights vis a vis the sex buyer?  By law, is she entitled to refuse service?  Is she entitled to demand condom use?  Does the law give the prostitute any rights vis a vis pimps or brothel owners?
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IRP-LAW-4:

If the law permits prostitution, does the government provide oversight and facilitate prostitution through legalization, registration or licensure, through taxing prostitution or related services, or through providing special visas for sex-related industries like exotic dancing? What are the punishments for non-compliance with government mandates such as registration/licensing?
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IRP-LAW-5:

Does law treat women differently depending on whether the law decides they are victims of trafficking or are not victims of trafficking?
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IRP-LAW-6:

Are there laws that require the testing of prostitutes for communicable diseases? How frequently are these tests required? Does law mandate that health services be provided to prostitutes? If so, what kinds of services are available and are measures in place to ensure that sex workers can access them? Does the law also mandate pension benefits, or other types of benefits, for prostitutes?
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IRP-DATA-1:

Is there any data concerning the negative effects of prostitution on the prostitutes or on society?  So, for example, do we see data on prevalence of underage prostitutes?  On the prevalence of sex-trafficking? On rise in crimes against prostitutes?  On rise in crimes around brothels? On drug usage by prostitutes? Or a lowering in the age that women begin prostitution? Etc.
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IRP-DATA-2:

What is the prevalence of prostitution? You can take here both information on the number of prostitutes, and also information on the percentage of the country’s men who  engage prostitutes.
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IRP-DATA-3:

Is there any data on regional/ethnic/tribal/gender identity and sexual orientation differences within the subpopulation of female prostitutes? Within the subpopulation of johns?
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IRP-SCALE-1:

IRP-SCALE-1: Prostitution Law and Enforcement

IRP-SCALE-1 examines the laws regarding the buying of sex and the selling of sex, as well as laws regarding pimping/brothels and other related phenomena, while also investigating whether there is any real enforcement of the law, as well as how bad the sex trafficking situation is in the country. The variables examined to score this scale include all IRP variables, plus TRAFF-SCALE-1.  The rubric was created by Dr. Valerie M. Hudson, and the first scaling was finished in Fall 2024 (look for updates in the database).  The scale ranges from 1-20, and is not an ordinal scale--rather, it is a stratified categorical scale.

NOTES: 1) We only examine laws about the buying and selling of sex, and not tangential aspects such as solicitation and advertising, etc.; 2) In countries claiming religious law is the highest law of the land, we nevertheless examined only official national law on prostitution, though we do look to see if prostitutes are arrested under laws on adultery or indecency as substitute terms for prostitution; 3) In deciding whether enforcement was lax, we looked broadly at phenomena such as police abuse of prostitutes (where selling sex is legal), child sex trafficking running rampant (used as an indicator of enforcement), in addition to standard enforcement mechanisms. So, for example, even if there isn't anything in the database about police enforcement or the rate of prostitution, if sex trafficking of children is running rampant, then we consider enforcement as lax (much of the data calls this type of sex trafficking "child prostitution"); 4) To be assessed that "buying sex is illegal," all covers for buying sex, such as temporary marriage, must also not be legal (however, we do look to see if temporary marriage is broadly legal or whether it is only practiced in a small minority of the country); 5) "Trafficking situation is not the worst" is operationalized as TRAFF-SCALE-1 scores of 0, 1, or 2, while "trafficking is prevalent" is operationalized as TRAFF-SCALE-1 scores of 3 or 4; 5) The assessment that "selling sex is not illegal" can include cases where only PIV sex is against the law, but selling other types of sexual acts are not against the law, such as in Japan; 6) What we mean by "profiteers" are pimps and brothel owners and others who make their living off the earnings of prostitutes.

Score  Category Description Frequency
in 2024
   1      A
Complete 
Prohibition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Laws seem to be enforced.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		       0
   2      B
Complete
Prohibition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Laws seem to be enforced.

Trafficking is prevalent.		       0
   3      C
Incomplete
Prohibition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Laws are not well enforced and/or women are punished more frequently than men and/or there is subnational variation in laws/law enforcement.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		      14
   4      D
Incomplete
Prohibition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Laws are not well enforced and/or women sellers are punished more frequently than men buyers and/or there is subnational variation in laws/law enforcement.

Trafficking is prevalent.		       9
   5      E
Complete
Abolition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is not illegal.

Laws seem to be enforced; profiteers are illegal; there is support for exit from prostitution.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		       6
   6      F
Complete 
Abolition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is not illegal.

Laws seem to be enforced; profiteers are illegal; there is support for exit from prostitution.

Trafficking is prevalent. 		       0
   7      G
Incomplete 
Abolition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is not illegal.

Laws are not well enforced and/or profiteers are not illegal and/or there is no real support for exit from prostitution and/or there is subnational variation in laws/law enforcement.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		       4
   8      H  
Incomplete
Abolition		 Buying sex is illegal; selling sex is not illegal.

Laws are not well enforced and/or profiteers are not illegal and/or there is no real support for exit from prostitution and/or there is subnational variation in laws/law enforcement.

Trafficking is prevalent. 		       5
   9      I
Selective
Prohibition
(Buyer
Impunity)		 Buying sex is not illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Profiteers are illegal.

Trafficking situation is not the worst. 		      25
  10      J
Selective
Prohibition
(Buyer
Impunity)		 Buying sex is not illegal; selling sex is illegal.

Profiteers are illegal.

Trafficking is prevalent. 		      14
  11      K
Very Selective 
Prohibition
(Buyer Impunity)		 Buying sex is not illegal; selling sex is illegal. We also include here countries where temporary marriage is rare and prostitution is not explicitly included in the penal code, but prostitutes are arrested on the basis of adultery and/or indecency laws, while men who are buyers are never punished under the same laws.

Profiteers are not illegal.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		       0
  12      L
Very Selective
Prohibition
(Buyer Impunity)


Buying sex is not illegal; selling sex is illegal. We also include here countries where temporary marriage is rare and prostitution is not explicitly included in the penal code, but prostitutes are arrested on the basis of adultery and/or indecency laws, while men who are buyers are never punished under the same laws.

Profiteers are not illegal.

Trafficking is prevalent.

       0
  13      M
Legalization with
Protection
Buying sex is legal; selling sex is legal even if there are only very narrow conditions under which a woman can legally work as a prostitute (e.g., can only be located in certain areas, etc.).

Profiteers are illegal; there is enforcement of regulations concerning rights of refusal, right to demand condom use, safety in working conditions, benefits/pensions, etc. 

Trafficking situation is not the worst.

      12
  14      N
Legalization with
Protection
Buying sex is legal; selling sex is legal even if there are only very narrow conditions under which a woman can legally work as a prostitute (e.g., can only be located in certain areas, etc.)

Profiteers are illegal; there is enforcement of regulations concerning rights of refusal, right to demand condom use, safety in working conditions, benefits/pensions, etc. 

Trafficking is prevalent.

       0
  15      O
Legalization with
No Protection
Buying sex is legal; selling sex is legal even if there are only very narrow conditions under which a woman can legally work as a prostitute (e.g., can only be located in certain areas, etc.)

There is little to no enforcement of regulations protecting prostitutes and/or profiteers are not illegal.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.

      58
  16      P
Legalization with
No Protection
Buying sex is legal; selling sex is legal even if there are only very narrow conditions under which a woman can legally work as a prostitute (e.g., can only be located in certain areas, etc.)

There is little to no enforcement of regulations protecting prostitutes (or such protective regulations do not exist) and/or profiteers are not illegal.

Trafficking is prevalent.

      19
  17      Q
Decriminalization
with Some
Protection		 The state does not involve itself in matters of prostitution.

The state does enforce laws against committing bodily harm when prostitutes have been harmed.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.		       2
  18      R
Decriminalization
with Some
Protection		 The state does not involve itself in matters of prostitution.

The state does enforce laws against committing bodily harm when prostitutes have been harmed.

Trafficking is prevalent.		       0
  19      S
Decriminalization
with No
Protection

The state does not involve itself in matters of prostitution.

The state does not seem to enforce laws against committing bodily harm when prostitutes have been harmed.

Trafficking situation is not the worst.

       5
  20      T
Decriminalization
with
No Protection		 The state does not involve itself in matters of prostitution.

The state does not seem to enforce laws against committing bodily harm when prostitutes have been harmed.

Trafficking is prevalent.		       3
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b. Pornography   PRN
PRN-PRACTICE-1:

How socially accepted and prevalent is pornography? How does society define pornography? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in attitudes? Is there a difference between adult versus child pornography? How have attitudes/incidence changed over time?
RSS
PRN-LAW-1:

What are the laws regarding pornography? What are the punishments, and how are convictions obtained (e.g., rules of evidence, etc.)? Is there a difference between adult versus child pornography?
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PRN-LAW-2:

What are the definitions of pornography within the law?
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c. Required Dress Codes for Women   RCDW
RCDW-PRACTICE-1:

What are the customary dress codes for men and women? Do you have any information on what percentage of the population adhere to these customary dress codes?
RSS
RCDW-PRACTICE-2:

Are women customarily required to cover their entire faces (though not necessarily their eyes)?
RSS
RCDW-LAW-1:

Are women legally required to abide by certain dress codes? Are men?
RSS
RCDW-LAW-2:

Are women legally required to cover their entire faces (though not necessarily her eyes)? Are men?
RSS
d. Segregation of menstruating/postpartum women   SMPP
(SEE ALSO INTERMINGLING VARIABLE BELOW)
SMPP-PRACTICE-1:

Are there social or religious customs that require women to seclude themselves from society during menstruation and post partum? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?
RSS
SMPP-LAW-1:

Are menstruating or post partum women required to enter into seclusion or are they limited in their activities in any way by law?
RSS
SMPP-DATA-1:

How long is the seclusion required and where are the women during seclusion?
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e. Intermingling of sexes in public   IIP
IIP-PRACTICE-1:

How free are women to move about in society?  For example, describe purdah (seclusion) practices. This could include whether a woman needs a male guardian or male permission to go outdoors. We’re using purdah here in a very broad sense of the word of restrictions on the free movement of women. This includes issues of travel mobility, such as the ability for a woman to safely take a bus alone to the next town, or to walk to school by herself. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? For example, are women forbidden by religious edicts from riding a bicycle, etc.? Would women be targets of violence if they did not conform to norms regarding intermingling in public? In certain societies, this segregation may be viewed as segregating men away from women, rather than segregating women away from men (for example, men's huts placed far from the women); take that anyway.
RSS
IIP-PRACTICE-2:

Are women harassed when they are in public spaces? Are they fondled and groped when venturing out into public? Is there evidence that the society recognizes this, perhaps by setting aside special buses and rail cars for women? Do women actively participate in protests that are not necessarily related to gender issues? (For example, do women march to protest a certain political figure?) And how are women treated when they do so? It also includes issues concerning the harassment of women in cyberspace.  (This variable was added in 2011, and so its coding may lag behind that of other variables.)
RSS
IIP-LAW-1:

Are there any legal restrictions on women intermingling with men in public or moving about in public society? [For example, is it legal for women to be in, e.g., a cinema, where men might be in attendance also? Is it legal for them to drive? Is it legal for women to perform publicly? Must they legally have a male guardian with them for such activities?  Are women forbidden from certain activities, such as riding a bicycle?
RSS
IIP-LAW-2:

Are there laws against sexual harassment, such as fondling and groping when women venture into public spaces? Are there laws against stalking and what are the punishments? Are there laws against the harassment of women in cyberspace? (This variable was added in 2011, so there may not be much data for awhile.)
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IIP-SCALE-1:

Women’s Mobility Scale

 This scale was created in 2016 by Professor Valerie Hudson, and its first scaling was performed in 2017; please check database for updates to the scale.

Conceptualization: The scale is designed the measure the extent to which it is difficult for women to be present and move about in public spaces, i.e., outside of her household.  The scale examines two sources of challenge for women: a) the public space may be threatening and unwelcoming, for example through widespread street harassment, and b) a woman’s family could purposefully constrain her movements, and in some cases the family’s right to do so may be upheld by government law.  The following variables are examined to determine the appropriate scaling: All IIP variables, CLCW-LAW-2 and PRACTICE-1, ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, MARR-LAW-3, ATDW-LAW-2, LRW-PRACTICE-1.

 Operational Note: Scale public movement and family/government control of a woman’s mobility separately; then take the worse of the two scores.

 

0  There are no legal restrictions on women’s movements, and in practice women move freely within the society with little harassment.  This also means that her family members do not have the right, nor do they attempt, to limit her access outside of her household.

 

1  There are no legal restrictions on women’s movements, but in practice women often face prevalent harassment when they move in public space.  However, her family members do not have the right, nor do they attempt, to limit her access outside of her household.

 

2  There may or may not be legal restrictions on women’s movements; in practice women need familial male permission to move in public space.  In practice, women often face harassment when they move in public spaces even with familial male permission.  A woman’s family members may limit where and for what purpose she may go outside of the house, and a woman may be punished by her family members for violating these norms.

 

3  There may or may not be legal restrictions on women’s movements; in practice women need male escorts to move in public space or they may face legal punishment or severely threatening harassment or even assault from police, from strangers or from her own family members without a male escort.

 

4  There are legal restrictions on women’s movements; women by law cannot appear in certain public places or perform certain public activities.  Women may face legal punishment or severely threatening harassment or even assault from police, from strangers or from her own family members if they appear in such public spaces.

 
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f. Societal Engagement with Gender Issues    SEGI
SEGI-PRACTICE-1:

Are gender issues a topic of public discourse with society? Are there topics that are taboo? Who is speaking out on gender issues in society? Are there certain prominent government or religious figures involved?  (Include public religious dictates concerning women, e.g., fatwas against women; rabbis tellng women to sit in the back of the bus, religious figures telling women not to breastfeed in public, etc.)  Do important institutions in society, such as schools, universities, and private companies provide gender training?  (See GP-DATA-3 for information on gender training of government officials.)
RSS
SEGI-PRACTICE-2:

If a discussion on gender issues occurs within society, how is that discussion received? Is it dismissed, a cause for anger, etc.?
RSS
SEGI-PRACTICE-3:

Are those who discuss gender issues within society punished by society, by the government, by employers, etc.? Is the punishment different for women as versus men?
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g. Gender Indices (GDI/GII/SIGI, etc.)   GDI
GDI-DATA-1:

The GDI Score/Rank; be sure to include date.
RSS
GDI-DATA-2:

The GII Score/Rank: be sure to include date. (Note: GII replaced GDI and GEM around 2010.) More information on how this scale is conducted is available here:  http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/gii/
RSS
GDI-DATA-3:

This is the Societal Institutions and Gender Index compiled by the OECD. For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/document/39/0,3343,en_2649_33935_42274663_1_1_1_1,00.html
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h. Women and the Media   WAM
(NOTE: THIS VARIABLE CLUSTER WAS ADDED IN 2008, AND THEREFORE ITS COLLECTION LAGS BEHIND THAT OF THE OTHER VARIABLES IN THE DATABASE.)
WAM-PRACTICE-1:

How are women portrayed in various media, including textbooks used in schools? Discuss women's presence in the media and/or the arts? Does the government or NGOs sponsor initiatives to change the portrayal of women in the media and/or the arts?
RSS
WAM-LAW-1:

Are there any laws or government regulations concerning the depiction of women in the media, or the presence of women in the media? Or the arts?
RSS
WAM-DATA-1:

Place here any quantitative data describing the portrayal or presence of women in the media and/or the arts.
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WAM-DATA-2:

Place here any quantitative information on internet access/cell phone usage/access to radio/TV, and other forms of media communication, etc., of women as compared to men.
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E. Women’s Security in the Family
i. Family Law/Practice
a. Marriage   MARR
MARR-PRACTICE-1:

In practice, can a woman be forced to marry against her will? [This could include cultural pressure, arranged marriages, capture marriage, etc.] Please include any figures or estimates on the rate of arranged marriages or capture marriages. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?  Are there government programs and/or public awareness campaigns to combat forced marriages?
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MARR-PRACTICE-2:

(E.g., World Values Survey #111) Is marriage seen as outdated within the society? Even if marriage is not seen as outdated per se, do people even want to/see a need to get married?
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MARR-PRACTICE-3:

(E.g., World Values Survey #112.) Is single parenthood seen as acceptable in the society?
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MARR-PRACTICE-4:

What are the PAC (civil union) / common law marriage practices? Do same sexes enter into such unions or even formal marriages?
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MARR-PRACTICE-5:

Are brideprice and dowries present? [Even if they are illegal, do they happen anyway? How common are they? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? Are prices increasing or decreasing over time?]
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MARR-PRACTICE-6:

Are there religious/racial/ethnic and/or citizenship barriers to marriage? [For example, maybe interfaith marriage or marrying outside one’s nationality is not acceptable.]  Place here also any information about foreign brides, marriage migration practices, treatment of such brides and their children, etc.
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MARR-PRACTICE-7:

Are marriages typically patrilocal? Or matrilocal? Or nuclear family-oriented? Are marriages typically endogamous, such as marriage within a particular village, local caste, tribe/clan, etc.?
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MARR-PRACTICE-8:

Are marriages typically consanguinous (i.e., cousin marriage)? Endogamous in some way involving bloodlines? (See also MARR PRACTICE 7.)
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MARR-PRACTICE-9:

Are there gendered expectations about whose family pays for the actual wedding?  Are wedding costs a substantial burden on families?  What does the groom's family pay for, and what does the bride's family pay for?  Are wedding costs rising over time?
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MARR-LAW-1:

Can a woman legally be forced to marry against her will? [This could include arranged marriages, capture marriage, etc.]  
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MARR-LAW-2:

What are the PAC (civil union) / common law marriage laws? Can same sexes enter into such unions or even formal marriages? Can persons in such unions adopt children? Can single persons adopt children?
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MARR-LAW-3:

Legally, does the woman remain a minor in marriage?
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MARR-LAW-4:

Are bride price and/or dowries legal?  If they are, does the state attempt to set a legal cap on these payments?
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MARR-LAW-5:

Does the law recognize ethnic/religious/racial differences in marriage and family law?  In other words, are there legal enclaves of marriage/family law?  Do laws on marriage and famly law legally differ by ethnic/religious/racial groups?  How?  Include here information on laws concerning marriage to foreigners: are there legal requirements or restrictions concerning such marriages?  Are there legal restrictions on foreign spouses, such as in terms of whether they are legally able to work, etc.?
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MARR-LAW-6:

Are there laws limiting wedding costs, number of guests at a wedding, etc?
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MARR-LAW-7:

What are the laws on counsin marriage? Are there restrictions on how close in kinship two individuals can be in order to marry?  What are the punishments if the law is violated, if any?
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MARR-DATA-1:

What is the percentage of women currently married and the percent of women ever married? Comparison to men?  Take marriage rates in 5 year increments if provided.
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MARR-DATA-2:

What are the cohabitation rates?
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MARR-SCALE-1:

Patrilocal Marriage Scale: This scale attempts to measure how prevalent patrilocal marriage is within the society. This includes residency or expectation of residency for a married couple with the husband’s family. This data was derived from WomanStats variables MARRIAGE PRACTICE 7. (Countries were first scaled in 2012; check database for updates from this original coding.)

99: Missing Data

0: No expectation of living with either his or her family (no evidence that more than 5% of marriages are patrilocal)

1: Softening patrilocality, a young couple may be expected in exigency to live with his family. More than 5%, but less than or equal to 20% of marriages are patrilocal.

2: Strong presence of patrilocality; young couples are expected to live with the husband’s family, greater than 20% of marriages are patrilocal.

 

For 2016 MARR-PRACTICE-7 (Patrilocality) Scale we considered:

1)     What is the default practice within the country? At marriage, or secondarily when need arises, is there a clear pattern of couples moving to the residence of the bride’s father-in-law? To the residence of the bride’s mother? Or would a move be random?

Explanation and notes:

Louise Grogan. 2013. “Household Formation rules, fertility and female labour supply: Evidence from post-communist countries. Journal of Comparative Economics 41 1167-1183.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596712000881

This article in Table 2, p. 1171, presents a Patrilocality index ranking of selected countries. This index measures the percent of women 15-30 who live with a father in law.

At this point (April, 2016) this is the only solid data giving population percentages of patrilocality that we have found. While the index captures DHS data on newly and married young women who live with a father in law, it should be regarded as presenting a lower end of extent of patrilocality within a country. It does not include women 30 and over whose father in law may be deceased, who still live with husband’s family, or who lived in patrilocal situation and were conditioned by it, and whose household may still be run along patrilocal principles. So this data does not answer completely our larger question of what is the default practice of selecting residences following marriage.

We also analyzed data from a number of countries that attests to present situations of patrilocality including historical patterns of patrilocal residence and recent accounts of patrilocal residence.

As a result, we feared that the Grogan index was low in some cases.

We make the following assumptions for countries which were included in the patrilocality index ranking:

  1. The Grogan patrilocality scale is a baseline for the countries it includes.
  2. Data that documents patrilocality or matrilocality in as part of the general cultural framework of a population population groups may add to the baseline.  Since we know some factors, patrilocality, bride price, patrilineality, polygyny etc are correlated, if we find parts of the syndrome, we estimate that patrilocality may exist as well.
  3. In line with our question as to the default practice, we include family compounds, family apartment buildings with sons and daughters-in-laws in apartments, huts for newly-married couples or polygamous wives as evidence of patrilocality.
  4. Urbanism tends to discourage patrilocality, so high urban populations may indicate less patrilocality.
  5. Women’s education and labor force participation may indicate lesser tendencies to patrilocality, so can be used to triangulate with the index ratings.
  6. We triangulate our findings with scales compiled by earlier coders (2013, 2016)
  7. While we will seldom scale patrilocality as less than the Grogan patrilocality index, we may utilize other data to increase our ranking of patrilocality.
  8. In strongly patriarchal countries where patrilocalitiy is the default, we need strong evidence of a lack of patrifocal households to move from 1 to 0. But we are seeing countries like Kuwait where couples are establishing their own home at marriage and not living with families. However, as the geographical area is so small, these new homes are likely within close or relatively close geographical proximity to their families which remain strong extended families. We suggest that we not drop these societies lower than a 1 despite little evidence that they live with husband’s family.

 
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MARR-SCALE-2:

Cousin Marriage: This scale attempts to measure how prevalent cousin marriage is within the society. This includes consanguineous marriage for the purpose of keeping assets in the family and includes any cousin marriage for this purpose regardless of the distance of the cousin. This data was derived from WomanStats variables MARR PRACTICE 8. (Countries were first scaled in 2012; check database for updates from this original coding.) When the scale was first utilized, in 2012, the coding for scale point 1 was: 1  Illegal, or legality ambiguous, but not uncommon (5%+ of the population).  By 2023, we changed the definition of scale point 1 to what it is today, and added degree of separation for points 2 and 3 to indicate the degree of prevalence, and added scale point 4 to identify nations with relatively high prevalence.  That means that the scale values for 2023 forward are similar, but not directly comparable, to the previous scalings--therefore, caveat emptor.

NOTE: Legal status takes primacy over prevalence in scaling, except where prevalence is 15%+, indicating the law is disregarded by the population. Cousin marriage is deemed to be legal in situations where it is illegal unless you have a genetic test first but the marriage is possible after such testing. If the national law states that religious and/or ethnic group law trumps national law with respect to cousin marriage, and if religious or ethnic group law permits cousin marriage, then cousin marriage is considered legal in that country.

 

Blank: Missing Data

0  Illegal and rare (<5% of the population)

1  Illegal and not uncommon (5%-14% of the population); or legality is ambiguous (even if <5% of the population); or marriage with second cousins is legal (even if <5% of the population).

2  Legal for first cousins (and possibly closer relations) to marry, but rare (<5% of the population)

3  Legal for first cousins (and possibly closer relations) to marry, and not uncommon (5%-14% of the population)

4  Cousin marriage is quite common (15%+ of the population), regardless of legality.

 
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MARR-SCALE-3:

Brideprice/Dowry Scale 1, first scaled in 2016, Professor Valerie M. Hudson: Identification and Prevalence of Brideprice and Dowry Practices (This scale can include wedding costs, as well.) LOOK AT MARR-PRAC-5; LOOK ALSO AT WEDDING COSTS IN MARR-PRAC-9; Patrilocality may be somewhat helpful and that is in MARR-PRAC-7.

NOTE: Try to identify the practice associated with the majority in the country; subcodes will indicate if this is a bare majority or a larger majority. A bare majority is 50-70%-ish; a large majority is >70%. Of necessity, judgments of “bare” and “large” will be approximate, but be prepared to justify your judgment.

NOTE ALSO: You will need to keep detailed notes on each and every judgment you make, especially when you invoke the HOWEVER rules.

0 There is neither brideprice nor dowry; any gifts exchanged are insignificant in value. This is the practice of the large majority of society.
Rationale: From the point of view of the woman, this most likely represents a marriage of equals where her wellbeing will be a matter of interest.

1 Same as above, but this is the practice of a bare majority of the country.
Rationale: If only practiced by a bare majority, this signals a slightly worse situation for women in the society than scale point 0.

2 There is reciprocal exchange or goods/money/gifts between the bride’s family and the groom’s family; the value going each way is approximately equal. This is the practice of the large majority of society.
Rationale: From the point of view of the women, this scenario still implies a marriage of equals where her wellbeing will be of interest, though the significant exchange of goods may undercut somewhat the independence of the couple from their respective families.

3 Same as above, but this is the practice of a bare majority of the country.
Rationale: If only practiced by a bare majority, this signals a slightly worse situation for women in the society than scale point 2. HOWEVER, if the large minority practices no exchange at all, assign scale point 1 instead.

4 The bride’s family gives money/assets to the bride; there is little reciprocity. This is the practice of a large majority of the society.
Rationale: A family usually provides money to the bride when they have desires to assure her wellbeing in her new family, because this money signals that the bride’s family has a continuing interested in her welfare even after her marriage.

5 Same as above, but this is the practice of a bare majority of the country.
Rationale: If only practiced by a bare majority, with the minority practice being characterized more accurately as 6-10, this signals a slightly worse situation for women in the society than scale point 4. HOWEVER, if the large minority practices no exchange at all or reciprocal exchange, assign scale point 3 instead.

6 The groom and/or his family gives money/assets to the bride (or to the bride’s family which is then given to the bride or somehow split between the bride and her family (the amount to the bride must be more than negligible and she must control it)), with little or no reciprocity. This is the practice of a large majority of the society.
Rationale: If the money from the groom’s family is provided to the bride herself, this gives the woman some small independent means of support. However, these funds come from the groom’s family, which may emphasize the bride’s continuing economic dependence on and indebtedness to that family.

7 Same as above, but this is the practice of a bare majority of society.
Rationale: Give a 7 if the minority practice can be characterized by 8-11, as this indicates a slightly worse situation overall for women in the society than scale point 6. HOWEVER, give a 5 if the practice of the minority can be characterized as 0-5, as this indicates a slightly better overall situation for women in the society.

8 The groom and/or his family gives money/assets to the bride’s father or guardian, with little or no reciprocity. This is the practice of a large majority of the society. This applies as well to societies providing a payment to the bride’s family even though that payment may be used to help pay for the wedding, with some small portion held in trust by the family for the bride in the event of divorce.
Rationale: While this practice leads to the selling of daughters, it also gives the bride’s birth family some reason to invest in her wellbeing at least until marriage.

9 Same as above, but this is the practice of a bare majority of the country.
Rationale: Give a 9 if the minority practice can be characterized by a 10, as this indicates a slightly worse situation overall for women than scale point 9. HOWEVER, give a 7 if the practice of the minority can be characterized as a 0-7, as this indicates a slightly better overall situation for women in the society.

10 The bride’s family gives money/assets to the groom and/or his family; there is little reciprocity. This is the practice of a large majority in the society.
Rationale: This type of practice can lead to both lack of investment in the bride’s wellbeing by her birth family before marriage, as well as a lack of investment in the bride’s wellbeing by the family of her groom after marriage. NOTE HOWEVER: If this is the practice of a bare majority of the society, not a large majority in the society, then give a 9 instead, as that indicates a slightly better overall situation for women than scale point 10.
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MARR-SCALE-4:

Brideprice/Dowry Scale 2: Cost Trajectory (Ordinal)

NOTE: We expect there will be a lot of missing data for this variable. Code it to the best of your abilities. Originally scaled 2016. (Professor Valerie M. Hudson)

0 The price of dowry/brideprice/wedding costs appears to be falling over the last decade.

1 The price of dowry/brideprice/wedding costs appears stable over the last decade.

2 The price of dowry/brideprice/wedding costs appears to be rising over the last decade.
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b. Age of Marriage   AOM
AOM-PRACTICE-1:

By custom, how young are girls (and boys) married? What are the youngest ages at which marriage occurs? Does the government enforce its age of marriage laws? Are there prosecutions for the adults involved?
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AOM-LAW-1:

What is the legal age of marriage for both women and men?
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AOM-DATA-1:

What is the average age of marriage for both women and men? (Age at first marriage.)
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AOM-DATA-2:

What percentage (or estimated percentage) of females were married as children?  State whether "child marriage" is defined as under 18 years of age or under 16 years of age or some other definition.  If there are corresponding figures for males, include those as well.
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AOM-SCALE-1:

This scale attempts to determine the prevalence of underage marriage of girls, with "underage" defined as age 18 or younger. (Before 2020, we used te definition of age 16 or younger, but it was very difficult to find such statistics, and so for the 2020 scaling, we adopted the definition of age 18 or younger.  We have not altered the scores prior to 2020, so please be advised that the score prior to 2020 and the scores from 2020 onward are not fully comparable, though most countries wind up with the very same score under both definitions.) AOM PRACTICE 1 and AOM DATA 1 are examined to code this scale. (Originally coded in 2011; look for updates in the database.)

0: Sources indicate that less than 5% of girls are married at 18 or younger, or there are strict barriers to underage marriage, or that there is significant cultural disapproval of underage marriage.

1: Sources indicate 5-10% of girls are married 18 or younger, or there are low barriers to underage marriage, or that there is little or no cultural disapproval of underage marriage.

2: Sources indicate over 10% of girls are married age 18 or younger, or that underage marriage is normal/common, or that there is actual cultural encouragement of underage marriage.
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AOM-SCALE-2:

This scale codes for the degree to which the nation's laws prohibit underage marriage for girls (marriage younger than age 18). (Please note that prior to 2020, we used the definition of age 16 or younger to define child marriage, and scales scored before 2020 reflect that.) It looks at AOM LAW 1, gauging the legal stipulations that would permit underage marriage. (Originally coded in 2011; look for updates in the database.)

0: Underage (younger than age 18) marriage for girls is illegal and/or only granted with judicial approval.

1: Underage marriage (younger than age 18) is not legal for girls, but there is no government enforcement of marriage law and/or there are many exceptions to the law such as underage marriage only requires parental, not judicial, consent, or customary law is very different than official law.

2: Underage (younger than age 18) marriage is legal for girls.

NOTE: Sometimes official law and customary law clash in a society that gives much deference to customary law.  In those cases, the scores for each type of law may be very different under the rubric for AOM-SCALE-2.  If official law is scored as 0 and customary law with deference is scored as 1 or 2, then SCALE-1 is coded 1.  In cases where official law is scored as 1 and customary law with deference is scored as 2, then SCALE-2 is scored as 2.
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AOM-SCALE-3:

This scale simply adds the scores from AOM SCALE 1 and AOM SCALE 2 to give an overal picture of the legal sanction and prevalence of underage marriage for girls in the nation. Underage marriage is defined as marriage at age 18 or younger. (Please note that prior to 2020, we used the definition of underage marriage as being age 16 or younger; scale scores before 2020 reflect that prior definition.) (Originally coded in 2011; look for updates in the database.)

0: Underage marriage (younger than age 18) for girls is illegal and there are very few exceptions with less than 5% of women married before age 18

1: Underage (younger than age 18) marriage for girls is illegal but there is little attempt to enforce the law, or 5-10% of women are married at age 18 or younger.

2: Underage (younger than age 18) marriage for girls can occur with parental consent and between 5 and 10% of girls marry at age 18 or younger.

3: Underage (younger than age 18) marriage for girls is generally acceptable under law and is not uncommon

4: Underage marriage for girls (younger than age 18) is legal and over 10% of girls are married at age 18 or younger.
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c. Widow Remarriage   WR
WR-PRACTICE-1:

What are the practices concerning widow remarriage [Is it necessary? Is it forbidden? Does a woman have input in the matter?]
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WR-PRACTICE-2:

In general, what is the treatment of widows in society? What practices accompany widowhood? (Note: This variable was added in 2011, and there may not be much information coded until some time has elapsed.)
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WR-LAW-1:

What are the laws regarding widow remarriage?
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WR-DATA-1:

What is the estimated population of widows in the country?
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d. Inheriting Wives   IW
IW-PRACTICE-1:

Are there customary practices that require the inheritance of a wife after a male family member dies? Do women have any choice in the matter? Are there practices whereby a widow is "cleansed" after her husband's death, and what are these?
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IW-LAW-1:

Are there laws that require the inheritance of a wife after a male family member dies? Do women have any choice in the matter?
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e. Access to Divorce   ATDW
ATDW-PRACTICE-1:

What are the customary practices surrounding divorce? [For example, must dowry or brideprice be returned? Are there pre-marriage financial agreements or obligations that are undertaken that affect divorce? Are there customary waiting periods of separation before divorce can occur?]
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ATDW-PRACTICE-2:

Does gender affect one’s ability to obtain a divorce? [For example, is it easier for men to get a divorce than women? In what ways?]
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ATDW-PRACTICE-3:

(E.g., World Values Survey #211.) What are societal attitudes towards divorce? Does it confer a stigma, and if so, on whom?
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ATDW-LAW-1:

What are the laws concerning alimony and the division of assets (including land, home, and money) for couples with no children? Are there laws about the process of divorce, such as mandatory waiting periods?
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ATDW-LAW-2:

After a divorce, does the woman become a minor to another male?
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ATDW-LAW-3:

Can a woman be divorced on the grounds of infertility?
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ATDW-LAW-4:

Can a woman be divorced for bearing only daughters?
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ATDW-LAW-5:

What other legal grounds for divorce are there? Can a woman even initiate a divorce and if so, under what conditions? Are these conditions the same as for men?
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ATDW-DATA-1:

What is the percent of marriages that end in divorce?
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f. Access to Divorce Concerning Mothers   ADCM
ADCM-PRACTICE-1:

What are the practices concerning alimony and the division of assets (including land, home, and money) for couples with children?
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ADCM-LAW-1:

What are the laws concerning alimony and the division of assets (including land, home, and money) for couples with children? Are there laws about the process f divorce, such as mandatory waiting periods?
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g. Custody of Children   CUST
CUST-PRACTICE-1:

Are child support requirements enforced? Consider also the situation of illegitimate children and children born from common-law marriages.
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CUST-LAW-1:

Is custody automatically granted? To whom—the husband or wife? What other custody laws are there? What is the situation of illegitimate children and children born from common-law marriages?
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CUST-LAW-2:

Are children denied rights because their parents are divorced? Or because their parents are not legally married?
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CUST-LAW-3:

Is child support mandatory, and if so, what are the requirements? Consider also the situation of illegitimate children and children born from common-law marriages.
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CUST-LAW-4:

Are there differences in requirements for adoption of children, based either on the gender of the child or the gender of the adoptive adults? For example, perhaps a single woman cannot adopt a boy child.
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h. Inheritance as Wife   IAW
IAW-PRACTICE-1:

Do wives customarily have inheritance rights?
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IAW-LAW-1:

Are wives legally able to inherit? [Look for things like a 2:1 inheritance ratio—do sons inherit twice the amount that their mothers do?]  Are they only able to inherit certain types of things, for example, are they barred from inheriting land?  How are wives considered in case of intestate succession, that is, if there is no will?
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IAW-LAW-2:

Can a woman inherit property from her husband if she marries again after his death? If she does remarry, does she lose the inheritance?
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i. Inheritance as Daughter   IAD
IAD-PRACTICE-1:

Are daughters customarily able to inherit property, money, and assets from their fathers? [Look for things like a 2:1 inheritance ratio—do sons inherit twice the amount daughters do?] Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? Is inheritance matrilineal or patrilineal?
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IAD-LAW-1:

Are daughters legally able to inherit property, money, and assets from their fathers? [Look for things like a 2:1 inheritance ratio—do sons inherit twice the amount daughters do? Comparison to men?] Are daughters legally able to inherit property from their mothers? What does the law say when there is no will, i.e. an intestate succession?
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j. Double Standards of Marital Fidelity   DSFMF
(SEE ALSO ‘ISSUES WITH STDS’ IN SECTION A, PART I.)
DSFMF-PRACTICE-1:

(E.g., World Values Survey #209.) What are societal attitudes towards prostitution? (See also Prostitution variable.)
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DSFMF-PRACTICE-2:

Are there cultural double standards about fidelity?
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DSFMF-PRACTICE-3:

If there are laws against adultery or fornication, are the laws gender specific in terms of whom is prosecutes, or in terms of punishments, or in terms of enforcement of the law?
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DSFMF-PRACTICE-4:

Does the society place a profound value on the chastity of female relatives? (Is honor of the family tied into chastity of female relatives? Are insults impugning the chastity of female relatives more serious? Do families or individuals undertake measures such as hymenoplasty in order to conform to standards of virginity? Are "virginity tests" given? Etc.)
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DSFMF-LAW-1:

Are there laws against adultery, and if so are they gender specific?
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DSFMF-DATA-1:

What percentage of married women have AIDS? Percentage of women with AIDS and total AIDS prevalence. [You can also include information about STDs here; please also see Issues with STDs variable.]
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ii. Violence in the Family (See also Section A for more indicators of violence)
a. Domestic Violence   DV

(Note: Domestic violence includes not only violence between partners, but also violence directed toward children in the household (child abuse) See MURDER cluster for honor killings and dowry deaths and attacks on women. See SUICIDE for suicide, including honor suicides. See LRCM for marital rape and incest. See LRW for rape and sexual assault.).
DV-PRACTICE-1:

Are laws against domestic violence enforced? [include conviction and incarceration rates if available.] Also, are customary, traditional, or tribal (or other local) laws applied in cases of domestic violence? That is, does such customary law trump formal, official law concerning domestic violence?
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DV-PRACTICE-2:

Are there taboos against reporting domestic violence? [Include elements that work to fight against those taboos, such as women’s shelters, hotlines, government programs, etc.]
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DV-LAW-1:

Are there laws against domestic violence? What is the definition of domestic violence in the law (what sorts of violence are covered and to whom would the law apply)? Are there auxiliary laws such as concerning illegality of firing a woman in a shelter or in hiding, providing health care or education for those in shelters or hiding? Are there special penalties in cases where women have been subject to acid attacks, attacks over dowry disputes, or have been injured as a result of honor issues?
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DV-LAW-2:

What are the punishments and how is fault decided? What protection if available to victims? 
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DV-LAW-3:

Who can be a legal witness [e.g., must it be a male?] and does the woman’s testimony count?
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DV-DATA-1:

How prevalent is domestic violence? [Look for incidence, qualitative, or quantitative information; comparison of male/female victimization. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?]  Please recognize that "domestic violence" can have different meanings: it can mean intimate-partner violence (IPV), it can mean both IPV as well as other relative-on-relative violence within the home.  Where possible, we will specify what definition of the term is being used.
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DV-SCALE-1:

LIFETIME EXPERIENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCALE (QUANTITATIVE)

Originally coded July 2007 (look for updates in database). Professor Rose McDermott's Domestic Violence scale: Designed to provide quantitative data, where available, of the percentage of women who have had lifetime experience of physical, sexual, psychological, verbal or financial abuse. If that data was not available, I used the quantitative percentage of women who had suffered such abuse in last year, which typically raises the number somewhat over the lifetime percentage. Where discrepancies existed, I used the most recent data. Please note that there may be high rates of regional differences in likelihood of violence within some states. This may mean, for example, that women are at differential risk is they live in an urban versus rural setting, or if they are part of a particular ethnic or minority enclave. Most women appear to be at greater risk if they have less education, for example. Some data did not include psychological abuse, while others did, so some data may not be commensurate across states. I used the broadest definition of abuse possible for available data (i.e., I included psychological abuse as part of domestic violence where such data was available). Please note that the data is much richer than these numbers indicate, and there are specific numbers, percentage of crime, etc, by state within the larger database. This data was derived from Womanstats variable DV Data 1.

[2024 Note]: Please also note that there are different operation definitions of "domestic violence" in the literature.  Sometimes the term includes all types of violence in the home; sometimes it refers to physical or sexual violence only.  In addition, sometimes "domestic  violence" refers only to intimate-partner violence (IPV), and other times it can refer to any relative-on-relative violence within the household. To minimize incommensurability of data due to different operationalizations, in recent years we have focused on IPV when scaling this concept.

 

 
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DV-SCALE-2:

SCALE OF COMPREHENSIVENESS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

This scale was created in 2017 by Andrea Den Boer and Senem Ertan.  Look for updates in the database.

This scale is coded using DV-Law-1.  Please note that this scale looks solely at the penal code, and not other law-like documents such as the constitution. Please also note that this variable does NOT address marital rape law unless that is merged with domestic violence law.  For information on whether the law exonerates rapists who offer to marry their victim, see LRW-SCALE-8, and for whether marital rape is criminalized, see LRW-SCALE-6.

0: the state has adequately comprehensive domestic violence laws (these may be a specific law/act or a named part of the criminal code) that cover a broad range of abuses (at least physical, psychological, and sexual, but ideally also economic), including, for example, wounding with intent to cause bodily harm, sexual assault, imprisonment, kidnapping, in an intimate, interpersonal, or family relationship constitutes a criminal act under the law. The law is broad in its understanding of domestic relationships, referring to both the nature of the relationship and the domicile requirement (married partners, co-residing, and includes former relationships, and also including non-cohabiting relationships). If perpetrators marry the victim/survivor, or if the survivor forgives the perpetrator, the law states that they are not exempt from facing criminal charges.

1: the state has domestic violence law (whether through a named law or through the penal/criminal code), but the law is deficient in its comprehensiveness either by protecting a narrow set of acts of abuse (only physical violence, for example), or only applying to narrowly defined relationships (excluding non-cohabiting or ex-partners, for example).

2: the state has inadequate comprehensiveness of domestic violence laws (whether through a named law or through the penal/criminal code); the state may have laws which only protect against a narrow set of acts of abuse (only physical violence, for example), and only for narrowly defined relationships (married partners and not ex-partners);

3: the state has no laws prohibiting domestic violence

Coding Note: There were many cases where there was no specific domestic violence law, but the penal code could clearly apply to domestic violence and if the state demonstrated that this was the case, then we accepted that. Some states would end up being a 2 in such cases because the law would apply to physical assault only, not other forms of violence. The states who were coded a 3 had made no attempt to make the penal code apply to domestic violence.

 

 
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DV-SCALE-3:

SCALE OF EVIDENCE REQUIRED UNDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

This scale was created in 2017 by Andrea Den Boer and Senem Ertan.  Look for updates in the database

This scale is coded using DV-Law-1 and DV-Law-2.  Please note that this scale looks solely at the penal code, and not other law-like documents such as the constitution.

0: the evidence required to report or prove that domestic violence has occurred is reasonable (oral/written reporting that domestic violence has occurred suffices to initiate protection and medical and forensic evidence is not required to convict a perpetrator)

1: the evidence required to report or prove that domestic violence has occurred is unreasonable (expert testimony or material evidence is required to initiate protection or convict a perpetrator), or there are no specific laws preventing domestic violence

 

 
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DV-SCALE-4:

SCALE OF PUNISHNENTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

This scale was created in 2017 by Andrea Den Boer and Senem Ertan. Look for updates in the database.

This scale is coded using DV-Law-2.  Please note that this scale looks solely at the penal code, and not other law-like documents such as the constitution.

0: the state has adequate criminal penalties for acts of domestic violence so that sanctions are commensurate with the severity of offence and comparable to punishments for assault (so that domestic violence is not treated as a lighter crime than violence perpetrated against others), with higher penalties for repeat offenses. There are adequate protection orders for victims and victim safety is taken into account (with protection orders available in a reasonable time, preferably by police rather than court application).

1: the state has somewhat adequate criminal penalties for acts of domestic violence (for example, the law may permit the perpetrator to be exempt from charges if the survivor forgives and/or marries the survivor; the punishments for domestic violence may not be as severe as those for non-family violence) or lacks adequate protection for victims (protection orders may not be available, may be difficult to obtain according to the law, or may not offer real protection to the victim).

2: the state has very inadequate criminal penalties for acts of domestic violence (for example, the law may permit the perpetrator to be exempt from charges if the survivor forgives and/or marries the survivor; the punishments for domestic violence may not be as severe as those for non-family violence) and lacks adequate protection for victims (protection orders may not be available, may be difficult to obtain according to the law, or may not offer real protection to the victim).

3: the state does not have criminal penalties or protections for domestic violence.

 

 
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DV-SCALE-5:

OVERALL COMBINED SCALE OF THE ADEQUACY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

This scale was created in 2017 by Andrea Den Boer and Senem Ertan. Look for updates in the database.

Please note that this scale looks solely at the penal code, and not other law-like documents such as the constitution.  This scale adds the scores for DV-SCALE-2, DV-SCALE-3, and DV-SCALE-4 together to gain a holistic picture of the adequacy of domestic violence law in terms of its comprehensiveness, the reasonable of evidence required, and the penalties and protections afforded. The scale ranges from 0 to 7, but we make a five-fold distinction among states as follows:

0: the state has adequate domestic violence laws with appropriate requirements for evidence, sanctions and protections for victims

1-2: the state has fairly adequate domestic violence laws but the law is deficient in one or two areas—it may not be comprehensive in its meaning, and the sanctions or protections may be inadequate

3-4: the state has domestic violence laws but the law may be narrow in scope and have inappropriate requirements for evidence, and/or weak punishments or protection for victims

5-6: the state has very narrow domestic violence laws, requires unreasonable evidence, and has weak criminal penalties and protection for victims

7: the state has no laws against domestic violence

 

 
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b. Female Infanticide/Sex-Selective Abortion    ISSA
(SEE ALSO SECTION F FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ABORTION)
ISSA-PRACTICE-1:

Are infanticide and/or sex-selective abortions and/or sex-selective child abandonment practiced? If not, have researchers noted strong son preference or strong valuation of sons versus daughters? Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice? Do families adopt in sons in cases of infertility or a lack of male offspring, in order to carry on the patriline?
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ISSA-PRACTICE-2:

If these practices are illegal, how are laws enforced?
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ISSA-LAW-1:

Are these practices legal? If illegal, what are the penalties? Also, does the government provide incentive programs for raising girl children (see also GIC)?
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ISSA-DATA-1:

How prevalent are these practices? [At a minimum, use ratings: (1) frequent or common, (2) occasional (not rare) and regional only, and (3) rare or never.]
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ISSA-DATA-2:

Sex ratios (0-4), but take other sex ratios (such as overall ratio, birth ratio, etc.) as well.  Take any sex-age population structure data here also.
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ISSA-SCALE-1:

Originally coded February 2007 (look for updates in the database). Professor Valerie Hudson’s Son Preference/Sex Ratio Scale. (Based on ISSA-PRACTICE-1. DATA-1, DATA-2)

Important Note: In February 2015, we changed the scaling rubric; all previous scalings will be recoded as well. While we favor census data, we do triangulate several population data sources.  In assessing son preference, we examine factors such as vaccination rates, infant mortality rates, primary education rates, issues of patrilineality and inheritance, etc.

0: There is no son preference, and no abnormality in sex ratios, whether those be birth, childhood, or overall sex ratios.

1: Though a minority of the population expresses son preference, there is no enactment of that preference, so sex ratios are normal.

2: Though a majority expresses son preference, there is no enactment of that preference, so sex ratios are normal.

3: There are significant but not extremely large abnormalities in sex ratios, whether those be birth or early childhood.  Birth 107.5-109.0, or if no number is given beyond the decimal point, then 108-109; Early Childhood (0-9) 106.5-107.5, or if no number is given beyond the decimal, then 107-108.

4: There are significant and large abnormalities in sex ratios, whether those be birth or early childhood. Birth >109.0, or if no number given beyond the decimal, then >109, Early Childhood (0-9) >107.5, or if no number given beyond the decimal, then >108.
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iii. Family and Society
a. Attitudes towards Families   ATFPA
ATFPA-PRACTICE-1:

What are societal attitudes concerning how much emphasis should be put on family life? [e.g., World Values Survey #131]
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ATFPA-PRACTICE-2:

Describe typical decision-making practices within the family in relation to gender: for example, is paternal authority privileged over maternal authority in family decisions? (Note: Variable was added in 2008, so data collection lags behind that of other variables in the database.) Also note any differences in the allocation of money or other resources to the family by men as compared to women.
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ATFPA-PRACTICE-3:

Do norms of family decisionmaking extend to the influential institutions of society? That is, in societies where families are patriarchal, do men typically also make the decisions in business and government, whether or not women are officially present in the decisionmaking body? For example, old boy's networks, men-only social clubs, locker rooms, etc. may preclude the full participation of women in the actual decisionmaking, even though there may be women on the decision-making committee. Likewise, the inverse could be that more equal norms of decisionmaking in the family also extend to larger societal institutions. (Note: This variable was added in 2009, and therefore its coding lags behind that of other variables in the database.)
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ATFPA-LAW-1:

Do the laws of the country reserve special rights to a legally designated "head of household"? If so, what are those special rights? If so, can women be a "head of household"? If so, is that designation limited to certain women only, such as widows?
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b. Children Born to/Raised by Married Couples   CBMC
CBMC-PRACTICE-1:

What societal attitudes concerning whether or not children need both a father and mother? [e.g., World Values Survey #109]
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CBMC-PRACTICE-2:

Do single mothers face social pressure to abort, desert, or abandon their children? Does the society support ways for unwed mothers to abandon children, such as the provision of "baby boxes"?
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CBMC-DATA-1:

What is the percentage (or at least an estimate of the number) of children born to married couples? To unmarried women? You can also include figures on rates of unmarried pregnancies and unmarried teen pregnancies here.
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c. Definitions of Manhood and Womanhood   DMW
(NOTE: THIS CLUSTER OF VARIABLES WAS ADDED IN 2009, AND THEREFORE ITS CODING LAGS BEHIND THAT OF OTHER VARIABLES IN THE DATABASE.)
DMW-PRACTICE-1:

How does this society define manhood and womanhood? For example, is a male a man when he has accomplished something specifically, like solo hunting, job status, number of children sired, violent actions, sexual behavior, etc? Is a female a women when she becomes married, or when she has a child, or when she menstruates? Are there typical gender attributes or roles assumed to be desirable and/or normal in the society--for example, are women expected to be submissive, and men expected to be dominant?  Etc. Does the culture seem to support male dominance?  For example, are there male dominance norms such as machismo?
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DMW-PRACTICE-2:

Are there formal rites of passages for boys to become men? For girls to become women? What do these involve?  Do these require considerable expense by the family?
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iv. Polygyny
a. Polygyny   PW
PW-PRACTICE-1:

Are “temporary marriages” (e.g., mutaa) common?
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PW-PRACTICE-2:

If polygyny is illegal, do people practice bigamous / multi-habitation living situations?
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PW-PRACTICE-3:

What are the practices surrounding polygyny? [Could include legal grounds for taking another wife, whether they are the wife’s consent at the beginning of the marriage, infertility, a woman only bearing daughters, marrying sisters, marrying widows, etc.]  (If there is any evidence of polyandry among certain classes or tribes, please indicate here as well.  Indicate whether it is fraternal polyandry, where brothers purchase a wife together.)
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PW-LAW-1:

Is polygyny legal, and if so under what conditions?  Regardless of whether polygyny is legal in the country, does the state recognize polygamous marriages contracted in other countries?
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PW-DATA-1:

How prevalent is polygyny?
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PW-SCALE-1:

Rescaling and recoding of this scale was performed in 2010, representing the time period 2007-2009. Look for updates in the database. The previous coding was removed from the database to accommodate the wholly new scale descriptions. Polygyny scale by Professor Rose McDermott: Designed to code the prevalence and legal status of polygyny in a given state. (Information used to code this scale is from Womanstats variables PW PRACTICE 2 and 3; PW LAW 1 and PW DATA 1).

Note: Where contradictions exist, privilege prevalence over legality.

0: Illegal and extremely rare (i.e., <2% of the population). Multiple simultaneous cohabitations are also rare. In other words, monogamy is the rule, whether the couple have been formally married or not.

1: Polygyny is illegal and this law is enforced (<2%), but multiple simultaneous cohabitations and/or polyamory are not uncommon (i.e., >2%).

2: Polygyny is generally illegal, except it is explicitly or implicitly deemed legal or is decriminalized de jure or de facto for certain minority ethnic or religious enclaves (that is, the authorities leave such enclaves alone to practice polygyny), but this represents <5% of women being in such marriages. Thus, the practice remains uncommon in the larger society.

3: Polygyny is legal under customary/religious law (though it may or may not be illegal under national law; if it is illegal, the government does not enforce the law), but <25% of women are in such arrangements.  However, to be a 3 when polygyny is illegal, at least 2% of women would have to be in such relationships.

4: Polygyny is legal under customary/religious law (though it may or may not be illegal under national law; if it is illegal, the government does not enforce the law), but it is common (more than 25% of women are in such relationships).
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b. Polygyny concerning mothers   POLY
POLY-LAW-1:

What are the inheritance laws in polygynous situations? What are the rules in situations without a will or in case of intestate succession? If polygyny is illegal but practiced according to customary law, what are the rules for inheritance? [For example, would the child of the fourth wife get anything?, etc.]
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POLY-LAW-2:

What legal rights do multiple wives have? Is there any kind of systematic ranking of wives, if not in official state law, perhaps in customary law? For example, does the first wife have more rights than subsequent wives? (For example, regarding cohabitation, does only the first wife live in the same household as the husband?)
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POLY-LAW-3:

Does a wife have the right to restrict her husband from marrying multiple women?
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F. Security for Maternity
a. Care Received During Pregnancy/Labor/Post-Partum   CRPLB
CRPLB-PRACTICE-1:

Describe care given to mothers during pregnancy, labor, and after birth. [Include information like the percentage of births attended by trained personnel, typical number of ante-natal visits and quality of ante-natal care. Include info on fistula care. Are there class or regional or religious or ethnic differences in practice?] Such care can also be reflected in measures concerning rates of low birth weight babies. Discuss childbirth practices that may affect women's health, including such information as C-section rates, postpartum roasting, inductions, epidurals, postpartum diet restrictions, etc. Discuss government programs to improve care for childbearing, such as midwife training programs, encouraging births by skilled attendants, etc.
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b. Maternal Mortality Rate   MMR
MMR-PRACTICE-1:

Does the state have programs to reduce the incidence of these phenomena (maternal mortality, fistulae, etc.)? Are there explanations for why the maternal mortality rates are what they are in this country?
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MMR-DATA-1:

What is the maternal mortality rate? Maternal morbidity (ex. fistulae)?
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MMR-SCALE-1:

Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births; numerical data only.
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MMR-SCALE-2:

Ordinal Ranking of Maternal Mortality Rates. Originally coded 2010, with data ranging from 2006-2009; S. Matthew Steamer.

Scale Points

0: 0-10 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

1: 11-30 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

2: 31-100 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

3: 101-300 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

4: 301+ maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

99: Missing Data
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c. Infant Mortality Rate   IM
IM-DATA-1:

What is the infant mortality rate? [Note whether this statistic is for the age group 0-1 or 0-5. Collect both.]
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IM-DATA-2:

What are the infant mortality rates for boys and girls?
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d. Mother's Age at Birth of First Child   MABFC
MABFC-DATA-1:

What is the average age of women when they give birth to their first child? [Extreme ages—as opposed to averages—can also be given here as long as they are clearly marked as such.] You can also include here any data on percentage of births which are to teen mothers, etc.
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MABFC-DATA-2:

What is the average spacing between births?
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e. Percentage of Pregnant Women with Anemia   PPWA
PPWA-DATA-1:

What is the percentage of pregnant women with anemia? Compare if possible to male rate of anemia or overall rates.
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f. Birth Rate   BR
BR-PRACTICE-1:

What are societal attitudes concerning what is the ideal family size? [e.g., World Values Survey #108]
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BR-PRACTICE-2:

What are societal attitudes concerning whether women need children to be fulfilled? [e.g., World Values Survey #110] Does society devalue women who do not or cannot have children?
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BR-DATA-1:

What is the birth rate? What is the fertility rate? Clearly mark the information as either birth rate or fertility rate, with the correct units given.  Take fertility and/or birth rates in 5 year increments of the mother's age if provided.
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BR-SCALE-1:

Births per 1000 Population, Ordinal Ranking (Note: Anything above 0 is above replacement rate)

0: The number of births per 1000 population is between 8 and 15

1: The number of births per 1000 population is between 16 and 24

2: The number of births per 1000 population is between 25 and 32

3: The number of births per 1000 population is between 33 and 39

4: The number of births per 1000 population is between 40 and 50

99: Missing Data
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g. Government Intervention in Childbearing   GIC
GIC-LAW-1:

Do pro-natalist policies or anti-natalist policies exist? If so, explain them. [Examples would include payments, allowances, tax credits, cash payments, paid maternity leave, tax regulations that support childbearing, special social security consideration, or policies that reduce benefits if more than two children are had, etc.]
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GIC-LAW-2:

Are the benefits tied to employment or marital status or any other status?
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GIC-LAW-3:

What kind of childcare benefits are available? [Include information on maternity leave—both here and under Law 1.]
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h. Forced Sterilization or Childbearing   FSCB
FSCB-PRACTICE-1:

Is forced sterilization or childbearing customary, even if illegal? Take any incidence data here. (Don’t overlook vasectomy practice to compare men/women.)
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FSCB-LAW-1:

Does the state force sterilization or childbearing? Are there financial incentives offered by the state to undergo these things? Are certain classes of persons subject to these laws and not others?
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i. Abortion   ABO
ABO-PRACTICE-1:

What are society’s attitudes toward abortion?
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ABO-LAW-1:

Is abortion legal in cases of incest, rape, or where the life of the mother is at stake? Are there barriers such as parental notification? Are there time limits on abortion? Is there state funding for abortion?
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ABO-DATA-1:

Incidence of abortion.
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ABO-SCALE-1:

ABORTION LAW SCALE RUBRIC, 2020 (ABO-SCALE-1)

0: Abortion is safe and legal and not imposed by the state on women (i.e. forced abortions are not an issue).

1: Abortion is legal (although may not be available on demand (for the asking), or there may be gestational age restrictions past the first trimester. The law may require parental permission or a waiting period.

2: Abortions may be restricted, but there are many reasons for permission to be given, including financial reasons.  Spousal permission may also be required, or the permission of a physician’s committee, or gestatonal age restrictions may prohibit abortion in the weeks before the first trimester has been completed (that is, prior to 12-13 weeks).

3: Abortions are severely restricted to cases where the life of the mother is at risk, possibly also rape and incest.

4: Abortions are illegal (you may also take cases where states impose abortions on women, i.e., forced/coerced abortions). 

 

NOTES:

1. 'In some countries, the law is very lax, but practice is more strict.  Should we lean more towards law or practice?' We lean toward practice

2. 'In one country, it is very expensive to get an abortion, though the law is lax.  Is this a 0 or 1?'  0; we are looking primarily at legal restrictions.

3. 'In one country, you are supposed to have an abortion in an approved facility, but transportation is very difficult, and most women end up aborting themselves at home.  What do we scale for that?'   That one is also tough. If things end up risking the life of the mom, that ranks very high up on the scale. I would give that a 3 but again I think you can argue about that since that is really a hard question. That is where practice seems to matter more than law and why I would privilege practice.

4. 'In one country, abortion is absolutely illegal.  However, both you and the doctor can claim “self-defense” and be exempt if it was done to save your life.  What do we code this?'    Again, I think practice matters.  Is this self-defense common, essentially obviating the law (like in ireland where rich women just go to the UK) or is it strictly enforced? I guess I would code this a 3 if the practice is enforced and a 2 if it is not.

5. This scale covers abortions for women who are of sound mind.  It does not cover laws that might enable judges to make decisions on abortions for women not of sound mind (for example, a scenario where a woman in a vegetative coma is raped by a male nurse and becomes pregnant).

6. The first trimester is 12-13 weeks.  In the 2016 scaling, we did not directly include the first trimester cutoff as we do in the 2020 scaling.  As a result, when we changed the scale in 2020 to make that cutoff, several countries that had been "0's" in the 2016 scale became "1's" or in a few cases, "2's."  Please be aware of this when you compare the 2020 scaling to any previous scaling.

 

 
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j. Social Acceptance of Breastfeeding   SAB
SAB-PRACTICE-1:

How socially acceptable is breastfeeding? Are there government programs in place to encourage breastfeeding or discourage artificial feeding?
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SAB-LAW-1:

What are the laws regarding breastfeeding? Has the government endorsed the WHO Code against marketing breastmilk substitutes? Are there laws concerning breastfeeding in the workplace?
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SAB-LAW-2:

Is breastfeeding in public restricted at all? If so, where is it illegal? Is there an explicit exemption of breastfeeding women from laws against indecent exposure? (Discuss, if you wish, what the laws on indecent exposure are.)
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SAB-DATA-1:

What is the percentage of babies breastfed at birth?
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SAB-DATA-2:

What is the percentage of babies breastfed at six months?
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SAB-DATA-3:

What is the average weaning age?
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k. Artificial and/or Commercial Reproduction   ACR
ACR-PRACTICE-1:

What are the practices around artificial and/or commercial reproduction, (ie. in vitro fertilization, sperm donation versus egg donation, surrogacy) Are these practices accepted? Is it more socially acceptable for one gender over another to participate in artificial and/or commercial reproduction? Be specific.
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ACR-LAW-1:

What are the laws surrounding artificial and/or commercial reproduction? Do these laws allow for one gender over another to participate to a greater extent, or have greater rights in these practices? Do these laws allow for or regulate commercial surrogacy or other commercial fertility practices? Be specific.
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ACR-DATA-1:

What is the prevalence of the various artificial and/or commercial reproduction practices? Be specific.
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G. Women's Security Through Voice
a. Holding Legal Office   LBHO Practice & Data
(SEE ALSO SECTION C – WOMEN’S LEGAL SECURITY FOR LBHO LAWS; THIS SECTION ONLY HAS THE PRACTICE AND DATA VARIABLES)
LBHO-PRACTICE-1:

Are incentives and quotas effective in encouraging more women to run for legislative or elected office? Are they ever prohibitive? [Quotas could be prohibitive if women are only allowed to fill a certain number of slots, when—if allowed—they would actually be elected to more than those allotted. Or, sometimes female quotas are filled via appointment instead of voting.]
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LBHO-PRACTICE-2:

Does the society generally consider men to be better political leaders? [e.g., World Values Survey #118] Are women leaders perceived negatively or positively?  For example, are they considered weak, or on the other hand, are they considered less corrupt than male leaders?
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LBHO-PRACTICE-3:

Are there practices or customs that keep women from holding elected office? Compared to men?  Are women in government targets for harassment or even assassination?  Does the government have any programs to help mitigate/prevent these things?
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LBHO-DATA-1:

What percentage of legislators are women?
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b. Government Positions   GP
GP-DATA-1:

Number or percent of women serving in high ranking government positions in the executive branch. Number or percent of women that have served as head of government or head of state. Differentiate between federal, state/provincial, and local government if available.
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GP-DATA-2:

Number or percent of women serving in the Foreign ministry or Defense Ministry. Also, we are interested in understanding the government's attitudes towards including women in foreign policy and peace negotiations/processes more generally (especially in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 1325; see also ATC-DATA-6. For example, are women sent by this nation to other nations as peacekeepers? Are women involved in peace negotiations/peace-making, or peace-building plans and transitional governments?) You may also include information on the composition and scope of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions as they pertain to violations of women's rights. Look also for women in ambassadorial positions or as other official spokespersons for the government.
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GP-DATA-3:

Is there a government position (cabinet level) that is assigned to address and correct issues faced by women? Does the government publish statistics disaggregated by gender? Is gender training provided for members of the government?  Does the government strive for gender-mainstreaming, and what is the level of support/funding for such an initiative? Is there a domestically-oriented National Action Plan for women? (See ATC-DATA-6 for NAP WPS.) Are there other types of actions plans targeted towards women or women's issues? Does the government look at (or have positions or mechanisms tasked with looking at) the intersection of women's concerns and pressing national issues, such as women and climate change?
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GP-DATA-4:

If it exists, is this women-focused ministry headed by a man or a woman?  What is the level of funding/support for this ministry?  Its level of influence within the government?
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GP-DATA-5:

Are there institutions that help address the needs of women? This may include court liaisons that can prosecute cases without the need of the abused women to testify, or special courts to address women's needs etc. What is the level of funding for such institutions?
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GP-DATA-6:

Number or percent of women serving in the judiciary, both local and federal. This includes lawyers, judges, etc. 
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GP-SCALE-1:

Ordinal Ranking of the Degree of Representation by Women in National Government. Examines primarily the national legislature and cabinet positions as in GP DATA 1; information on the judiciary was not included because so little is available. Originally coded 2010, data ranging from 2005 to 2009; S. Matthew Stearmer. General Note: Use the most recent years of data; if you have conflicting data, prioritize your sources in this manner: a) official government figures; b) IGO reports, c) third party nation reports, d) NGO reports.

This scale involves a three-step process. (1) First assign an ordinal scale to percentage women in the national legislature, as below. (2) Then assign an ordinal scale to percentage of women ministers/cabinet members as well as an indication of their relative power within the government, as below. (3) Then combine into the final score using algorithm given below.

(1) Assign ordinal scale to percentage of women in the national legislature. If there is more than one house in the legislature, average across the two houses.

0: 40+ % women in the national legislature

1: 30-39% women in the national legislature

2: 20-29% women in the national legislature

3: 10-19% women in the national legislature

4: 0-9% women in the national legislature

(2) Assign ordinal scale to percentage of women ministers/cabinet members, including some indication of whether they have any significant power within the government or not.

0: 26+% women ministers

1: 20-25% women ministers

2: 11-19% women ministers

3: 6-10% women ministers

4: 0-5% women ministers

(3) Algorithmic combination of the above two subscales to produce the final scale point for the nation.

0 Excellent representation of women: 0,0 or 0,1 or 1,0

1 Good representation of women: 1,1 or 0,2 or 2,0 or 2,1 or 3,0

2 Mediocre representation of women: 2,2 or 0,3 or 1,2 or 3,1 or 4,0 or 4,1

3 Poor representation of women: 3,3 or 0,4 or 1,3 or 2,3 or 3,2 or 4,2

4 Very poor representation of women: 4,4 or 1,4 or 2,4 or 3,4 or 4,3

 

NOTES

#1: Question--According to a Human Rights Report in 2014, two women were appointed to the Legislative Council in 2011.  And according to the information below, it states that currently there are only 20 appointed members so should we use the percentage of 2/20 or 10 percent women? 

Answer--If the concern with #1 is about appointment vs election, then the decision depends on the power of the body. If the legislative body has authority over laws then yes, it should be counted. 

 

#2: Question--The last election for the national legislature in Central African Republic was in 2011.  In this election, 12.5 percent of the legislature were women.  Elections were to be held in 2015 but because of conflict they did not happen.  What should be done in this case?  

Answer--For #2, if the concern is that an election cycle has passed, and you are not sure if the older one should still count, it would depend on the interim status of the government. If all indications are that the government is no longer controlled by the governing bodies we didn't count it. Otherwise we did use the most last most accurate data available. 
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GP-SCALE-2:

This is a different ordinal cut at female parliamentary representation.  It uses data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and examines the percentage of women in the lower house or single house of representation for countries.  Where the government is suspended, no score is given. This scale provides an alternative mapping for the government participation of women than GP-SCALE-1.

0  Over 40% female representation in lower or single legislative house.

1  From over 25% up to and including 40% female representation.

2  From over 10% up to and including 25% female represenation.

3  Up to and including 10% female representation.
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c. Government Empowerment Measure   GEM
GEM-DATA-1:

GEM Score/Rank; be sure to include date. GII replaced GEM in 2010; GII is available at GDI-DATA-2.
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H. Security Through Community Investment in Women
a. Literacy Rates   LR
LR-DATA-1:

What are male and female literacy rates? How do they compare?
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b. Women's Access to Formal Education   AFE
AFE-PRACTICE-1:

Are there miscellaneous barriers or incentives for women to attend school? [For example, education is legal, but customs or practices serve to keep girls from attending school—such as married or pregnant girls not being allowed to attend, distance from school, childcare responsibilities, chores, safety concerns, lack of female teachers or separate facilities, sexual harassment or sexual violence by students or teachers, etc.] Also, is there any information on whether the quality of education (or educational facilities, or resource allocations) given to girls is different from that given to boys, especially in sex-segregated educational systems? Are there scholarships that are sex-differentiated?
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AFE-PRACTICE-2:

What are societal attitudes concerning whether a university education is more important for a boy than for a girl? [e.g., World Values Survey # 119}
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AFE-PRACTICE-3:

According to societal attitudes, what is the ideal level of education for a man and for a woman? [e.g., World Values Survey #226] Compare this with actual rates to take into account cultural attitudes towards education. (E.g., , if the actual rates of education for everyone are no higher than a 5th grade level, it may not be a reflection of gender bias if women only have a 5th grade education.]
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AFE-LAW-1:

Do females have a legal right to education? [This includes whether education is mandatory and for what grades.] Compare to men.
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AFE-DATA-1:

What is the percentage of females going to school? (This will look at comparison of men and women at the three major levels of education ).
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AFE-SCALE-1:

Ordinal Ranking of Discrepancy in Educational Attainment Between Males and Females (Secondary Level). Originally coded 2010, using data from 2006-2009; S. Matthew Steamer. This draws not only on the AFE cluster of variables, but also the ASR (Area of Study Restrictions) cluster, which is the very next variable in the codebook(see below).  Because completion rates are unavailable for many countries, we are using secondary school enrollment rates as our measure of "attainment."

0: There is less than 5% discrepancy in secondary educational attainment for girls and boys, and there are no area of study restrictions (in law or in practice) for girls.

1: There is either a 5-10% discrepancy in secondary educational attainment for girls and boys OR while there are no legal area of study restrictions for girls, there are some area of study restrictions in practice for girls.

2: There is either a 11-15% discrepancy in secondary educational attainment for girls and boys OR there are some legal area of study restrictions for girls and/or commonly practiced area of study restrictions for girls.

3: There is a 16-20% discrepancy in secondary educational attainment for girls and boys AND there are either legal area of study restrictions for girls or significant area of study restrictions in practice for girls.

4: There is a greater than 20% discrepancy in secondary educational attainment for girls and boys OR there are extreme legal or practical area of study restrictions for girls.

Note for the 2020 scaling: 

For 9 of the countries in our dataset (Cambodia, China, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Qatar, and Somalia) we were only able to find the gross enrollment ratios for lower and upper secondary enrollment disaggregated by sex. Lower and upper enrollment ratios for girls were added together and divided by the sum of lower and upper enrollment ratios for boys. This figure was multiplied by the sex ratio of the country for individuals aged 15-19. (Data on sex ratios for each country came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Data Base.) This procedure produced comparable figures to the gender parity index for secondary school enrollment as reported by the World Bank.
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c. Area of Study Restrictions   ASR
ASR-PRACTICE-1:

Are women prohibited or seriously discouraged in practice from studying certain subjects, even if the law permits them to do so? Are there other barriers, such as fear or social unacceptability or ostracism of women in a certain area of study?  On the other hand, does the government have programs in place to educate specifically girls/women in non-traditional fields of study?
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ASR-PRACTICE-2:

Are women prohibited or seriously discouraged from participating in school-related sports, even if the law permits them to do so? Are there other barriers, such as fear or social unacceptability or dress codes that inhibit such participation? Are there facilities for women in school-related sports?
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ASR-LAW-1:

Are women legally able to study any area they choose? [Do women have to study in a same-sex school, and if so are such schools available for all professions—e.g., medical, etc.?]
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ASR-LAW-2:

Are there any legal prohibitions that would support or deny women's participation in school-related sports? (For example, Title IX legislation.)
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ASR-DATA-1:

What percentage of lawyers, bankers, doctors, or other professionals are women? Also science and technology and engineering? [These professions are typically male-dominated and require high levels of education. It can be important for women to have access to female lawyers and doctors.]
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ASR-DATA-2:

Are there any figures on women's participation in school-related sports? (Especially as compared to men's rates.)
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d. NGOs Focused on Women   NGOFW
(SEE ALSO IN SECTION C, ‘LAND OWNERSHIP AND PROPERTY RIGHTS’)
NGOFW-PRACTICE-1:

Define the relationship between NGOs focused on women, and the government. Does the government encourage the formation of such NGOs? Do they work in cooperation with one another or are they antagonistic? Are NGOs generally from outside the nation or are they national grass-roots level organizations?
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NGOFW-DATA-1:

Look for the presence of NGOs oriented to females. [For examples, micro credit. The presence of such NGOs could signify a lack of women’s rights in this area. See also LO DATA 1, which examines NGOs focused on female entrepreneurship.]
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NGOFW-DATA-2:

How long have women-oriented NGOs been in the country? [If the NGOs haven’t been there long, women’s rights may still be lacking; if they have been there a while, hopefully women’s rights have improved in this area. Also, LO DATA 2 examines NGOs focused on female entrepreneurship.]
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NGOFW-DATA-3:

Does (and how) the government involve women in development projects within the state? These do not have to be specifically directed at women. The idea is to see if women, and particular their concerns, are being considered in the solving of social problems.
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e. Sports, Recreational Activities, and Continuing Education   SRACE
(NOTE: THIS CLUSTER OF VARIABLES WAS ADDED IN 2009, AND THEREFORE ITS CODING LAGS BEHIND THAT OF OTHER VARIABLES IN THE DATABASE.)
SRACE-PRACTICE-1:

Do women participate in community sports, including national-level sports that might lead to participation in the Olympics? Are there any barriers or any encouragement from the society for such participation? Does the government have programs to encourage women's participation? Are facilities for women to participate in community sports? (Activities for school-aged children should go in ASR.)
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SRACE-PRACTICE-2:

Are other types of recreational activities, including courses on life skills or hobbies or other non-professional continuing education courses, open to both men and women? Are there government programs to provide such opportunities for women? Are NGOs involved in providing such opportunities for women?
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SRACE-LAW-1:

Are there any legal prohibitions against women participating in community sports, recreational activities, or receiving continuing education (as described in SRACE PRACTICE 2? Are there any legal constraints, such as dress codes for women in sports?
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I. Women's Security in the State
a. Accession to CEDAW and Other Treaties Concerning Women, also National Action Plans   ATC
ATC-DATA-1:

Date of Accession to the CEDAW convention. This should be the date that it was ratified by country. If it was signed but not ratified please make note of this.
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ATC-DATA-2:

Number of reservations to CEDAW.
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ATC-DATA-3:

What are the reservations to CEDAW? Which parts of the CEDAW convention did the country remove before they would ratify it? Include the article and subject. Why did the country feel it needed to be removed?
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ATC-DATA-4:

Accession to CEDAW optional protocol, and date?
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ATC-DATA-5:

Has the country become a party to any other treaties concerning women, including regional treaties such as the Maputo Protocol?  Alternatively, has the country failed to enter into treaties it would otherwise be expected to enter into, such as a sub-Saharan African country not signing onto the Maputo Protocol?  If treaties and protocols have been entered into, has the country put forward any reservations? (This variable was created in January 2015, and therefore its coding may lag compared to other variables.)
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ATC-DATA-6:

(See also GP-DATA-2.) How has the country fulfilled its obligations, or failed to fulfill its obligations, under UNSCR 1325?  Does the country have a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security?  If the country is in the midst of peace negotiations, is there adequate representation of women?  Does the government strive for gender-mainstreaming in the realm of foreign policy and international relations? What is the level of support/funding for these types of initiatives?  Etc.  (This variable was created in January 2015, and therefore its coding may lag compared to other variables.)
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ATC-DATA-7:

To what extent has the country made the empowerment and security of women an explicit concern of its foreign policy?  For example, does the country have foreign assistance initiatives that attempt to curtail problematic practices for women, such as attempting to eradicate child marriage worldwide?  Or does the country promulgate foreign assistance programs that target women, such as offering foreign aid in the form of more modern, less smoky cookstoves?  Etc. (This variable was created in January 2015, and therefore its coding may lag compared to other variables.)
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ATC-SCALE-1:

The scale ATC-Scale-1 was created by Professor Senem Ertan, and was first scaled in 2015 (see database for updates).  This scale ranks the degree to which the nation has committed itself to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): This scale examines ATC-DATA-1, ATC-DATA-2, ATC-DATA-3, and ATC-DATA-4.

0- Ratified CEDAW, no reservation, ratified Optional Protocol

1- Ratified CEDAW, no reservations, did not ratify Optional Protocol

2- Ratified CEDAW, but with reservations

3- Did not ratify CEDAW
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ATC-SCALE-2:

This scale was created by Professor Senem Ertan, and was first scaled in 2015 (check database for updates).  It determines whether the country has a comprehensive and current national gender equality action plan. This scale examines ATC-DATA-6 and GP-DATA-3.

Gender Equality Policy Action Plan Scale:

   0) The country has a comprehensive and current national gender equality action plan.

   1) The country has a national program, but it is not very comprehensive or it has lapsed.  Give a country 1 point for the action plan scale;

         ·   if the country has no comprehensive national action plan for women or gender equality plan (Example; Gender Equality Action Plan, National Action Plan on Gender, State Plan of Action for the Improvement of Women’s Status etc.) but some other action plans which focuses only on one issue of women’s problems such as Domestic Violence Action Plan or Equal Employment Action Plan,

         ·  if the country does not have any valid comprehensive national action plan after 2019 (2014 for first scaling of this scale) but if before 2019 (2014 for the first scaling of this scale) comprehensive action plans were applied. This rule is applied because some time might pass to prepare a new action plan for the country or to pass it from the parliament.

         ·  Even though some other unspecific action plans have been in action, the country would get a 1 because it is not only focusing on all issues of women’s problems or gender issues (Example; Human’s rights action plans covering women’s rights, Development Plans covering women and gender issues etc.)

     2)  The country has no national action plan for gender equality and its other, more limited gender equality programs, if they exist, are very weak.
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b. Asylum for Women   AW
AW-PRACTICE-1:

Under what circumstances is asylum customarily granted to women [For example, on grounds like FGM, one-child policy, etc.] Compared to men? (See also Trafficking variable cluster.)
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AW-LAW-1:

Under what circumstances is asylum legally granted to women [For example, on grounds like FGM, one-child policy, etc.] Comparison to men? (See also Trafficking variable cluster.)
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c. Government/Subnational Group Exploitation of Women   GEW
GEW-PRACTICE-1:

How accepting is the government and military of rape and/or kidnapping of women and girls being used as a weapon of war? Does its use vary by ethnicity? Forced labor of women/men? What about military forces sent as peacekeepers to other lands? Are there subnational groups, such as rebel movements or rebel armies, that use kidnapping and rape as a tactic of war against the government? Does the government have programs to aid women who have been victimized by soldiers or rebels?
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GEW-PRACTICE-2:

In terms of prosecution of these crimes, how are the laws of the nation enforced—specifically, are there gender differences in prosecution under the law where women and where men are concerned?
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GEW-PRACTICE-3:

Does the government encourage the use of women and girls as an instrument of the state? In what way? What about subnational groups, such as rebel movements or rebel armies? This is purposefully left general.
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GEW-LAW-1:

Are there laws that would prevent the use of rape or kidnapping or trafficking as weapons of war?
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GEW-DATA-1:

How common are crimes against women and girls, such as rape, during war? Indicate if there has been little to no potential (i.e. not at war in the last decade or so) and/or if there has been war- related rape, if it occurred under a different government administration. You can also include sexual exploitation of women by the nation's military serving as peacekeepers in another country, or exploitation of women by subnational groups such as rebel movements or rebel armies.
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d. Women in combat/military service   EWCMS
EWCMS-PRACTICE-1:

If not legally allowed to be in combat, do women still serve in close combat (where they are in danger of enemy fire or otherwise in direct contact with hostile forces personnel)? Alternatively, if women are legally allowed to be in combat, are they excluded from combat in practice? (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-PRACTICE-2:

Are there any indications that women in the military are not taken seriously? (For example, requiring a women to display a talent unrelated to their duties such as singing or dancing.) Not promoted to leadership positions? (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-PRACTICE-3:

Are there practices that encourage or discourage rape/assault within the military (soldiers raping other soldiers from their own or friendly countries)? Are there practices that discourage victims from reporting rapes/assault, or that appear designed to cover up such incidents? Are there practices that encourage victims to report? (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-PRACTICE-4:

Are women involved as fighters or authority figures (e.g., negotiators) with subnational groups such as guerrilla groups or rebel groups?  Describe their involvement and role(s).  (This variable was added in January 2015, and its coding may lag behind other variables.)
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EWCMS-LAW-1:

Are women allowed to serve in the military? What about in combat? Compare to military service requirements for men? Are women the targets of recruitment as well as men?
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EWCMS-LAW-2:

Are women draftable (including military conscription)? Compare to men.
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EWCMS-LAW-3:

Can women be required to serve in a combat position? [There might be a national service alternative.]
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EWCMS-LAW-4:

Does the state recruit women into the police? Are there special female police forces?
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EWCMS-LAW-5:

Are there laws preventing rape/assault within the military (soldiers raping other soldiers from their own or friendly countries)? Are there laws that protect victims/accusers and/or encourage them to report crimes? Are there laws that discourage reports? (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-DATA-1:

How common are women in the military? How many hold leadership positions? (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-DATA-2:

How common is rape/assault within the military (soldiers raping other soldiers from their own or friendly countries)? Indicate if there has been little or no potential. Include rates of reports and estimates of un-reported assault. (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-DATA-3:

How often is rape/assault within the military (soldiers raping other soldiers from their own or friendly countries) prosecuted? Include data on cases that are dropped/dismissed. (Note: This variable was added in June 2012.)
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EWCMS-DATA-4:

What percentage of the police force are women?
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EWCMS-DATA-5:

If the country offers peacekeeping forces to the UN, what percentage of those are women?
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e. Exemption of mothers from combat/military service   EMCMS
EMCMS-LAW-1:

Are mothers draftable (including military conscription)?
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EMCMS-LAW-2:

If a woman becomes pregnant or has minor children, can she choose to be discharged or serve in a non-combat position?
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f. Differential Treatment Under Law   DTCP
DTCP-PRACTICE-1:

Are there instances of codified differences in punishment based solely on gender? Do police treat women complainants and perpetrators differently from those who are male? Do police physically assault women, rape women, etc., resulting in reluctance of women to seek police help? (Look also at Practice variables under clusters such as Rape, etc.?) Are there different prison conditions for men and women that make prison life even more difficult for a woman? Are the jailors of women, men or women as well? What is the situation of children of women who are jailed, or women who are pregnant and give birth while jailed? Are there special morality police who focus on women, such as their dress or behavior? Note also that in addition to the police, this variable may also be applied to other government officials with whom women must interact.
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DTCP-LAW-1:

Does the government allow religious tribunals or systems of customary law to adjudicate certain types of legal matters, such as family law concerning marriage, divorce, custody, support, inheritance, etc.? Do these religious tribunals/customary law panels judge according to a system of law that treats women differently from men? Is that differential treatment biased against women, for example, are men allowed unlimited rights to divorce while women find it very difficult to obtain a divorce? (This variable was added October 2008, so there may not be very much information coded yet. Check other, related variables for pertinent information coded before this date.)
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g. Recent Changes in Status of Women   RISW
RISW-PRACTICE-1:

In the past five years, have there been any significant changes in practice or policy that indicates a desire to improve the status of women within society?
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RISW-PRACTICE-2:

In the past five years, have there been any significant changes in practice or policy that indicates backtracking in the status of women within society?
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h. Constitutional Law   CONST
CONST-LAW-1:

Is discrimination on the basis of sex expressly outlawed by the Constitution or basic law of the land, and/or does the Constitution or the basic law of the land expressly indicate that both men and women are equal before the law?
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CONST-SCALE-1:

This scale was created by Professor Senem Ertan and first scaled in 2015 (check database for updates).  The scale seeks to determine whether and the degree to which the state has codified gender equality in law, whether in its constitution or through legislation. It examines CONST-LAW-1.

Legal Declaration of Gender Equality Scale:

0: The country has a clause on gender equality AND non-discrimination in its constitution OR it has specific gender equality and non-discrimination legislation such as Gender Equality Law or Sex Discrimination Act AND customary law is not considered valid if it contradicts/violates that clause.

1: The country does not have either gender equality clause or non-discrimination clause in the constitution. It does not have specific gender equality legislation BUT it may have a non-discrimination legislation. Even so, customary law is not considered valid when it contradicts/violates gender equality AND/OR non-discrimination principle.

2:     The country does not have either gender equality clause in the constitution or gender equality legislation AND it also does not have a non-discrimination clause or legislation.  Also, code a country “2” when it has gender equality/non-discrimination clauses/legislation BUT customary law is considered valid even if it contradicts/violates these.

Coding rules:

1)     If country does not have any clauses on gender equality or non-discrimination in the constitution but it has a specific gender equality legislation such as Gender Equality Law or Sex Discrimination Act, then the coder assess this law and the same coding rule applied as in constitutional frameworks. Existence of a Gender Equality Law is considered as a valid legal framework for gender equality or non-discrimination in the country and passing such a law demonstrates countries willingness to improve gender equality in legal frameworks. This coding rule also applied to United Kingdom because it does not have any constitution in force. 

In 2015, the countries who have a comprehensive gender equality law are: Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Moldavia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Thailand, UK, Ukraine, USA.

2)     Countries are coded 2 points when customary or personal law are valid sources of law, or they are not invalid sources EVEN IF they violate constitutional provisions on nondiscrimination or equality (Source: World Bank; Women Business and the Law Report 2016)

In 2015, those countries are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Cote D’ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Palestine, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

3) In the 2020 coding, we also looked at the preambles of Constitutions.

4) For the 2020 coding, we used a more comprehensive interpretation and assigned countries a “0” if the constitution also implicitly refers to gender equality and sex discriminations such as; “All human beings shall be equal before the law and the courts. Human rights shall be realised without discrimination of any kind.”
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J. Additional Data
a. Additional Data   ADDL
ADDL-DATA-1:

Idiosyncratic Gender Practices Not Otherwise Categorizable: In this variable, you will find other gender practices which we could not fit under our existing variable categorization scheme.
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ADDL-DATA-2:

Incomplete Information: In this variable, we place information that appears related to gender practices in some way, but is incomplete and therefore awaits further effort by our coders before it can be placed in the larger database scheme. The coder will indicate why the information has been placed here.
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