Abstract
The world continues to be unsafe for girls and women. Although natural disasters and man-made disasters make the world unsafe for all people, the gender divide further compromises safety of women. In addition to being at higher risk for violence, rape, trafficking, and abuse, women's injury and mortality increase because of the limited definition of the nature and type of work they do, the conditions that expose them to such infections as HIV/AIDS, the pregnancy and birthing cycles, as well as unsafe abortions, and because of the inadequacy and inaccessibility of health services. To enhance safe womanhood, not just safe motherhood for women, several urgent actions are outlined in this article.
The paper is based on a keynote address given by the author at the 15th Congress of the International Council on Women's Health Issues on November 9, 2004, in Sao Pedro, Brazil.
This keynote is based on the author's many research projects and published work that included coauthors.