(The Christian Post) Persecution of Christian women worldwide has risen dramatically in the last year as a new study by Open Doors International released ahead of International Women’s Day finds forced marriages have increased by 16%, and physical violence against women has increased 31%.
Global persecution watchdog group Open Doors International released the 2021 “Same Faith, Different Persecution” report on gender-specific religious persecution (GSRP) to detail the plight of the global persecuted Church and how this especially affects women.
GSRP has risen to the highest level recorded in the three years since the report was first issued in 2018, as women face a higher potential risk of religious persecution than men. The report’s data comes from the top 50 countries on the group’s annual World Watch List between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sep. 30, 2020.