LONDON — India is the world’s most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labor, according to a poll of global experts released on Tuesday.

War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women’s issues.

Seizing the opportunity, India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday after the poll found the country was seen as the most dangerous for women in the world, calling it a “shame”.

“What a shame for our country!” said the Congress party chief.

Bollywood director Alankrita Shrivastava, whose last film “Lipstick Under my Burkha” was lauded for its examination of women and sexuality, posted the poll findings on Twitter.

“The history of our society is entrenched in patriarchy and misogyny,” she said, urging the country to think again about its treatment of women.

“We discriminate against women, there is female feticide, there are unequal laws to property inheritance, no pay parity ... These are deep rooted issues.”

Indian actor Jaaved Jaaferi wrote on Twitter: “And the winner is ... India the most dangerous country to be a woman, survey shows”.

The only Western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into sex.

The poll was a repeat of a survey in 2011 that found experts saw Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for women.

Experts said India moving to the top of poll showed not enough was being done to tackle the danger women faced, more than five years after the rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi made violence against women a national priority.

“India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women... rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated,” said Manjunath Gangadhara, an official at the Karnataka state government.

“The (world’s) fastest growing economy and leader in space and technology is shamed for violence committed against women.”

Government data shows reported cases of crime against women rose by 83 percent between 2007 and 2016, when there were four cases of rape reported every hour.

The survey asked respondents which five of the 193 United Nations member states they thought were most dangerous for women and which country was worst in terms of healthcare, economic resources, cultural or traditional practices, sexual violence and harassment, non-sexual violence and human trafficking.

Respondents also ranked India the most dangerous country for women in terms of human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude, and for customary practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.

India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development declined to comment on the survey results.

Experts said the surprise addition of the United States in the top 10 most dangerous countries for women came down to the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns against sexual harassment and violence that have dominated headlines for months.

“People want to think income means you’re protected from misogyny, and sadly that’s not the case,” said Cindy Southworth, executive vice president of the Washington-based National Network to End Domestic Violence.

“We are going to look back and see this as a very powerful tipping point ... We’re blowing the lid off and saying ‘#Metoo and Time’s Up’.”

The poll of 548 people was conducted online, by phone and in person between March 26 and May 4 with an even spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific.

Respondents included aid professionals, academics, healthcare staff, non-government organization workers, policy-makers, development specialists and social commentators. — Thomson Reuters Foundation