If things have changed so much take a look at the statistics about violence against women on this website
http://www.who.int/gender/violence/en/
or perhaps this one
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm
or may be you could look at this site about rapes against women
http://www.rainn.org/statistics/index.html
or perhaps the figures on amnesty international's site
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/
Things might have changed for the average, white, middle class woman but around the world and in many communities throughout the UK not only have things not changed but they have got far worse.