UNFPA: there is still a problem associated with selective abortion in  Armenia

ArmInfo.. In Armenia, there is still a problem associated with selective abortions based on the sex of the child. This was stated on November 7 at a press conference  in Yerevan by coordinator of the Program to Combat Gender  Discrimination of the United Nations Population Fund Zaruhi Tonoyan.

According to her, the study was conducted in June this year and aims  to understand the situation with selective abortions in Armenia, to  compare it with the indicators of a similar analysis from 2017.

At the beginning of the press conference, she stated that the issue  of selective abortion was first raised by UNFPA in Armenia in 2010,  since the situation was extremely acute - 100 girls were born for 120  boys, while the norm was 105 boys for 100 girls.

"And thanks to international institutions, we managed to achieve  positive trends in indicators. And according to the data of 2021, 100  girls are born for every 108.8 boys in Armenia. Of course, we are  still far from the real standards, but, nevertheless, there are  positive trends. I will also add, that in the first half of 2022, we  recorded a regression by three positions - 100 girls were born for  111 boys. But, I would not want to consider this the end result,  since the year is not over yet and the overall picture will be  later," Tonoyan noted.

At the same time, she stated with regret that is in this issue  Armenia along with such countries as India, Vietnam and China, where  this problem also exists.

In turn, OxEJen Foundation Program Manager Karen Ayvazyan stated that  the study showed that the number of citizens showing equal treatment  of the sex of the child has decreased in Armenia. According to him,  for example, in the same Gegharkunik region, if 75% of the  respondents in 2017 stated that they had an equal attitude to the sex  of the unborn child, then this year the figure fell to 60%.

"The most favorable indicators were recorded in the Kotayk region -  77% have an equally attitude to the sex of the child, the figure in  Yerevan is 75%, and the worst result is in the Gegharkunik region -  only 60% of the respondents have the same attitude to the sex of the  child," Ayvazyan said, adding that compared to 2017, positive trends  in relation to the female fetus are expressed in the Tavush region.

According to him, as a reason for preferring boys over girls, 91% of  respondents stated that boys will continue the family line, 82% will  be defenders of the motherland, and 67% will inherit property. In the  case of girls, 67% of respondents noted that girls are always ready  to help their parents and take care of them, another 10% noted that  there are few girls in the family.

"Thus, the reason for the preference for boys lies in socio-economic  and security issues, and for girls - the need for help and care,"  Ayvazyan noted, noting that the balance of preferences for the first  child in Armenia corresponds to the norms and, in general, the  attitude is the same.

However, Ayvazyan stated that a serious imbalance is felt at the  birth of 4 children, where boys are clearly preferred, while in 2017  it was clearly expressed already with the third child.  The study was  carried out in all regions of Armenia. Only women aged 18 to 48 and  having at least one child participated in it. . 1920 women  participated in the study  The project is part of a global regional  program implemented by UNFPA with financial assistance from the EU.

We also add that, according to the data of the RA National  Statistical Committee, 26,511 children were born in the country in  January-September 2022, the y-o-y decrease was 1.3%, respectively:  12,538 girls (y- o-y decrease: 2.6%) and 13,973 boys(the same  indicators as a year ago).