Ensuring that women have equal rights and opportunities is a precondition for tackling Armenia’s high selective abortion rate, UNFPA’s Assistant Representative Garik Hayrapetyan told CIVILNET TV in an interview broadcast on 28 March 2013.

The abortion rate of female fetuses goes up dramatically after the first two children are born, according to a study conducted by UNFPA in Armenia in 2011. For the third and fourth child, as many as 160 boys are born for every 100 girls. As a result, the overall sex ration in Armenia stands at 114 boys per 100 girls, significantly higher than the natural sex ratio.

“The idea exists that women are not capable of working as hard as men, so families think that for the future a son is a better investment for the family,” said Hayrapetyan. “If we can break these stereotypes and we can ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women, a number of factors that contribute to selective abortion can be eliminated.” 

Related resources

Watch the CIVILNET TV interview

Read the study on sex-selective abortions in Armenia (pdf)