Gulnara Shelia
Speeches:
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Sociological aspects of violating the natural gender balance of newborns in Georgia
Gulnara Shelia1, Nino Tsuleiskiri2 1NGO"Association HERA-XXI", Tbilisi, Georgia, 2Tsereteli State University, Kutaisi, Georgia - dodoshelia@yandex.ru
Objective: Explore the sociological aspects of disturbing the natural gender balance and reasons behind “skewed sex ratios”at birth (111 boys for 100 girls) in Georgia. Method: 1600 women have been interviewed. The target groups of investigation were women of childbearing age and their families, also medical staff of 4 cities . Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was conducted using the computer program SPSS. Results: Analysis of the data shows, that sex selection in Georgia really exists. As a consequence there is significant evidence of prenatal sex identification practice. Additionally to the existing stereotype, technological innovations and disseminated information about modern family planning methods resulted in determination of the number of children and identification of the sex of the fetus by women.This behaviour is not inhibited by service providers.The existing economic and social conditions and level of education are contributing factors to having an abortion. Religion is the only deterrent to abortion.To the question “how important to you is the sex of the future child ?“, 52-72% answered that ”has no relevance“, but correlative analysis shows inconsistency of this response with other answers. 63% of the investigated women had undergone their first abortion; for 24% it was the second. Conclusion: Abortion is still the main method of birth control in Georgia. Termination of pregnancy, by interviewed women , is socially conditioned.There is the practice of prenatal sex selection with the termination of unwanted pregnancy in Georgia. Directly and spontaneously or under pressure Georgian women decide not to give birth to daughters, who are considered a burden to their family and unable to perpetuate the family lineage. This situation (the prenatal sex selection and related selective abortion) requires more adequate attention from authorities and development of specific measures for prevention.