Considerably larger male than female populations in some countries in Asia as well as in Europe have led to concerns in the European Parliament about the discrimination against young girls that could lead to sex selective practices such as neglect, sex selective abortions, or even infanticide. This study by the Overseas Development Institute, UK (project lead) and Ecologic Institute provides the European Parliament with an overview of the causes, current trends, consequences, and policy challenges of sex selective practices, focusing particularly on China and India. It provides some recommendations for the European Parliament as to how these challenges can be addressed. The study is available for download.

The results of this study were presented to the European Parliament in June 2012. The study is part of the framework contract on development policy with the European Parliament that Ecologic Institute coordinates. The study [pdf, 885 kB, English, French] is available for download.