Sex selection: Public policies to balance the scales?

This chapter provides a brief state of the art of gender-biased sex selection (GBSS), covering the current situation in the world. It examines the different factors behind this unexpected rise in the sex ratio at birth and focuses on to the evolution, typology and impact of the GBSS policies themselves. GBSS has become increasingly a public policy concern, steering debates on gender equity, human rights and demographic imbalances. The chapter highlights national, regional and international campaigns in particular and examines how sex selection - once a denied and taboo topic - has become center stage for multi-stakeholder and multilevel policy collaboration. In order to contextualize GBSS policies, the larger backdrop of population policies needs to be considered. The chapter presents the scenario in the two sample countries (Armenia and Vietnam) and tries to assess the impact of these policies on reproductive behavior and demographic outcomes.