The USSR`s Role in Imbalanced Sex Ratios at Birth and Human

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2014
The USSR's Role in Imbalanced Sex Ratios at Birth
and Human Trafficking in the South Caucasus
Abigail Burns
Virginia Commonwealth University
Abigail Burns
Virginia Commonwealth University
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The USSR’s Role in Imbalanced Sex Ratios at Birth
and Human Trafficking in the South Caucasus
Abigail Burns, Professor Mary Boyes, Honors 200
Introduction
Methods
The optimal sex ratio at birth (SRB) for humans is 105-107 boys
born for every 100 girls (Hesketh & Xing, 2006, p. 2). Since 1990,
the population of the South Caucasus has exhibited abnormally
high SRB, with rates reaching as high as 120 boys per 100 girls
(Abrahamyan et al., 2012, p. 4). In the same period of time, human
trafficking in the South Caucasus has also increased, particularly in
the capitals and major cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
(Shahinian, 2008, p. 2). While the two phenomena have been
compared and researched together in other regions of Asia, there is
a lack of research on the relationship between imbalanced SRBs
and human trafficking in the South Caucasus.
After reviewing eighteen scholarly articles, two distinct, shared
causes emerged between gendercide and human trafficking in the
region: economic crisis and cultural disruption. The withdrawal of
the USSR created an economic crisis in the South Caucasus,
leaving much of the population unemployed and without health
care benefits. Likewise, the three countries experienced rapid
cultural change as a result of the USSR’s practices. The changes in
these two areas combined created an environment conducive to
the development of both human trafficking and gendercide.
Cultural Consequences
When the USSR entered the Southern Caucasus, the government
began to enforce Soviet cultural ideals onto traditional families
(Ishkanian, p. 5). Because this ideal was imposed from without,
women in the culture began to define their identities in contrast
to the Soviets, reinforcing traditionalism in their lives (Tohidi,
1996, p. 7). However, when the Soviets left, a cultural vacuum
was created. In this void, women continued to subject themselves
to strict private lives, maintaining higher moral standards then
men (Tohidi, p. 7). In fact, the most traditional families place a
greater value on men, and 43.8% of families prefer male children
as opposed to the 7.6% who prefer female children (Duthe et al.,
2012, p. 10; Abrahamyan et al., p. 41). This, coupled with the
abortion culture, has encouraged and extended the practice of
gendercide in the region. Likewise, this inequality and
undervaluation of women creates an environment ripe for human
trafficking.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Professor Boyes for enabling me to
complete this project. Also, I could not have finished my research
without the valuable input of my Honors 200 classmates.
Economic Crisis
The withdrawal of the USSR from the South Caucasus left
many people unemployed and without any social programs to
provide them with necessary poverty relief (Ishkanian, 2003, p.
8-9). Health care coverage has decreased extensively because of
these changes (Thompson & Harutyunyan, 2006, p. 2). Also, the
majority of women use abortion, rather than expensive
contraceptives, as birth control (Hodorogea & Comendant,
2010, p. 3). This has created a situation in which the son
preference in the culture can exert itself easily and frequently
through sex-selective abortion. Also, besides creating
widespread poverty, the withdrawal of the USSR left women at
a disadvantage, facing unemployment and inequality with their
male counterparts (Ishkanian, p. 8-9). Because they cannot fully
participate in the economy, women are vulnerable to the
exploitation of human trafficking.
Works Cited
Figure 1. “Sex ratio at birth, 1989-2010” (Abrahamyan et al., 2012, p. 4)
Conclusion
v
While there is not enough evidence to conclude that gendercide is
a causing factor behind human trafficking, the situation in the
South Caucasus does reveal the two phenomena to be correlated
due to their similar causes. In the South Caucasus, both events are
accelerated and partially caused by the economic and cultural
effects of the collapse and withdrawal of the Soviet Union . This
connection has implications for the way in which the
governments of the South Caucasus address the problems of
gendercide and human trafficking. Instead of treating the two as
separate issues, politicians, law enforcement, and activists in the
region must treat the disease instead of the symptoms, addressing
the economic and cultural problems left behind by the Soviet
Union.
Abrahamyan, R., Avagyan, G., Gyulkhasyan, V., Kuyumjyan, K., Saghatelyan, A., Aghajanyan, A., &
Arushanyan, A. (2012). Report: Prevalence of and reasons for sex- selective abortions in
Armenia. Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.am/sites/default/files/Sexselective_abortions_report_Eng.pdf/
Duthe, G., Mesle, F., Vallin, J., Badurashvili, I., & Kuyumjyna, K. (2012). High sex ratio at birth in the
Caucasus: Modern technology to satisfy old desires. Population and Development Review, 38(3),
487-501. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00513.x
Hesketh, T., & Xing, Z. W. (2006). Abnormal sex ratios in human populations: Causes and
consequences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
103(6), 13271-13275. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/ 103/36/13271.full.pdf
Hodorogea, S., & Comendant, R. (2010). Prevention of unsafe abortion in countries of Central Eastern
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Ishkanian, A. (2003). Gendered transitions: The impact of the post-Soviet transition of women in Central
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Ourishian, S. (Photographer). (2009). Yerevan Armenia with the backdrop of Mount Ararat. [Web Photo].
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
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Shahinian, G. (2008). Trafficking in persons in the South Caucasus – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia:
New challenges for transitional democracies. In S. Cameron & E. Newman (Eds.), Trafficking in
humans: Social, cultural, and political dimensions (pp. 252-273). New York, NY: United Nations
University Press.
Thompson, M. E. & Harutyunyan, T. L. (2006). Contraceptive practices in Armenia: Panel
evaluation of an information-education-communication campaign. Social Science &
Medicine, 63(11), 2770-2783. Retrieved from http://www.journals.elsevier.com/socialscience-and-medicine/
Tohidi, N. (1996). Soviet in public, Azeri in private: Gender, Islam, and nationality in Soviet and postSoviet Azerbaijan. Women’s Studies International Forum, 19, 111-123. Retrieved from http://
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