Female Infanticide in China: Causes, Policy, and Effects

Introduction

In 2007, the United Nations Population Fund published a study arguing that there were 60 million "missing" girls in Asia, a direct result of female infanticide (Karabin, 2007). Infanticide, by definition, is the unlawful killing of very young children, and in some cultures this practice is carried out against female babies in particular. The result is that countries like China have a serious population imbalance, with many more males than females (BBC, 2012). This paper examines the issue of female infanticide in China, its causes, and what potential solutions there might be to this serious problem.

Confucianism and Historical Roots

Lee (1981) notes that female infanticide has long been practiced in China. Writing just after the introduction of the one-child policy, Lee observes that "this form of discrimination against women…persisted in varying degrees over hundreds of years." She outlines the techniques used to commit the crime: "drowning in 'baby-ponds', immersion in cold or boiling water, suffocation, strangulation, burying alive or more commonly abandonment or exposure." Even though the practice was widespread, few families would speak about it. Infant mortality was also a general concern, so it was often easy to conceal the crime because dead infants were not uncommon across a range of causes.

Lee's extensive study shows that the practice was common before the one-child policy came into effect. Female infanticide in China has its roots in Confucianism, one of China's dominant philosophical traditions. Confucianism carries a strong male bias, leading couples to want their first child to be a boy. Under Confucian values, boys are more desirable because they work and can therefore provide security to parents in old age, and males are important for ancestral rites (BBC, 2012). The implementation of the one-child policy in 1979 only aggravated the problem.

The One Child Policy

Facing mounting social, economic, and environmental pressures brought about by a rapidly growing population, China implemented the one-child policy in 1979 (BBC, 2012). Under the policy, most parents were only allowed to have one child. Parents who had additional children were subject to a wide range of punishments, including wage reductions and, at the extreme end, forced sterilization. The one-child policy all but ensured that a segment of the Chinese population would seek to have that one child be male, for both the cultural and economic reasons noted above.

While the policy curtailed births in China, it also represented a significant incursion on the reproductive rights of Chinese women. As technology improved, more Chinese families gained access to prenatal screening, which allows them to determine the sex of their child before birth. Some sources claim that between 500,000 and 750,000 unborn Chinese girls are aborted each year following sex screening (BBC, 2012). More are killed after birth, particularly in areas where access to sex screening is limited.

Of particular note is the assertion that the one-child policy expanded female infanticide to urban populations. Prior to 1979, female infanticide was usually practiced only by poor rural families, who had the most direct economic incentive to do so. The one-child policy provided incentive for all families — including wealthy urban ones — to prefer male babies, thereby expanding the practice from rural areas to the country as a whole (Karabin, 2007).

Conclusion

Female infanticide has its roots in Confucianism and has long been ingrained in Chinese culture. The one-child policy, implemented in 1979 to reduce the rate of population growth, has exacerbated the problem. More Chinese parents seek male babies because men hold a central role in ancestral rites and, historically, have had better economic prospects than women. The result is increased rates of female infanticide, sex-selective abortion, and abandonment. These outcomes carry significant social costs: women are devalued in ways that negatively affect those who do reach adulthood, and millions of men cannot find mates, creating a threat to social stability.

The worst effects, however, are felt by the girls of China. Too often, females are aborted or killed shortly after birth simply because of their sex. The Chinese government has taken some steps to address the problem, but significant barriers to adequate enforcement of existing laws protecting women and girls remain. As a result, female infanticide continues to be a problem in China. Only education, a greater degree of gender equality in economic opportunity, and stricter laws with stricter enforcement will bring about an end to the practice.

Works Cited

BBC. (2012). Female infanticide. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/medical/infanticide_1.shtml

Goodenough, P. (2008). China's 'one-child policy' results in forced abortion, infanticide. CNS News.com. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://cnsnews.com/news/article/chinas-one-child-policy-results-forced-abortion-infanticide

Kane, P. (1999). China's one child family policy. British Medical Journal, 319(7215), 992–994.

Karabin, S. (2007). Infanticide, abortion responsible for 60 million girls missing in Asia. Fox News. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,281722,00.html

Lee, B. (1981). Female infanticide in China. Historical Reflections, 8(3), 163–177.

Transparency International. (2012). Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/