In a sea of pink flags at Holland Park, volunteers took the time to answer questions about imbalanced birth rates in Canada on International Day of the Girl.
Tabitha Ewert, the legal counsel for We Need a Law, said the goal of Thursday鈥檚 (Oct. 11) event was to shine a spotlight on gender-based violence that happens around the world, 鈥渁nd even here in Canada.鈥�
鈥淪pecifically, we want to talk about sex-selection abortion which is pre-born women who are targeted just because they鈥檙e women,鈥� Ewert said.
She said this is the first time the group has done an all pink flag display, adding that the displays are usually pink and blue flags.
鈥淲e鈥檒l either have 100,000 (flags) to represent the 100,000 abortions that happen every year in Canada or sometimes we鈥檒l do 10,000 or a smaller one.鈥�
Sex-selection abortion, she said, is not widely talked about.
鈥淚 think when it does get talked about, it gets talked about as a problem in other countries 鈥� that鈥檚 generally the way people talk about it. They don鈥檛 realize it鈥檚 happening here in Canada too.鈥�
A news release from We Need a Law states that researchers 鈥減oint to sex-selective abortion, which is allowed in Canada, as a contributor to this imbalance.鈥�
鈥淣aturally, about 105 boys are born for every 100 girls,鈥� according to the release.
In South Asian families with two girls and one or more reported abortions after that, 鈥渢he ratio shifts up to 280 boys for every 100 girls,鈥� the news release adds.
鈥淚t was initially thought that sex-selective abortions in South Asian communities would decrease with the next generation. This most recent study, however, confirms that second-generation South Asian women, born in Canada, continue to show this preference for boys,鈥� states the release, referencing a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Ewert said the focus is not on the community, but that sex-selection abortions are happening at all.
鈥淐anada is a multicultural country. We value the fact that we have people from all over the world here, so if it affects one community, it affects everyone,鈥� she said.
The release states that abortion 鈥渄isproportionately targets baby girls.鈥�
鈥淎bortion is not about a woman鈥檚 right to choose 鈥� it is about taking away a child鈥檚 right to live, and it makes a statement about the value, or lack thereof, that we place on women in Canada when we allow sex-selective abortion,鈥� the release reads.
Tabitha Ewert, legal counsel for We Need A Law, explains why there are 50,000 pink flags at Holland Park today.
鈥� Lauren Collins (@laurenpcollins1)
Ewert said it鈥檚 important that sex-selection abortion doesn鈥檛 continue to occur in Canada.
鈥淲e understand that rights are really important and that should start even before birth.鈥�
We Need a Law, Ewert said, 鈥渁dvocates for fetal interest to be protected by Canadian law.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e having people sign a petition that calls on the government to condemn sex-selection abortion.鈥�
We Need a Law, according to its website, was launched in 2012.
Its three main initiatives are: Protect a Woman鈥檚 Right to Have Her Child, Defend Girls and End Late-Term Abortion.
Thursday鈥檚 event was part of the Defend Girls initiative.
For more information, visit .
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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