Poster session on Gender and population (1)

Given high population sex ratio for 60 years since China’s first population census in 1953 and skewed sex ratio at birth for 30 years, we review the determinants and expose the new patterns of gender imbalance in China. Using censuses data from 1982 to 2010, we adopt demographic method to decompose the population sex ratio into three factors --- population age structure, sex differential in mortality, sex ratio at birth. The results indicate that sex differential in mortality had little influence on high population sex ratio and started to decline the population sex ratio by 0.65 since 2000. The rapid aging of population age structure takes the main effect on declining population sex ratio, competing with the skewed sex ratio at birth which becomes the leverage to raise the population sex ratio in contemporary China. We also evaluate the quality of census data by comparing models with and without the effects of sex-selective underreporting, the under-enumerate of girls in census data is confirmed. Finally, we focus on the new trend of sex ratio at birth --- shifting pattern of sex-selection at birth, and approve that the decline in sex-selection at second birth fully offset by the increase in sex-selection at first birth, given the sex ratio at birth rising from 116.9 in 2000 to117.9 in 2010.

Women may gain independence, whether they are themselves migrants or remain in the villages as the household heads when their husbands out-migrate, or they may lose independence and become subjugated to men. Hence an attempt has been made in this paper to study the decision-making power of the wives left behind due to their husbands’ out-migration. Primary data has been collected during January-March 2010 by undertaking a complete house listing of six villages of Pindra block of Varanasi, a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. In cases, where there is presence of male members in the households especially fathers-in-law, decisions over the use of remittance are in their hands. In general, it has been found that the decision-making power of left-behind wives is quite high inspite of the fact that the study area is located in northern India where prevalence of patriarchal system is quite noteworthy.

Studies on the contextual determinants of maternal health services use have highlighted the importance of sociocultural norms that limit the role and place of women. In this study, we develop a measure for latent sociocultural norms related to violence against women and analyze their influence on the use of prenatal care and skilled birth attendance in rural Africa using DHS data from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Measured from respondents’ perceptions of violence against women, our sociocultural contextual variable has good statistical reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.8). Moreover, it has a negative influence on women's autonomy in all countries, hence its utility for identifying sociocultural norms in these contexts. The results of multilevel structural equation models show that these sociocultural norms have a significant negative influence on the use of skilled birth attendance in Uganda and Ghana (results for prenatal care used are not yet available). In Ghana, we also note an indirect effect that involves reducing women's autonomy. These results have important implications for policymakers.

This paper explores domestic violence against women inflicted by husbands and its effect on reproductive health outcomes among ever married women of Bangladesh using the nationally representative 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Three indicators: ‘childbearing before age 18’, ‘pregnancy termination’ and ‘having symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases or sexually transmitted infections’ were considered as the outcome variables. Both bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques were applied in analysing the data. Findings revealed that, overall 53.2% of the women ever experienced any domestic violence inflicted by their husbands. The multivariate analyses revealed that, physical violence only significantly (p<0.01) increased the risk of childbearing before age 18 (OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.09-1.58). Both physical and sexual violence were associated with significantly (p<0.01) higher risks of pregnancy termination (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.06-1.71) and having symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases or infections (OR=2.80, 95% CI=2.14-3.66). Programs to reduce poor reproductive health outcomes such as increased risk of teenage pregnancies, higher risk of pregnancy termination and elevated risk of sexually transmitted diseases among women must address domestic violence as part of effective prevention strategies.

Background : This paper examines the association between sexual violence and health outcomes among young married women in rural Nepal.

Methods: The data are from a cross-sectional survey conducted with 1,296 married women aged 15 -24 years in rural Nepal in 2009-10. We used regression models adjusted for selected socioeconomic and demographics to estimate the odds ratios for the associations between sexual violence and health-related conditions and behaviors.

Results: About half of women (46%) had reported ever experience of sexual violence and 31% had experienced SV in the past 12 months. SV was associated with reported lifetime experience of unwanted pregnancy (adjusted OR 4.32), suicidal ideation/attempted suicide (OR 4.42), self-reported feeling of fear/tension (OR 3.76), depression (OR 2.68) and experiences of signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (OR 2.92).

Conclusion: Our results show that sexual violence within marriage is common among women even in early years of marriage in rural Nepal. The study suggests a strong association between sexual violence and negative health consequences. Therefore, there is a need to recognize the pervasiveness of sexual violence within marriage, as well as, the negative health consequences that results from it and develop a comprehensive response at many levels.

Asia and the Pacific is one of the most disaster prone areas in the world. Every year, volcanos, earthquakes, floods and other natural hazards have caused thousands of deaths, hundreds of injuries, and billions of dollars in economic losses each year. Many billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance, emergency loans, and development aid are expended annually. In recent years, there has also been an increased awareness that effective disaster risk reduction needs to be addressed within the wider context of sustainable development. However, efforts to reduce the risks of natural hazards in Asia and the Pacific region, still does not prioritize the need to mainstream gender into Disaster Risk Reduction. This research therefore, aims to make transparent, qualitative analysis on why it is economically critical to prioritize and address the needs of women and men, girls and boys, to be integrated into Disaster Risk Reduction in selected Asia and the Pacific countries.

This paper examines two forms of gender-based violence in Mexico, forced sterilization and forced marriage by using two recent surveys: the 2011 National Survey on Household Dynamics and the Survey on Indigenous Women’s Health and Rights 2007. The first part of the paper reviews the concepts of gender-based violence and violence against women. It discusses the relationship among gender, power and violence in the Mexican context and how different actors (family members, and doctors) perpetrate these silenced forms of violence against women: forced sterilization and forced marriage –including selling women. The second section focuses on forced marriage, its prevalence (between 1.79% and 4%) and factors associated are studied. In the third part, sterilization without women’s consent (27%) is examined. The conclusion underscores how gender interacts with ethnicity and socioeconomic status in order to explain these two forms of gender-based violence. The need of further analyses and data are discussed.

Whether and to what extent and how does migration change gender roles? Focusing on such research questions, this paper examines gender dynamics upon migration. It focuses on female labour force participation (FLFP) which is recognized as an indicator of substantial changes in gender roles, a fundamental fact of gender relations in this century, and an indicator of settlement upon migration. This paper is based on a research conducted in multiethnic and multicultural context of Australia. While the paper considers varying ethnicities from throughout the world, it particularly focuses on one group to approach the research objectives properly. This particular focus group are female migrants from Middle East and North Africa region: while their region of origin where they were socialized is often globally well-known as a place dominated by traditional gender roles including an exceptionally low rate of FLFP, their residing country is identified by totally different gender outcomes including a substantially high rate of FLFP. This contrast provides a good example to explain the existence and extent of association between migration and gender dynamics. The multivariate results of this analysis highlight the main patterns and determinants associated with migrant women’s varying strategies to pursue their gender roles upon migration.

Using a demographic approach, this paper presents research-based evidence to explain the dimensions and differentials associated with the representation of family, gender, and work in varying socio-cultural contexts. This paper is based on gender socialization theory in which educational system, particularly school education resources, is recognized as the first official agent of and the most powerful engine of socialization process. The fields of study are two countries which are substantially varying in terms of demographic characteristics and socio-cultural backgrounds: Iran and New Zealand. This cross-cultural analysis provides the opportunity to explain whether and to what extent the representations of family, work and gender through the educational system are associated with varying socio-demographic backgrounds. Using the method of content analysis, this paper highlights the main patterns and differentials associated with the representation of family, gender and work characteristics through school education resources of these two varying socio-demographic settings.

Govt. of India has declared elimination of leprosy during December 2005 and achieved the goal set as <1 per ten thousand population at National level. To assess the elimination of leprosy and to devise any policy, Ministry of Health and family Welfare (MOHFW) desired to have a large scale survey. Since no standard methodology was available for estimation of leprosy which is time and cost effective, a pilot study using inverse sampling was conducted in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, India by National Institute of Medical Statistics, Indian Council of Medical Research with the objective to evolve inverse sampling for estimation of disease burden of leprosy to be adopted at National level. This paper presents the findings of the logistic regression analysis in assessing the age and gender factors associated with leprosy. Analysis reveals that males and age group 21-40 years are at risk in developing leprosy and the risk in males is 2.8 times more as compared to females (OR=2.8, p= 0.025, 95% CI= 1.1 - 7.2). The risk of developing leprosy in age group 21-40 is 4.6 times more as compared to less than 20 yrs. ( OR=4.6 p= .005, 95%CI = 1.6 – 13.6).