Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this motion. Every Member of this House would condemn the practice of infanticide or gendercide. Terminology is important when it comes to this issue. I would have felt more able to support the motion if it had used the term "gender-based selection". The word "gendercide" is most often used but is open to selective interpretation. As Senator Ivana Bacik observed, it has been used in other contexts in reference to young battle-aged men. When we stand here as legislators, passing a Bill or supporting a motion, we must be sure we understand the terminology used. "Gender-based selection" is the term I would prefer. In that context, I join Senator Paul Bradford in calling on Senator Mullen to defer or withdraw the motion in order to seek consensus across the House.

The Government amendment is not selective in pointing to particular countries. The reality is that gender-based selection has been banned in India. It seems perverse to single out a country that has taken some action on the matter. The 2011 census in that country shows the practice is decreasing in some regions of the state, while it is increasing in others. There are social, educational and other aspects to this issue. The Department of Foreign Affairs must take every opportunity to bring it to the attention of the United Nations and other international bodies.

Although the situation is not perfect in India, as I said, the 2011 census shows a slight overall decrease in gender-based selection. The number of girls in the age group birth to six years has increased slightly and there are now 914 girls for every 1,000 boys. However, this remains a huge gender gap and we must do everything in our power to ensure there is a further decrease. Although sex-selective abortions are illegal in India, fatal neglect of girls after they are born is widely assumed to be the leading cause of this anomaly. The use of ultrasound to determine sex has become cheaper and more widely available. Even though this procedure is illegal in India, the prohibition is not properly policed. We should urge every country to make the practice illegal and ensure there is enforcement. While we know it is impossible for one country to enforce laws in another, we can educate the countries to which we refer.

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, who led the census in India, stated that there is still reason for great concern. He regards the problem as a social problem rather than a democratic one, compounded by the failure of the authorities to enforce laws against sex selection by monitoring clinics that advertise ultrasound technology. He stated that technology is the main culprit.

The word "gendercide" is coming into common use. I will use it now but not in a legislative sense. The campaign to address the problem is a social campaign. We must all support a social campaign to improve the status of girls. Senator Bacik outlined many of the steps we need to take socially and educationally to ensure there is gender equality.

A 2011 inter-agency publication, "Preventing gender-biased sex selection: an interagency statement", by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, refers to this noteworthy issue. I am grateful to Senator Mullen for putting it on the agenda but, as with some other Senators, I have no hesitation in saying I cannot support it. If the Senator had used the other words I have mentioned, I might have supported it. Perhaps he could reconsider tabling the motion again using the terminology I suggest.

Imbalanced sex ratios are unacceptable manifestations of gender discrimination against girls and women and a violation of their human rights. We must all support the effort to counteract this problem. Technologies such as amniocentesis and ultrasonography are making the problem more commonplace. Bearing in mind Senator Hayden's point, we very often associate the issue with the poor but the richer in society must also be born in mind because they are not enticed in any way by grants - of a few hundred dollars, for example. That will not change it. We must educate and do all we can through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations and everywhere we get an opportunity.