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Abstract
Since 1990, the population of the South Caucasus has exhibited abnormally high sex ratios at birth (SRB), with male births exceeding female births. In the same period of time, human trafficking in South Caucasus has also increased, particularly in the capitals and major cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. 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 analyzing the relevant research, the two phenomena were discovered to be distinctly correlated. By means of economic collapse and reinforced traditionalism, the withdrawal of the USSR became the key link between human trafficking and imbalanced SRBs in the three countries. Specifically, the conditions created caused a deepening of discriminatory practices against women, which fuel both imbalanced SRB and human trafficking. The evidence for this strong correlation between human trafficking and imbalanced SRBs suggests a greater relationship between the two, which, with more research, may prove that imbalanced SRBs cause increases in human trafficking. If this is the case, the discovery will not only change how local governments address both issues but also how other nations affected by the same phenomena handle them.
Publication Date
2014
Subject Major(s)
International Studies
Current Academic Year
Freshman
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Mary Boyes
Sponsorship
Virginia Commonwealth University. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Is Part Of
VCU Undergraduate Research Posters
Rights
© The Author(s)