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 Thursdaysa国际传媒檚 (Oct. 11) event was to shine a spotlight on gender-based violence that happens around the world, sa国际传媒渁nd even here in Canada.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淪pecifically, we want to talk about sex-selection abortion which is pre-born women who are targeted just because theysa国际传媒檙e women,sa国际传媒� 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.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l either have 100,000 (flags) to represent the 100,000 abortions that happen every year in Canada or sometimes wesa国际传媒檒l do 10,000 or a smaller one.sa国际传媒�

Sex-selection abortion, she said, is not widely talked about.

sa国际传媒淚 think when it does get talked about, it gets talked about as a problem in other countries sa国际传媒� thatsa国际传媒檚 generally the way people talk about it. They donsa国际传媒檛 realize itsa国际传媒檚 happening here in Canada too.sa国际传媒�

A news release from We Need a Law states that researchers sa国际传媒減oint to sex-selective abortion, which is allowed in Canada, as a contributor to this imbalance.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淣aturally, about 105 boys are born for every 100 girls,sa国际传媒� according to the release.

In South Asian families with two girls and one or more reported abortions after that, sa国际传媒渢he ratio shifts up to 280 boys for every 100 girls,sa国际传媒� the news release adds.

sa国际传媒淚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,sa国际传媒� 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.

sa国际传媒淐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,sa国际传媒� she said.

The release states that abortion sa国际传媒渄isproportionately targets baby girls.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淎bortion is not about a womansa国际传媒檚 right to choose sa国际传媒� it is about taking away a childsa国际传媒檚 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,sa国际传媒� the release reads.

Tabitha Ewert, legal counsel for We Need A Law, explains why there are 50,000 pink flags at Holland Park today.

sa国际传媒� Lauren Collins (@laurenpcollins1)

Ewert said itsa国际传媒檚 important that sex-selection abortion doesnsa国际传媒檛 continue to occur in Canada.

sa国际传媒淲e understand that rights are really important and that should start even before birth.sa国际传媒�

We Need a Law, Ewert said, sa国际传媒渁dvocates for fetal interest to be protected by Canadian law.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e having people sign a petition that calls on the government to condemn sex-selection abortion.sa国际传媒�

We Need a Law, according to its website, was launched in 2012.

Its three main initiatives are: Protect a Womansa国际传媒檚 Right to Have Her Child, Defend Girls and End Late-Term Abortion.

Thursdaysa国际传媒檚 event was part of the Defend Girls initiative.

For more information, visit .

lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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