Child sex ratio

In India, the Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males in the age group 0–6 years in a human population. Thus it is equal to 1000 x the reciprocal of the sex ratio (ratio of males to females in a population) in the same age group, i.e. under age seven. Obviously an imbalance in this age group will extend to older age groups in future years. Currently the ratio of males to females is generally significantly greater than 1, i.e. there are more boys than girls.

According to the decennial Indian census, the sex ratio in the 0-6 age group in India went from 104.0 males per 100 females in 1981, to 105.8 in 1991, to 107.8 in 2001, to 108.8 in 2011. The ratio is significantly higher in certain states such as Punjab and Haryana (118 and 120 respectively per 2011 census).

Impact of skewed ratio

The impact of the current skewed sex ratio with more male children than females is already being felt in some parts of India, and is likely to continue to be so felt:

Child sexuality

Development of sexuality is integral part of the development and maturation of children. A range of sensational, emotional and consequent sexual activities that may occur before or during early puberty, but before full sexual maturity is established. The development of child sexuality is influenced by social and cultural aspects; the perception of developing child sexuality is even more heavily influenced by cultural aspects. The concept of child sexuality also played an important role in the classical psychoanalysis.

History

Human evolution of social systems seems to favor nurture kinship relations between adults and children, which implies cultures intended to protect children from harm. Cultures and religions codified these principles into rules in which children learn to control their natural bodily functions by publicly pleasing adults and privately exploring the world and testing the bounds of adult tolerance.

Ancient cultures

Adults are attracted to children in various ways. In some cultures, such as Ancient Greece, adults managed in a way that today would be considered child abuse.