License To Coerce: Violence Against Women, State Responsibility, and Legal Failures in China's Family-Planning Program

Abstract

Since its inception in the late 1970s, China's family-planning campaign has included such harsh measures as forced abortion and sterilization. The campaign has also exacerbated social practices such as female infanticide and the abandonment of infant girls. These measures and practices have been criticized for violating international conventions on the rights of women and female children. The Chinese government has categorically denied responsibility for the violations, which it claims are either the vestiges of "backwards" traditions or isolated incidents committed by zealous local officials. In any case, such practices are said to be rare and "by no means represent the mainstream of overall efforts."