The study’s goal is to ascertain the prevalence of and the main reasons for sex-selective abortions in Armenia, including public perceptions of the issue. The main objective of the study is to ascertain the reasons for the sex-ratio imbalance by exploring: the range of reasons for son or daughter preference; pregnancy history and outcome; and prenatal sex determination tests and their outcomes.

The current policy brief aimed at analyzing the monitored online print media outlets in cases when they covered the topic of sex selection and articles that were broadly linked to the value of girls and women. The content of web-based media outlets have been scrutinized to identify any statements or reporting that could have had distorted, untruthful or prejudicial elements against women or men. All these aspects were separately analyzed quantified and also handpicked, allowing analyzing the level of stereotypical reporting either as a media intention or as an absence of intention, leading to unobstructed penetration of prejudicial statements widely circulated in the society and back by reinstating the current state of the affairs. 

The findings that are discussed in the report, show the strong and weak points of media outlets under consideration and suggest policy actions to make sure that unintentional framing at the detriment of any of the social groups does not penetrate the news media and provide opportunities for all stakeholders to deliberate topics of public concern in the most accurate and credible ways possible. 

The publication provides policy recommendations to the policy makers in the Armenian Government, civil society, human rights defenders and international development community, and is an instrumental in promoting policy dialogue in the area of prevention of gender-biased sex selection in Armenia. It particularly focuses on public policies that would promote the value of girl for parents, families, and the society at large.

The publication is available only in Armenian.

This publication is available only in Armenian.

This publication is available only in Armenian.

This publication is available only in Armenian.

The authors of the paper have tried to identify and analyse the perceptions of various stakeholders in government and private businesses and civil society on energy security in Armenia.

The South Caucasus is often depicted as the main doorway to the energy rich Caspian region in the energy security narratives of the European Union and of other Western actors in the region. But what are the views from the South Caucasus countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia concerning their own energy security? This CASCADE working paper seeks to shed light on energy security notions from South Caucasus governments and energy companies, as well as of citizens and consumers. It finds that there are significant differences in the perceptions of the different actors in the energy sector within each South Caucasus country that could lead to political conflicts over energy security strategies.

This policy brief scrutinises anti-corruption policies in the three South Caucasus countries over the past two decades in light of their cooperation with, and commitments vis-à-vis the European Union.