Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the practice of sex-selective abortion internationally.

The UK strongly opposes sex-selective abortion, a practice resulting from deep-rooted discrimination against women and girls. The UK supports partner governments' efforts to prevent this discrimination through our programmes and international leadership on gender equality. This includes, for example, ensuring clear policies and effective training are in place.

Ending sex-selective abortion also requires promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Through our Strategic Vision for Gender Equality, we are working to ensure every girl has access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, is protected from violence, receives 12 years of quality education and is supported to be economically and politically empowered.