Terrorism and Fertility
Fertility and Infertility News
Obie Editorial Team
You don't have to experience a terrorist attack firsthand in order to feel its effects profoundly. It touches every element of life, often with lasting effects. A recently published study indicates it even affects future lives too. The study, led by Dr. Claude Berrebi of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Dr. Jordan Ostwald of the US Air Force, reveals evidence that terrorism even affects the fertility level of a population under threat of terrorism.
The research team gleaned data from 1970 until 2007 that included:
After analyzing the demographic effects of the aftermath of these terroristic incidents, the researchers focused on two elements of a population’s fertility rate:
The study revealed a drop in a region’s fertility rate of 0.018% in the first two years after acts of terrorism escalated. When acts of terrorism escalate to a statistically significant degree (by one standard deviation) in a population of 1 million women, the researchers estimate 18,000 fewer children will be born during the lifetimes of these women.
Women in times of violent unrest face fertility problems due to several factors, according to the study:
These factors, in turn, are reflected in fertility rate by influencing:
Statistical data on global terrorism in 2012 published by the US Department of Homeland Security indicates:
The ten nations facing the greatest number of terrorist attacks in 2012, in descending order, were:
The Homeland Security report indicates private citizens and/or property were the target of 2,073 attacks, followed by police (1,699) and members of government (971). No tourists were identified as targets of terroristic activities in 2012.
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