Anonymous asked: What´s Survival´s position about infanticide in a scenario where the indigenous wants to change this practice?

Survival opposes infanticide. We condone no practices, however ‘traditional’, which are not based on consent (obviously, children do not consent to being killed!). However, infanticide is rare amongst tribal peoples and, where it exists, is growing rarer. We also note that in countries such as Brazil, for example, far more children are murdered in cities than in indigenous communities, and far more Indian children die as a result of having their land stolen, than from ‘internal’ infanticide.

There is one kind of ‘infanticide’ which it is pointless to oppose: leaving severely malformed babies to die following their birth. This is legal in many countries and practiced everywhere.

Tribal infanticide is exaggerated nowadays by some extremist missionary organizations in an attempt to dramatize the importance of their work, and for their fundraising. They are trying to revive a colonialist mentality which sees tribal people as ‘backward savages’. As this view is the bedrock underlying the theft of tribal land and resources, it will be extremely damaging if allowed to prevail. Hysterical accusations of infanticide are likely to lead to more deaths of Indian children than (increasingly rare) tribal infanticide itself. Survival is working to counter these views.