Here & Now 365 launches ‘The Missing’ campaign highlighting birth ratio imbalance
London-based media and marketing agency, Here & Now 365, has introduced ‘The Missing,’ a public awareness campaign drawing attention to disparities in birth ratios among UK families of Indian origin.
Launched to coincide with International Women’s Day 2026, the initiative was featured across print, radio, and outdoor platforms.
‘The Missing’ is designed to encourage reflection and dialogue around the social value placed on daughters and to prompt discussion about long‑standing cultural norms.
The campaign is informed by an analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, which indicates that between 2021 and 2025, approximately 118 boys were born for every 100 girls to mothers of Indian ethnicity in the UK. For comparison, the national average across all ethnicities is roughly 105 boys per 100 girls. Demographic experts typically regard ratios exceeding 107 as a potential indicator of sex-selective influences.
The campaign follows analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) birth data showing that between 2021 and 2025, approximately 118 boys were born for every 100 girls to Indian mothers in the UK. The national average across all ethnicities is around 105 boys to 100 girls, while ratios above 107 are widely recognised by demographic experts as a potential indicator of sex-selective practices.
“When statistics begin to show a worrying imbalance, silence is no longer an option,” said the Founder of the agency Manish Tiwari. “As communicators, we believe our responsibility is not only to promote brands but also to shine a light on social issues that matter. This campaign aims to challenge outdated attitudes and reinforce a simple truth: girls deserve the same chance to be born, loved and celebrated.”
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Tiwari said the campaign was inspired by a recent post by Acharya Prashant, Indian philosopher, spiritual teacher, and a celebrated alumni of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad. Acharya Prashant’s commentary highlighted how male preference can create a dangerous imbalance in society, reinforcing patriarchy and sexism across generations and how this problem has now migrated with the diaspora even to the UK.
The campaign also follows Tiwari’s recent white paper on the achievements of the Indian community as a diaspora that has helped build modern Britain, developed by Here & Now 365 in collaboration with the Aston India Centre at Aston University. While the report highlights the Indian community as one of the UK’s most economically successful and high-achieving migrant groups, Tiwari noted that no community, however successful, is above scrutiny, and harmful practices within parts of the community must be addressed. Tiwari was a recipient of the Non-Resident Indian award by the Vice President of India last year and recently shortlisted among the gamechangers and champions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ilist of IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) in the UK.
Here & Now 365 launched the campaign to highlight the imbalance in birth ratios within parts of the Indian community in the UK, the campaign focuses on what these numbers represent: absence. But the implications go far beyond absence. Such imbalances pose a danger to society, where male preference can create distortions at every level and reinforce patriarchy and sexism, leading to deeper social consequences over time. The campaign therefore also draws attention to the broader cultural pressures that contribute to son preference.
Concerns around sex-selective abortion have also been raised by policymakers and campaigners in the UK. Speaking to the BBC Asian Network, Labour MP Virendra Sharma had said the practice was “not cultural or religious”. He added: “What is most needed is the woman who is carrying the child needs to be empowered that she gets the support from society and from the system that if she is put under pressure, she can take the legal remedy against those people who are putting her under pressure.”
In the UK, abortion on the grounds of a baby’s sex alone is illegal. Guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2014 confirms that terminating a pregnancy solely because of the child’s sex constitutes a criminal offence in England and Wales.
