"Son preference" is a custom rooted in gender inequality that is prevalent in many countries and found across religions and classes. Although preference for a specific sex of the child may be common in an abstract way in many cultures, when such preference is so strong as to lead to the rejection of the child or to violence against the mother, this crosses the line into domestic violence, child abuse and violence against women. Such forms of son preference are common especially in parts of South Asia, East Asia and the Caucasus. Manifestations of such practices include sex selective abortion, female infanticide, female child abandonment, as well as favoring sons with regard to allocating of family resources.