Left-behind girls face higher risks

Compared with their peers, girls left behind by their parents in rural areas are at high risk, according to a new report.

The nonprofit Lassock Care Found of China Social Welfare Foundation reported on Monday that left-behind girls in the central and western rural regions of China face disadvantages including nutrition, mental health and social development.

Nearly 10 percent of them live alone without guardians and more than half stay with their grandparents, the survey found. Nearly half of girls are left at home with one parent absent, the report found.