Adolescence

Adolescent girls

© UNICEF/ 2001/Norton

The situation of adolescent girls is particularly complex. Deep-rooted traditions of patriarchy and the subordination of women and girls, make it difficult for adolescent girls to realize their rights in many parts of the world.

Recognizing this reality, United Nations agencies designed a joint initiative to reach adolescent girls. A set of pilot projects, Meeting the Development and Participation Rights of Adolescent Girls, funded by the UN Foundation and supported by the UN Fund for International Partnerships, were launched in 1999. It was a groundbreaking global pilot initiative that gathered together a range of partners to help realize the rights of adolescent girls and boys. Implementing partners were UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO. Moreover, Population Council, Commonwealth Youth Programme, International Centre for Research on Women, and Family Care International were complementing the endeavor by sharing their expertise in reaching out to adolescents. For more information please read Adolescents: Profiles in Empowerment (UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO 2003), the publication that discusses impacts of the ‘Meeting the Development and Participation Rights of Adolescent Girls’ project in 12 countries. [PDF]. Most projects came to an end in 2006 and a lessons-learned workshop was held in Tanzania to consolidate experiences of these initiatives. The workshop exposed failures of the programmes for marginalized adolescent girls, who are isolated in their communities, voiceless and “invisible”, lacking access to education, health care, jobs and skills development. The Tanzania workshop participants issued a call for developing a clear inter-agency programming framework specifically to work with the most marginalized and disadvantaged adolescent girls. Read more from final report of the Technical Workshop on Programming for Marginalized and Disadvantaged Adolescent Girls, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 2006. [Word]

• Agenda for the “Girl Power and Potential” reception
• Adolescent girls fact sheet by the UN IATF on Adolescent Girls
• Girl Power and Potential: A joint programming framework for fulfilling the rights of marginalized adolescent girls by the UN IATF on Adolescent Girls
• UN IATF Girls posterIn November 2007, Inter-Agency Task Force on Adolescent Girls (UN IATF) was convened by UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and UNFIP in response to the recommendations of Tanzania programme review of joint projects in 15 countries spanning seven years (1999-2006). The UN IATF identified the need for a clear interagency programming framework specifically addressing the most marginalized and disadvantaged adolescent girls, complementing existing frameworks and programmes on adolescent development and participation. The objective of the Interagency Programming Framework is to support the UN system in ensuring that programmes of cooperation with governments and civil society make known the situation of adolescent girls and prescribe practical action to fulfill their rights. As co-chairs of the United Nations Interagency Task Force on Adolescent Girls, UNICEF and UNFPA, organized the reception, “Girl Power and Potential” hosted in partnership with the UN Foundation, ILO, UNESCO, UNIFEM and WHO, on 3 March 2009, during the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The IATF remains as an informal network and, includes representation from six agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNESCO, ILO, UNIFEM), covering nearly every aspect of social and economic development of relevance to realizing the rights of all adolescent girls.

51st Session of the Commission of the Status of Women dedicated to the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against girl child
This session was the first CSW dedicated to girls. UNICEF and partners facilitated a global consultation with young people on violence and discrimination against girl child.
• It’s time to listen to us!
This report presents the results of the youth consultations at CSW. [PDF]
• Expert Group Meeting on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child
 In the preparation for the 51st Session of the Commission of the Status of Women an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) was organized in Florence. The meeting addressed four issues related to the girl child: protection of girls, girls in especially vulnerable situations, empowerment of girls, and institutional arrangements to accelerate elimination of discrimination and violence against the girl child. It underlined the ‘invisibility’ of girls with focus on adolescent girls. [PDF]
• Voices of Young People: Girls about Girls
Although young people were absent from the EGM, UNICEF prepared a document on their voices drawing mostly from Voices of Youth--UNICEF’s website dedicated to the promotion of youth rights. [PDF]
• Parallel Event to the CSW 51st Session
A Panel Discussion of Young People was devoted to strategies to reach marginalized adolescent girls. [PDF]
• Girls speech
The first time ever a youth delegate had the chance to participate in the opening of the CSW and to participate at the High Level Roundtable meeting.  Girl speakers delivered the recommendations on how to eliminate discrimination and violence against girls expressed by 1,300 young people from 59 countries. Girl child's speech at the Opening session [Word]. Girl child's speech at roundtable discussion [Word].
• Agreed Conclusions on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination and Violence against the Girl Child
[PDF]

Other organizations working on adolescent girls

Global Coalition for Adolescent Girls
The Nike Foundation and the United Nations Foundation have been working together for the last several years to catalyze social change, raise awareness for, and advocate in favor of an adolescent girl agenda. UNF and Nike Foundation have brought together a number of foundations (i.e. Ford, MacArthur) into an alliance to create a platform for global advocacy around girls. WEF has been one of their most prominent advocacy platforms.

Population Council
Through the Poverty, Gender, and Youth program, Population Council staff members seek to understand the social dimensions of poverty, the determinants and consequences of gender inequality, the disparities that arise during adolescence, and the critical elements of a successful transition to adulthood in developing countries.

The Nike Foundation
The Nike foundation leads the creation of girleffect.org with critical financial and intellectual collaboration of partners including the NoVo Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and the Coalition for Adolescent Girls. The girleffect.org tells the story of girls creating a ripple impact on their families, communities and nations, provides the tools for girl champions to spread the word and is a catalyst for increased investment for girls.

UNFPA
UNFPA looks at the Adolescent Girls Initiative and its importance in bringing adolescent issues to the forefront of the development agenda as well as achieving the MDGs.

USAID and Care
USAID and Care launched in December 2008 the Power to Lead Alliance to promote girl leaders in vulnerable communities with focus on girls 10 to 14 years old in Egypt, Honduras, India, Malawi, Tanzania, and Yemen.

World Bank Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI)
The purpose of the AGI, a part of the World Bank Group’s Gender Action Plan-Gender Equality as Smart Economics, is to smooth the transition from school to productive employment for girls and young women aged 16-24 by helping them complete their education, build skills that match market demand, find mentors and job placements, and by offering incentives to potential employers to hire, retain and train young women.

World Health Organization
WHO’s department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development (CAH) envisions a world in which children and adolescents enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and development, a world that meets their needs, as well as respects their rights, enabling them to live to their full potential.