Digital and Urban Frontiers: Girls in a Changing Landscape
121
Because I am a Girl
the State of the World’S GirlS 2010
Digital and Urban Frontiers:Girls in a Changing Landscape
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mvng w
In this report we have heard the voices o adolescent girls rom all over the world, living in manydierent circumstances and acing many dierent challenges. No two girls will be the same, but,wherever they are and however they live, they have the same rights and the same call on all o usto make these rights a reality. We have tackled the issues o adolescent girls in cities and ICTs becausethey are crucial new arenas which could and should provide girls with real opportunities to improvetheir education and their health, and give them the chance to grasp what lie has to oer them in the21st century. Girls are hal the world’s uture: the citizens who will be running our cities and shapingtechnology in the decades to come. We owe it to them to ease their passage rom childhood intowomanhood so that they have the skills and the knowledge to build a better and saer world or us all.Drawing on more than 70 years’ experience o international development, Plan recognises thatdiscrimination against girls and women is one o the main underlying causes o child poverty. Girlsand boys have the same entitlements to human rights, but they ace dierent challenges in accessingthem. Girls are more likely to be pulled out o school, have less access to medical care, and are otened less. They also experience more violence and sexual harassment just because they are girls.This lack o opportunity and care is unair and unjust. Yet investing in girls and young women has adisproportionately benecial eect in alleviating poverty or everyone; or the girls themselves, or their amilies, communities and entire countries. That argument chimes with the issues o justice and equalityo opportunity, and is another reason why Plan is making the ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign one o itsfagship priorities in the years ahead.This is the ourth report in the ‘Because I am a Girl’ series. In all o them we have come acrossdiscrimination and neglect as well as resilience and determination. Wherever we look we nd the samecombination o girls getting a raw deal and girls coping with all that lie can throw at them. Thereare some who do not survive or thrive, but many succeed against the odds. We can learn rom their experiences, rom the stories they have told us and rom the common threads that run through girls’lives and through the report series.We have made specic recommendations to improve the opportunities o girls in the two arenas thatthis report has ocused on, but more generally we can all contribute. We need to listen to adolescentgirls’ views and ensure that their voices are heard by decision-makers. We need to learn rom whatthey have to say. We need to include them in research, in planning and in policies. We need to invest ingirls’ skills and ensure that they have access to inormation, the skills to use it and the power to protectthemselves. And nally, we have shown that what many o them have achieved in the ace o adversityis truly remarkable. We need to celebrate these achievements and ensure that all girls, wherever theylive in the world, have the same chances in lie as their brothers.
plan-international.org/becauseiamagirl“In terms o world leaders, I would like them to know that young people are not simply ‘leaderso tomorrow’. We are already leaders, and members o society, today. Our views matter. Weneed avenues to express them, and or that we need to know that there is guaranteed reedomo expression, as well as solid access to inormation. When we are treated as ull partners indevelopment issues, real change will result.”
Hamza, student, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Digital and Urban Frontiers: Girls in a Changing Landscape
23
“The frst night I was on the street I slept under a tree. Then the police came and they just etched the girls. We thought maybe they just picked the girls to take us somewhere sae. They took us to Albert Park and then they just pointed to one o my riends. Her name was Nutanka, and then they just abused her and when she came out she was naked. They were trying to do something to me but I kept on screaming or other people and they didn’t do anything to me. They just put the pepper spray on us and hit us with the
sjambok
[leather whip]. I was 13 or 14, I am not sure. I will never orget what the police did to my riend.”
Precious, Durban, South Arica
1
Man:
Say, you make me happy quickly and get 100 euros, only 10-15 minutes, I think it’s ok oer Girl: Well I’m not that kind o girl and I’m only 15.
Extract rom an online chat, Serbia
2
This year’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ report looks at the lives o adolescent girls in two o the astest growingarenas in the world today – the urban environment and the digital world. Both present new opportunitiesor girls and young women but also new dangers: risks which are little regulated or researched. This isparticularly serious at adolescence, when girls are becoming sexual beings but have not yet developed theskills or the knowledge to protect themselves rom harm. It is precisely at this time in their lives that theyneed the most support. Yet this is also when prejudice and discrimination – that treat girls as less equaland less important than boys – put them most at risk. Young women like Precious should not have to putup with the abusive experiences that or many are part o their daily lives. In these new arenas girls havethe right to the same protection, opportunity and equality that they should have always and everywhere.I we plan our cities properly, i we keep girls sae on our streets and online, i we protect them romharm, but at the same time enable them to develop the skills they need, we have the chance to changelives. Now, as we build cities and the digital world expands, there is the opportunity to really equip girlswith the skills and the knowledge to ensure a better and saer uture or us all.
Bg gs n bg ps – scn gs n cy
For the rst time in history, there are more people living in cities than in rural areas. And the numbers aregrowing rapidly – each month, ve million people are added to the cities o the developing world.
3
Wecan estimate that by 2030 approximately 1.5 billion girls will live in urban areas.
4
This means that violenceagainst girls in slums and on the streets is also growing. Adolescent girls in particular may be pushed intobegging, transactional sex and other orms o exploitation and cruelty, as an escape rom extreme povertyand homelessness. And yet cities also have the potential to oer girls more opportunities than ever.
dms cm u
Girls come to the city ull o dreams and aspirations about how their lives will improve. Statistics showthat they are right to dream.
•Agirlismuchmorelikelytogotoschoolifshelivesinacity–indevelopingcountriesschool
attendance or girls rom 10 to 14 is 18 per cent higher in urban than in rural areas, and 37 per centhigher or young women between 15 and 19.
5
•Girlshaveaccesstobetterservicesandbetterhealthcare,includingsexualandreproductivehealth
services. In one study, over 37 per cent o women in urban areas said they used condoms to avoid HIV,compared with only 17 per cent o rural women. And 87 per cent o urban girls and women said theyhad ‘ever used’ a condom as opposed to 57 per cent o rural girls and women.
6
•Girlsarelesslikelytobemarriedatanearlyage–forexample,insub-SaharanAfricaandSouthAsia,
50 per cent o young women in rural areas are married by the time they are 18, which is about twicethe rate o young women in cities.
7
Jobs or the girls – training and employment opportunities in Egyptian towns
8
El Marg is a city o immigrants rom rural areas; 30 years ago it was just felds and villages. Now it isa slum town, an outpost o Cairo that houses some hal a million people.“It is difcult or young people to fnd work here,” says Sameh, one o the acilitators o the Forsaprogramme, which gives three months’ training to young people and then fnds them work at theend. “This is why Forsa is so useul. In Arabic it means ‘opportunity’.”The programme targets three categories o young people – those who have dropped out o school,those who have been to college but can’t fnd work, and those who are working in jobs which do notsuit their skills. Most come rom poor amilies. Recruitment is done via posters and roadshows – butalso via Facebook. The courses were frst successully trialled in India and because o their successhave now been exported to Egypt.Forsa training has already been carried out successully in East Cairo, where 90 per cent o thegraduates ound jobs. Marwa, aged 19, was part o this programme. She says:
“Beore joining Forsa,I was araid to deal with people. Ater joining Forsa, I began to overcome my shyness and ear and started to be open to all. I acquired a great deal o sel-confdence. I made a lot o riends throughout the course with whom I speak a lot and without any ears or worries.”
Ola, who is still at school, says:
“We are the youth; we are the uture o this country, but when I analyse the situation I eel there is a lack o opportunities or jobs or young women. The government must think about young women and give us the same opportunities as boys.”
1 Plan International. Interview with Precious or the Street Children’s World Cup in Durban, South Arica, March 2010.2 ASTRA Anti-Tracking Action. “Human (Child) Tracking, A look through the internet window”. Belgrade, 2006. Available at: http://www.astra.org.rs/eng/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/internet-research-eng.pd . p72-3.3 UN-Habitat. “State o the World’s Cities 2008/2009”. United Nations. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?catid=7&cid=5964&subMenuId=0&typeid=46 (accessed June 2, 2010).4 Plan International. ‘Because I am a Girl: The State o the World’s Girls’ 20105 UNFPA. “Growing Up Urban, State o World Population 2007: Youth Supplement.” UNFPA. http://www.unpa.org/swp/2007/youth/english/story/preace.html (accessed June 9, 2010).6 Rahman, M. “Determinants O Knowledge And Awareness About AIDS: Urban-Rural Dierentials In Bangladesh.” Journal o Public Health andEpidemiology Vol. 1(1) (October 2009): 14-21.7 UNFPA. “Growing Up Urban, State o World Population 2007: Youth Supplement.” UNFPA. http://www.unpa.org/swp/2007/youth/english/story/preace.html (accessed June 9, 2010)8 Interview with Nikki van der Gaag, or Plan International, ‘Because I am a Girl’ report 2010
M A n o o C h E R D E G h A T I / I R I n
Digital and Urban Frontiers: Girls in a Changing Landscape
45
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City lie can oer many opportunities, but it is not, or girls in particular, risk ree. Poverty andovercrowding, poor sanitation, unlit streets, lack o housing and sexual harassment all mean that girls donot eel sae. This sense o threat is not conned to girls in poorer countries or girls in slum areas.
•IntheNetherlands,anonlinesurveyofgirlsincitiesconductedforthisreportfoundthatwhilemostgirls
and young women elt sae walking around their neighbourhood in the day, at night 40 per cent o thosebetween the ages o 11 and 18 said they did not eel sae. This rose to 63 per cent o 17 and 18 year-olds.
9
•AWorldHealthOrganisationstudyfoundthatinBangladeshtwiceasmanyurbanasruralyoungwomen
over 15 years o age had experienced physical or sexual violence by someone other than their partner.
10
•AsurveyinBrazilfoundthataquarterofallfemalerespondentsinthecityreportedviolence,
compared with just over one in six emales in the provinces.
11
•Ifyouareagirllivinginoneoftheworld’sgrowingslums,lifeisevenmorehazardous.Adolescentgirls
can be in danger while undertaking the most mundane o tasks, as Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director o UN-Habitat, points out: “Girls in slums have to choose between deecating in a plastic bag or riskingrape should they dare venture outside to a dirty public toilet at night.”
12
Plan, supported by Women in Cities International, has developed an
8 Point Call to Action
.All girls should have the right to:1.
Access safe education in the city
6.
Age-appropriate and decent work
2.
Be free from violence in the city in a healthy urban environment
3.
Secure and decent housing
7.
Safe spaces in the city
4.
Move safely in the city
8.
Participate in making cities safer,
5.
Affordable and accessible services in the city more inclusive and more accessible.
N n k c yu: scn gs n ss
“You have no one to take care o you. Nobody in the society respects you or wants to see you… People don’t care whether you die, whether you live.”
Street girl in Kenya
13
UNICEF believes that there are at least 100 million street children globally;
14
approximately 30 per cent othose are girls. India has the largest number o street children o any country in the world, an estimated 18million.
15
In many countries, the numbers appear to be increasing – or example, in Jakarta, Indonesia, therewere 98,113 street children in 2004 but this had risen to 114,889 by 2006.
16
“i s b kp qu”
17
“My name’s Sala, I’m 14 years old and I moved to Accra two years ago. As soon as I moved to the city I ell into a group o other schoolchildren who introduced me to sex work. We work together and help each other make contacts and fnd clients. Most nights I spend with clients. There are gangs in our area who otenfght and at times the leaders harass us girls. I’ve gotten into a fght with another street girl over a client and at times have had clients punch me… I know I could go to the police i needed but there are times when it is better to keep quiet… plus sometimes the police are just as violent as the gangs; once when I was arrested a police ofcer hit me on the head with the butt o his gun. I’ve never been able to go to school and because o this I don’t eel as smart as those around me. I would like to be able to learn dressmaking and earn adecent living. Even though it is difcult on the street, I still look orward to a better uture.”
Adolescent girls end up on the street or a variety o reasons. One survey in the Philippines showed thatproblems at home, particularly violence, were the main reason that street children had let:
18
•becausetheyarephysicallyabusedbytheirparentsoroldersiblings(21%)•becausetheydonotliketheirownhomes(21%)•becausetheywereabandonedbytheirparentsordonotknowwheretheyare(15%)•becausetheirparentswereseparatedorbecauseoftheirstep-parent(6%)•becausetheyhavetoearnmoney(3%)•becausetheirbasicneedswerenotmetorpoorconditionsathome(2%).
Once on the street, girls experience staggering levels o violence, rom assaults by passersby, abuse throughsex work, rape and assault by boyriends and male street ‘brothers’, mental and physical cruelty by pimpsand drug dealers, to sexual harassment, assault and brutality by police, private security and prison guards.
19
“A lot o men rom the general public or rom nearby ofces come to the river. These then solicit sex rom girls... A man comes and picks whoever they want to have sex with. I I am picked, I leave my child with the other girls and take the client down to the river.”
Tanya, rom Zimbabwe
20
invs n gs, nvs n uu
“We know that girls are the most inspirational, the most transormational, the most untapped currency in our world today. What will it take to unleash this potential?”
Queen Rania o Jordan
21
Girls, given support, are well able to grasp the opportunities available. In act, adolescent girls are thebest source o inormation on their own needs. The ollowing declaration comes rom street girls andormer street girls rom seven dierent countries who gathered together in March 2010, in Durban, SouthArica, to compete in the rst ever Street Child World Cup. During a conerence session they developed amaniesto to petition those in authority over them to accept, respect and protect them.
“We, the girls living and [who] have lived on the streets and those of us in shelters from seven countries,the UK, Tanzania, South Africa, the Philippines, Ukraine, Brazil, and Nicaragua, met during the Deloitte Street World Cup Conference event which took place on 20-22 March 2010, in Durban, South Africa.”
We the street girls have the ollowing rights and we want them respected:
•TheRighttoliveinashelterandhome•TheRighttobeheard•TheRighttohaveafamily•TheRighttobelong•TheRighttobesafe•TheRighttobetreatedwithrespectanddecency•TheRighttobeprotectedfromsexualabuse•TheRighttobetreatedasequaltoboys•TheRighttogotoschoolandgetfreeeducation•TheRighttobeallowedtogrownormally•TheRighttogoodhealthandaccesstofreehealthservices
09 Plan Netherlands, ‘Saety in Cities: an online survey’, conducted or Plan International ‘Because I am a Girl’ Report 201010 García-Moreno, Claudia, et al. Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women Initial Results on Prevalence, HealthOutcomes and Women’s Responses. Switzerland: World Health Organisation, 2005.11 ibid12 Urban World. A New Strategy to Close the Gender Divide. July 2009, p. 19.13 Girl participant. CRADLE / USK / CSC National Workshop on Street Children and Juvenile Justice. Nairobi, Kenya: March 6-7, 200314 “Amount o Street Children Rises.” Tempo Interactive, February 5, 2007.http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/Publications/5_amount_o_street_children_rises.pd.15 ibid16 ibid17 Plan International. Interview conducted by Street Child Arica or the ‘Because I am a Girl’ report 2010.18 Puzon, Marco Paa. Painted Gray Faces, Behind Bars and in the Streets: Street Children and Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines. University o thePhilippines in partnership with the Consortium or Street Children, 2003.19 Justice or Girls. Submission to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its’ 5th periodic review o Canada: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/ino-ngos/justice-girls-new.pd (accessed: June 24, 2010)20 Plan International. Interview conducted by Street Child Arica or the ‘Because I am a Girl’ report 2010.21 Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, Women in the World, http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/item/women-in-the-world-queen-rania (accessed: 24 June 2010)
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