Because I am a Girl: Urban and Digital Frontiers - Plan International

the formation of ICTs and to challenge
gender discrimination through these
technologies. We explain how and why
boys and young men have greater access
to these technologies than girls and young
women and how they use them differently.
In Indonesia, for example, girls and young
women aged 15 to 24 are half as likely to
use the internet as boys the same age. 20 We
also reveal how ICTs are an arena where
sexual predators can operate with impunity,
and how adolescent girls and young
women have become prime targets for new
methods of abuse, including trafficking,
via the internet and other communications
technologies. In China, for example, 44
per cent of children said they had been
approached online by strangers. 21 We look
at the new phenomenon of cyberbullying,
which is most prevalent among adolescents
and teenagers and where girls are more
likely to be the victims – in one study in
the US, 41 per cent of adolescent girls
between the ages of 15 and 17 said they
had experienced bullying via the internet
or mobile phone, compared with 29 per
cent of boys. 22 This chapter will look at how
adolescent girls can be both informed and
empowered online.
ONLINE FACTS ABOUT GIRLS IN BRAZIL
The International Institute for Child Rights
and Development through the Child
Protection Partnership undertook research
in Brazil for this edition of ‘Because I am
a Girl’ (see Chapter 4). For this research,
they interviewed 44 girls and conducted
a national online survey. These facts are
extracted from their report, which shows
that most girls have a mobile phone and
access to the internet, and that virtually all
the respondents think online dangers are
greater for girls than for boys.
The good news
• 84 per cent of girls have a mobile phone
• 60 per cent say they have learned about
online dangers
• 82 per cent have used the internet, with
27 per cent indicating that they are
always online
• The more awareness and knowledge
about ICT use that girls have, the
greater degree of security they feel
online
Mark Henley / Panos Pictures
The bad news
• 79 per cent of girls said they did not
feel safe online
• Almost half the girls who responded to
the survey indicated that their parents
know what they access online
• Only about a third of the girls know
how to report a danger or something
that makes them feel bad online
• Almost 50 per cent of girls say they
would go to meet someone in person
who they had met online.
Finally, the report asks those with power
to make decisions about adolescent girls’
lives – to confront, challenge and address
the threats that girls and young women face
in our fast-changing world. It shows the
importance of investment, both public and
private, in order to build girls’ capabilities
and assets so that they can better protect
themselves. It argues that the laws that
are meant to protect young women must
be enforced. It emphasises the need to
protect and promote girls’ rights in cities
and online. It makes specific and targeted
recommendations for those responsible for
our cities and those who provide services,
be they private sector, non-governmental or
international organisations. And it calls for
support for girls and young women as they
claim their place in the new millennium.
Travelling
with a mobile
phone in
Singapore.
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