2012PGY_GirlsFirst_Violence

POLICY/PROGRAMMINGREVIEWA GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATIONviolence againstadolescentgirls: afundamentalchallenge tomeaningfulequalityBy JUDITH BRUCEVIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 1

GIRLS FIRST!Perspectives on Girl-Centered ProgrammingThe field of research and programs for adolescent girls has traditionally focused on sexuality,reproductive health, and behavior, neglecting the broader social and economic issues thatunderpin adolescent girls’ human rights, overall development, health, and well-being. Further,efforts to improve girls’ lives often spotlight those who control or influence their lives—parents,in-laws, boys, men, perpetrators—overlooking girls themselves.GIRLS FIRST! Perspectives on Girl-Centered Programming is a set of five thematic Reviews,written by experts at the Population Council. They are snapshots of the knowledge base ata particular moment in this quickly changing field. They address the five strategic prioritiesdefined in the UN Joint Statement, “Accelerating Efforts to Advance the Rights of AdolescentGirls” (March 2010), which represents the collective commitment of seven UN agencies tosupport governments and partners in advancing key policies and programs for the hardest-toreachadolescent girls. The Reviews therefore:1. Explore where to go next with education for girls;2. Outline innovative approaches to improving girls’ health;3. Reframe the field’s approach to violence against girls;4. Describe the best ways to cultivate girl leaders; and5. Explain novel ways to collect and use data on adolescent girls.The Reviews put forward innovative arguments for investing in girls and highlight promisingpractices. They express a forward-looking and evidence-based point of view on where the fieldmust allocate resources in order to most quickly and effectively improve girls’ lives.These Reviews—while written by experts at the Population Council, an organization that haspioneered cutting-edge research and programming for vulnerable and marginalized adolescentgirls—were catalyzed with leadership support from the UN Adolescent Girls Task Force. Additionalmoral and material support was provided by UN Women (previously UNIFEM), the NikeFoundation, the UN Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. These Reviewsadd to other programmatic guidance and tool kits now available and serve as an essentialreference for anyone seeking to develop successful and sustainable policies and programs forgirls. We hope that they will inspire innovative approaches in efforts that realize the rights ofmarginalized adolescent girls worldwide.December 2011Population Council and UN Adolescent Girls Task ForceDisclaimerThe Reviews on programming for adolescent girls in the areas of Education, Health, Reduction of Violence, GirlsLeadership, and Data have been prepared by the Population Council for the UN Adolescent Girls Task Force (UN AGTF),with support from the United Nations Foundation, the Nike Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and UN Women.The views expressed in these Reviews are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of theirdonor partners.© 2011 The Population Council, Inc. www.popcouncil.org

Table 1 a high proportion of sexualassaults among girlsPlaceCopperbelt, ZambiaLimpopo, South AfricaMalawiLiberiaAge Profile of Female Sexual-Assault Survivors49% are younger than 14, 85% are youngerthan 19 *56% of people presenting at trauma centerswere minor girls and 31% were preteen girls *A national study showed that 50% of childsexual-assault cases were among children2–13 years of age *Half of all reported rapes are experienced bygirls younger than 15 ***Keesbury, Jill and Ian Askew. 2010. “Comprehensive responses to gender-based violence inlow-resource settings: Lessons learned from implementation.” New York, NY: Population Council.**Personal communications, Ministry of Youth and Adolescent Girls Working Group meeting,Liberia, June 2008.children. The surveys found extremelyhigh levels of violence. About a third ofgirls in both countries reported beingabused before they reached 18. TheSwaziland report noted that about 40%of girls who experienced violence werelikely to experience it again (Reza). 3Further, the perpetrators of violencewere those who tended to be close togirls (mainly males who lived in thesame households and neighborhoods;a smaller percentage were teachers orreligious authorities). The most frequentvenue of violence was the girls’ home.Stranger violence represented less than15% of all violence in Swaziland and32% in Tanzania. 4Child marriage, one of the mostgrievous forms of violence—and usuallyexcluded in statistics of rape andabuse—continues at shocking levelsin some communities. (See Figure 1.)If present trends continue, more thanFIGure 1 child marriage among females aged 18–24in sub-national hotspotsZinder, NigerAmhara, EthiopiaRajshani, BangladeshKhulna, BangladeshKayes, MaliDiffa, NigerNorth East NigeriaNorth West NigeriaRAAN, NicaraguaAndhra Pradesh, IndiaJharkand, IndiaJinotega, NicaraguaBihar, IndiaMidwestern Nepal24.821.820.919.518.313.734736.958.047.845.044.744.644.158.754.761.252.260.358.868.368.374.488.282.284.186.988.70.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0% married by 15 % married by 18Source: Data compiled by Adam Weiner, Population Council, August 2011. Source: Population Council. 2009. The Adolescent Experience In-depth:Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable Young People. Country Reports. New York: Population Council. .VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 3

ported directly and indirectly by localand even national policies or interpretationsof major religious tenets.Girls with a weak sense of identityin empirically violent circumstancesbecome conditioned to accepting anddefending the use of force againstthem. 7 Looking across the data fromthe Demographic and Health Surveys, ahigh proportion of girls justify violenceagainst them for one or more reasons.A shocking proportion of girls will justifyviolence against them in all circumstances.(See Table 3.)Justification and experience of violenceWhile men and boys may face some levelof violence (in Tanzania 30 percent ofgirls, compared to about 14 percent ofboys, experience sexual violence beforeage 18) 8 and may change daily patternsin small ways to improve their security,many girls can define few moments inwhich they feel completely safe and canidentify virtually no spaces that theycan inhabit with confidence. Systematicinquiries (Hallman, Erulkar, Amin) 9 turnup very different sets of places whereyoung males and females can movewith both security and social acceptance.(See Tables 4 and 5.)The same 24 hours that youngmales and females share have a veryTable 3 justification and experience of violence% of females aged 15–24% of females aged 15–24who think wife beatingWHO have experiencedis justified underPHysical violence since age 15certain circumstancesRegion/ DHS HotspotCountry Year National Hotspot National Hotspot (Ever-married)Sub-saharan AfricaBenin 2006 44.6 74.2 N/A N/A N/A(Atacora)DRC 2007 82.6 89.3 59.7 75.4 88.4(Equateur) (Equateur) (Kinshasa)Liberia 2007 60.6 74.4 32.5 40.5 48.1(North Central) (Monrovia) (Monrovia)Mail 2006 77.3 88.9 N/A N/A N/A(Kayes)Rwanda 2005 50.6 71.9 22.9 35.7 48.7(Cyangugu) (Umutara) (Ville de Kigali)Uganda 2006 72.4 87.7 55.4 71.3 73.5(West Nile) (Eastern) (Eastern)Zambia 2007 63.1 83.5 40.6 N/A 59.5(Luapula)(Copper Belt)AsiaBangladesh* 2007 31.4 47.5 26.7 N/A 36.7(Barisal)(Rajshahi)Cambodia 2005 55.6 84.9 10.1 24.3 N/A(Svay Rieng)(Pursat)India 2005–06 47.3 83.2 14.7 28.8 41.1(Manipur) (Tripura) (West Bengal)Indonesia* 2002–03 29.6 55.5 N/A N/A N/A(W. Nusa Tenggara)Nepal 2006 23.6 30.6 N/A N/A N/A(Midwestern)Philippines 2003 24.8 66.1 N/A N/A N/A(ARMM)*Ever-married survey.Source: Data compiled by Adam Weiner, Population Council, August 2011. Source: Population Council. 2009. The Adolescent Experience In-depth:Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable Young People. Country Reports. New York: Population Council. .VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 5

Table 6 resources availableprogram subjectcategoriesPreventionand buildingprotective assetsMitigationTreatment: Accessto and effectiveprovisionreintegrationand RecoveryGirls at risk(girls in domesticservice, oldest girls/primary school, youngestgirls/secondaryschool, out-of schoolgirls aged 10–14NegligibleresourcesNegligibleresourcesSomeresourcesNegligibleresourcesPolice N/A N/A More resources N/ALawyers N/A N/A More resources N/AJudges N/A N/A More resources N/AHealth workers N/A N/A More resources N/ATeachers N/A N/A More resources N/AMales as potentialabusers or allies (e.g.,intimates, brothers,fathers, partners,unrelated males)SomeresourcesN/A N/A N/ASource: Bruce, Judith. Interagency Youth Working Group Presentation, 3 June 2010.Table 7 Older girls in secondary school were ALMOSTNINE times more likely to participate in a community-based programthan younger out-of-school girlsIN IN OUT With WithoutAge and Type Primary Secondary of School Child Child10–14Reached 45 12 8 1 64Eligible 1,942 236 558 N/A N/APercent reached 2.3 5.1 1.4 N/A N/A15–19Reached 54 94 37 63 122Eligible 686 786 505 379 1,651Percent reached 7.9 12.0 7.3 16.6 7.420–24Reached 9 62 41 89 24Eligible 112 592 990 1,304 586Percent reached 8.0 10.5 4.1 6.8 4.1Source: Tabulations by Adam Weiner. 2007 Liberia DHS and 2008–2009 Liberia Coverage Exercise with pilot coverage exercise data from fourcommunity-based programs.8 A GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATION

An Inversion of CareThose at lesser risk, with greatersocial assets (stable homes, schooling)are receiving the majority shareof youth-serving resources• In school (older) boys• Unmarried males• Urban born, living in two-parenthousehold• Older adolescents, youth 20+,even 24+Those at greatest risk, with leastsocial assets (migrant, less stablefamilies, lesser or no schooling, experiencingthe most frequent unprotectedsexual relations) are receivinga negligible share of youth-servingresources• Out of school (younger) girls• Married girls• Migrant, rural origin, living apartfrom parents• Youngest adolescents, 10–14Source: Bruce, Judith. November 2006. “Usingdata to count, advocate for, and invest inadolescent girls: An Ethiopian case study.”Additional Source: Mekbib, T., A. Erulkar,and F. Belete. 2005. “Who are the targets ofyouth programs: Results of a capacity buildingexercise in Ethiopia,” Ethiopian Journal ofHealth Development 19(1): 60–62.Promoted policiesand practicesFigure 2 Those with fewer social connectionsare more likely to experience forced sex(Ever-been-physically-forced 14–16-year-old females)Percent86420Low Mid HighSocial connectednessSources: Hallman, K. 2004. “Socioeconomic disadvantage and unsafe sexual behaviors amongyoung women and men in South Africa,” Policy Research Division Working Paper No. 190. NewYork: Population Council. Bruce, Judith and Kelly Hallman. 2008. “Reaching the girls left behind,”Gender & Development 16(2): 227–245.Use data to find girls atexceptionally high riskData exist to identify specific placeswhere there are high concentrationsof females at high risk for experiencingviolence (e.g., the Multiple IndicatorCluster Survey (MICS), Demographicand Health Surveys (DHS), and theNational Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC) Surveyscompleted for Swaziland, Tanzania,Zimbabwe, and planned for Haiti).Culturally prescribed violence such aschild marriage or female genital mutilation(FGM) is often concentrated inspecific geographic locations or ethnic/religious communities. There is oftensubnational variation in the proportionof young women who accept violence.For example, in Benin, 23 though thenational average of girls who thinkwife beating is justified under certaincircumstances is almost 45%, there arealso hotspots where as many as 74%of girls think wife beating is justified. InHaiti (DHS 2006), 24 almost double theproportion of girls in the north as in thesouth justify violence.There are similar variations in theproportion of girls who have experiencedforced sexual relations andin other circumstances that starklyraise vulnerability, such as girls aged10–14 who are out of school and livingapart from parents or are in domesticservice. 25 In sum, there is enough datato establish in most locations a basicepidemiology of violence, and existingdata can facilitate the identificationin advance, of populations of femaleswho are at elevated risk for sufferingviolence. (See Map, page 10.)Devote more resources tobuilding protective assets of thegirls at most riskViolence-reduction programs shouldengage the constituency at the base—in this case, adolescent girls—offeringthem the right to information and opportunitiesfor assembly and expression oftheir views. These rights of participationare not well understood or implementedand are the most challenging rightsto secure, especially for marginalizedand vulnerable populations. Imaginea Civil Rights Movement that failedto register African Americans to vote.Can one imagine an effective effort toraise wages that simply made appealsto executives and never mobilized theworkers?Job One is to develop the protectiveassets of the youngest femalesat highest risk of the most severeviolence. If this value is served, the majorityof resources would be allocatedto building the protective assets of vulnerablepopulations and, concurrently,appropriate but lesser resources couldbe allocated to second-tier clients,for example, building the professionalskills of established authority figuresor addressing potential perpetratorpopulations.Use girls’ knowledge to designprevention, mitigation, reportingprocedures, and treatmentprogramsFew current programs are incorporatinggirls’ perspectives, even as survivorsof violence, in program designand implementation. The vast majorityof re sources build the social capitaland knowledge of people who haveauthority over girls, such as teachersVIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 9

percent of girls 10–14 not in schooland not living with either parent inmozambique (137,768)Source: “The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data to Identify and Reach the MostVulnerable Young People: Mozambique 2006.” New York: Population Council, 2009. .or those who are involved in bringingthe perpetrators of violence to justice(police and judges). A recently designednational program to reduce violencein a sub-Saharan African country withextremely high levels of violence hadevaluation measures at the level ofmale peers, but no measures for effectingchange among the young femaleswho were most likely to be victims ofthe violence. Youth programs, amongthe few initiatives that governments designto be preventative and offer safetynets, systematically neglect exactlyThe Population Council and UNFPA Adolescent Data Guides (availablefor over 50 countries) can be accessed via www.popcouncil.org/girlsdata or www.unfpa.org/youth/dhs_adolescent_guides.html.those females who are at high risk ofviolence: 10–14-year-olds who are outof school, 10–14-year-olds living withone or no parent, and underage girls in26, 27exploitative work.The Population Council has developeda safety scan tool for use bygirls and boys to define times of theday, week, season, or situation thatare sources of threat. Girls themselvesshould be asked to identify when theyfeel at risk, according to:• Days of the week• Seasons• Situations (like asking for a gradeor walking to or from school)• Hours of the day• Economically lean times andbetter timesGirls can be asked to identify situationsand special events that bringheightened risk. Examples of thisinclude school vacations, times whenmen have money, festivals, or sportingevents (World Cup). In South Africa, girlsidentified November and December asmonths when they felt they were moreunder pressure to exchange sex for giftsand money, because school fees weredue then (Hallman). 28This exercise has been conductedin a number of settings, includingBurkina Faso, Haiti, Tanzania, andZambia. In Haiti, girls were very clearthat there were no times during whichmembers of any of three categories ofvulnerable females (domestic workers,10–14-year-old out-of-school girls,and heads of household) felt safe. Thesafety scan tool lays the foundation fora practical discussion of what a safetyplan might look like. An excerpt of thescan 29 focuses on the seasons thatbring risk. (See Figure 3.)Create regularly available platformsand spaces for girls, particularly thoseat the highest risk of exploitationGirls, unlike boys, do not have regular,safe places to meet nonfamily friends(a loss in and of itself) outside of homeor school. Disadvantaged girls arestrangers in the household in whichthey live and do not attend school.10 A GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATION

FIGURE 3 safety scan toolSEASONS THAT BRING RISK WHY THE SEASON BRINGS RISK WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE RISKHarvestingRainy seasonMigration for workSchool fees are dueHolidaysWhen school is in session(Other)(Other)(Other)Conceptualized by Judith Bruce and Karen Austrian. Published by Austrian, K. and D. Ghati. 2010. Girl Centered Program Design: A Toolkit to Develop,Strengthen and Expand Adolescent Girls Programs. Population CouncilOther girls have left their community,often forcibly.All human beings need friendshipand social support. Social support andfriendship not only reduce girls’ susceptibilityto violence but can also serveas platforms from which to increaseknowledge about rights, develop specificsafety plans, and provide safe spacesin which they can discuss the sensitiveand threatening elements in their lives.A family of peers with a mentor is a vitalasset in and of itself. It is also a meansby which a girl can learn her rights, cometo understand teacher codes of conduct,have access to services and support,and obtain justice when she needs it.Creating regularly available venueswill likely increase the level of reportingabout violence; girls in this environmentmay have an increased sense ofwhat constitutes violence, and acceptit less. They may also feel more trustingin disclosing difficult situations they arefacing. 30Purposefully recruit at-risk girlsAs observed earlier, assuring the participationof the girls at the highest risk(measured by social exclusion, familyliving arrangements, work and schoolstatus, prevalence of cultural norms,and migration status, for example) willrequire their purposeful recruitment.Mapping the community of girls is essentialand allows the identification ofthe most vulnerable, such as girls indomestic service. 31Anchor programs with girls as thecore client: Reach out to othersselectively and based on girls’assessmentsEffective programs must navigatemany gatekeepers and limiting structuresso that girls remain the key,anchoring client. While others—religiousauthorities, teachers, parents,male peers, and older males—may beengaged, the girls must be assuredtheir central place as the core clients.Consistent with any human rightsagenda, the affected population, thegirls themselves, must be the centralparticipants in the program and majoritybeneficiaries. To the extent thatEven the most disadvantagedgirls can increase theirprospects of both a saferand more decent life.other actors are engaged as allies,girls’ perspectives should inform programdirections and messages.Determine which (if any) mediacould make a difference based ongirls’ experiencesThere’s often a rush to move to mediawith the notion that violence can bereduced with some sort of social marketingcampaign. These campaigns areoften undertaken with no investigationas to girls’ relative access to media inthe first place (radio, television) or themeaningfulness of the messages. Thisis often a simple way to spend moneyand appear to be advocating, but it isnot clear that these campaigns buildgirls’ protective assets. In general,for behavior change and certainly forvulnerable groups, specific accessto information is far more effectivethan generalized messages. Girls, forinstance, need to know specific riskyscenarios. As an example of a riskyscenario, girls in the Haitian workshopidentified “sharp guys” who lure insecure,younger girls out on dates thatoften end in gang abuse. In Zambia,girls identified teachers who insist thatgirls come to their homes to receive agrade. This behavior should be coveredin a teachers’ code; girls are currentlyunaware of these codes because theyare not posted or discussed with them.Perhaps the most well-known experimentwas one in Kenya in which highschool girls were informed that olderpartners were more likely to have HIVthan younger partners. This led to achange in both attitudes and partnerselection. 32Protecting girls as they seek justiceFor survivors of violence, seekingjustice can be difficult and can oftenre- traumatize adolescent girls. Girlsurvivors often face doubting authoritieswho do not know how to properly treatthem; there have been reports of cliniciansinserting a speculum in girls—evenVIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 11

prepuberty—which is a forbidden anddangerous clinical process. Mistreatmentby medical providers often meansfurther medical complications and littleaccess to necessary medical treatmentincluding post-exposure prophylaxisfor HIV and other sexually transmittedinfections and emergency contraceptionto decrease risk of pregnancy. Becauseof their age, girls are required to beaccompanied by a trusted guardian orombudsman for many services. This canhinder justice because a high proportionof perpetrators are family members andother people who are close to families.Sometimes culpable or complicit adultsmust give consent for medical treatmentfor the initiation of legal processes. 33Furthermore, legal systems are complexand difficult to navigate, even for adults.Many countries lack laws to protect andpromote the rights of women and girls.The Adolescent Girls Legal DefenseFund has developed guidelines for betteraddressing violations of girls’ rightsand equipping legal systems to meetthe needs of adolescent girls. Amongtheir recommendations:• Require gender-sensitivity trainingfor all personnel (police, prosecutors,clinicians, and judges) who deal withadolescent girls’ legal needs.• Ensure that medical exams arequick, minimally invasive, and carryfew reporting requirements.• Take special measures for adolescentgirls in trials, such as:° Providing separate waitingrooms for survivors and witnessesto avoid contact withperpetrators.° Being sensitive during crossexaminationto counter harassmentof survivors.° Allowing the use of screens orin-camera testimony to avoidcontact with perpetrators.° Keeping girls informed aboutthe legal process and itsoutcomes.° Limiting the number of times asurvivor must testify.° Enforcing time limits withinwhich legal proceedings mustbe initiated and concluded. 3412 A GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATIONMeasuring results at the levelof the girlJudging from programmatic effortsthus far, there appears to be a deepresistance to center violence-reductionprograms on building the assets of girlsthemselves, even as a first step. Indeedthe failure to measure any change atthe level of the girl is an indicator ofhow off-track we have been. There isa strong bias to measuring inputs (likeradio messages and number of policetrained) rather than girl-level change.While it is important to document thethoroughness of the implementation,the most salient results are the returnsto the core client population.A clear indication that a programis girl-centered is that it has girl-levelmeasures. Existing research suggeststhat there are a number of types ofsocial capital (friendship networks, affiliationsto groups that meet regularly)and safety nets 35 (someone to turn to inan emergency or a place to spend thenight) that are protective.There is a final, methodologicalreason to measure results at the levelof the girl. As girls (and the general community)become sensitized, many thingsthat were previously defined as acceptablemay be redefined as unacceptableand reported as violent. Negative reportsabout quality of services increasewhen clients are informed about theirrights or appropriate expectations aboutcare. Similarly, we can expect that adolescentgirls who are sensitized and supportedmay initially report more abuse.Programs cannot guarantee a girl’ssafety, but they can measure how wellprepared she is to deal with violence,by assessing her protective assets,such as having someone to turn to in acrisis and having specific safety plans.Programs can most likely measure shiftinglevels of comfort with violence withinthe community, and they can documentexpanding areas and times of day inwhich girls feel safe. Many of the shorttermmeasures of protective assetsshould be achievable within relativelyshort periods of time. For example, girlscan acquire personal documentationand a more explicit sense of risk in theirenvironment, and can evolve specificplans and knowledge to avoid it.Resources:Learning lab programs,publications, and toolsMultilevel effort to change childmarriage norms and supportmarried girls: Berhane Hewan,Ethiopia 36The Population Council’s BerhaneHewan program in Ethiopia measuredits success at the level of the girl.The program assessed levels of childmarriage, girls’ social isolation andattitudes, along with girls’ comfort indifferent parts of the community andaccess to different degrees of socialparticipation. The program specificallyaddressed the interrelated factors thatmade a girl liable to be married as achild—these included her exclusionfrom school, her lack of friendship networks,her lack of access to a mentoror any kind of safety net (someone toturn to in an emergency). At the sametime, the program engaged gatekeepersand actively discussed child marriage.It incentivized communities tosupport a high proportion of girls goingto school on a regular basis. For thosegirls above school age (often by earlyadolescence with a lack of schooling),girls clubs were established, and thegirls who were already married (regardlessof age) attended girls clubs once aweek. The result of this program was todelay the age at marriage by two years,reducing the acceptance and practiceof an extreme form of sexual violence,and to provide health and social supportto married girls.For more information, seehttp://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3500609.pdf, or contactDr. Annabel Erulkar at aerulkar@popcouncil.org.Girl spaces in school: Our girls, ourfuture—building synergy to endviolence against girls in ZambiaA program underway in Zambia purposefullybuilds girls’ protective assets.Currently, in six schools, four differentorganizations are experimenting with thecreation of girls’ clubs with an emphasison the oldest girls in primary school andthe youngest girls in secondary school, in

girls’ safe spaces can offer:• A safe, reliably available space apart from home and formalschooling in which to meet friends• Friends: A dense network of nonfamily peers• Mentors and role models to learn from, and who can intercede• Experience being part of a team, cooperating and leading• Literacy, health knowledge, social mobility: Foundations of autonomy• Financial literacy and savings• Documentation for health, work, citizenship• A place to conduct and post safety scans• Develop specific girls’ self-protection plans and crisismanagementoptions• Know teacher and other professional codes of conduct• Referral and management of challenges and crises (harassment,threats of child marriage, FGM, pregnancy, rape,violence)• Accessing entitlements, including HIV-related• Planning for seasonal stresses, like school fees and food shortages,which often increase pressure to exchange sex for gifts ormoney• Dealing with prolonged illness, death, inheritance, successionplanning• Participation, activity, funBruce, Judith. “Reaching The Girls Left Behind: Targeting Adolescent Programming forEquity, Social Inclusion, Health, and Poverty Alleviation.” April 2007. Prepared for “FinancingGender Equality: A Commonwealth Perspective,” Commonwealth Women’s AffairsMinisters’ Meeting, Uganda, June 2007.light of the fact that girls around the timeof puberty appear to be the most vulnerable.The girls clubs meet once a weekon school premises, led by pairs of teachers,mothers, or peer mentors, and workthrough a wide-ranging curriculum thatcovers health, social issues, and financialliteracy. The clubs also deploy suggestionboxes where girls can leave messages,and teachers learn a code of conductand post it so the girls (and everybodyelse) can see it. 37 A girl should know, asa teacher should know, that it is unacceptablefor a teacher to ask a studentto visit his home to receive a grade or toengage with them personally in any wayoutside of the classroom. This programis innovative insofar as it has movedfrom a concern about rape and redressto prevention and engaged young maleswho were identified in parallel locationswhere they were working with girls tomaximize synergistic benefits.For further information, pleasecontact Caroline Muthoni Muriithi atcmuriithi@equalitynow.org.Promoting safe workspaces forwomen working in bars: TanzaniaThe TAMASHA project, which is underwayin Dar es Salaam and being rolled outin Arusha, addresses the vulnerabilityof young women (officially aged 18–24,but sometimes 16 and younger) workingin bars. Bar workers receive salarieswell below minimum wage and work inan environment in which bar owners,male co-workers, and patrons expectthem to submit to sexual harassment(fondling, slapping, etc.), and if they failto submit they are in danger of losingtheir jobs. Most bar owners are notcommitted to ensuring that these youngwomen are covered by such workplacepolicies as health insurance, protectionagainst abuse and harassment, legislationon the minimum wage, or even HIVworkplace interventions. TAMASHA iscreating a network to increase theseyoung women’s social support andcould, under Tanzanian law, include aunion of bar workers to protect theirrights and negotiate appropriate workingconditions and protection. The biweeklymeetings of the girls/young women willgive them a chance to explore their livestogether in a supportive environment.Other stakeholders such as bar ownerswill be included in the conversationsto develop and implement minimumstandards of payment and treatment inthis risky industry. They will individuallyand collectively fight for a safe environment,zero harassment, and acceptableworking conditions.For further information, pleasecontact Richard Mabala, rmabala@yahoo.com.Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future):Providing meeting spaces, skillbuilding,and protective assets fordomestic workers, orphans, andmigrants in urban EthiopiaThis project—a collaboration betweenthe Population Council, the Addis AbabaYouth and Sport Commission, and theEthiopia Ministry of Youth and Sport—has reached up to 20,000 girls acrosssix cities in Ethiopia, recruiting the out-ofschool girl population at highest risk.Girls meet in existing community hallsand facilities donated by local administrations.Meetings are held 3–5 timesa week. Biruh Tesfa aims to addressadolescent girls’ social isolation by buildingtheir social capital and participationand giving them access to basic literacy,life skills, HIV and reproductive healtheducation, and specific knowledge ofresources in their catchment areas.All participating girls receive a projectidentification (ID) card with their photo.VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 13

Basic DescriptiveMeasures of Girls’Status Framing ofSocial Capital andPotential ViolenceRisk• Age/documentation of age• Living arrangements• Schooling status• Marriage status• Childbearing status• Migration status• Paid and unpaid work• Savings experience• Density of friendship networks• Regular access to a place tomeet nonfamily peers• Levels of social affiliation/groupmembership• Reported comfort level in schooland community• Sexual activity status (ifpossible)—whether first sexualexperience was tricked or forcedA 2009 evaluation determined thatgirls’ social networks and safety netscan be built. Girls in the program reportincreases in friendship networks intheir neighborhoods and having placesoutside the home to meet other girls.Girls in the project site were significantlymore likely to have undergone voluntarycounseling and testing for HIV comparedwith girls in the control site. 38For further information, pleasecontact Annabel Erulkar at aerulkar@popcouncil.org.Abriendo Oportunidades:“Safescaping” with a rural girls’program in GuatemalaThe Population Council’s AbriendoOportunidades program, working with indigenousgirls’ clubs in the Mayan Highlandsof rural Guatemala, has developedan approach called “safe scaping,” whichis being piloted in 3 of 40 program villages.Safescaping facilitates adolescentgirl–centered strategies to prevent andaddress violence against girls. Youngfemale leaders (aged 15–24), with mentorsupport, use GPS technology to maptheir communities. First, they define thecommunity’s boundaries (the first timesome of these villages have ever beenmapped), then they go house to houseand identify girls who are eligible toparticipate in the program.During the mapping exercise, girls(aged 12–15) designate what partsof the community, service points, andfacilities they define as “safe,” “somewhatsafe,” and “unsafe.” They thenpresent these maps to a cross-sectionof the community (some of the elders,those on the development committee,school teachers, older and youngermales, and interested family members).This allows participants to see theworld as girls see it, including its safetyparameters. Often overlaid on the villagemaps are the common daily routesalong which girls travel (for example, toschool). Points of concern with regardto girls’ safety (e.g., unmowed fields,places where men gather, truck stops)are marked. In some instances, girlshave noted on the maps where specificacts of violence have occurred—anunderstanding of which implicitly guidestheir mobility decisions. This mappingexercise catalyzes an explicit communityprocess. Typically, one step isthe girls’ decision to walk in groups toschool. In one community, a safety commissionhas been set up.For further information, please contactPopulation Council consultant Angeldel Valle, adelvalle@popcouncil.org.A community contract that rejectsviolence: Tostan, West AfricaTostan has pioneered a form of dialoguewith communities to reject femalegenital mutilation (FGM) and, morerecently, child marriage. While thisprogram does not yet measure resultsat the level of the girl, it has catalyzedcommunity efforts to eliminate seriousforms of abuse. A principled strategy bywhich this is accomplished is designedto accelerate the abandonment of FGM.Among villages that participated in theTostan program, prevalence of FGMreportedly dropped by 70% versus 40%in control villages (results based onreports of “key informants” not girls).This strategy is founded on the understandingthat to change social normsrequires reaching a critical mass ofcommunity members, because FGMand child marriage are related to acommonly perceived standard of girlswho are considered decent for marriage.Tostan’s approach uses qualitativeevaluation to improve the strengthof program delivery. 39For further information, pleasecontact Gannon Gillespie, Director ofStrategic Development, Tostan;gannongillespie@tostan.org;212-299-1156.The Safe Cities program: TheAssociation for the Developmentand Enhancement of Women,EgyptThe Safe Cities program, now beingrolled out in various Cairo neighborhoods,aims to reduce sexual harassmentand sexual violence against girlsand women that is being committedin urban public spaces (neighborhoodsquares, alleys, abandoned buildings,construction sites). Sexual harassmentis conceived as impeding girls andwomen from carrying out their domesticresponsibilities, accessing services andjobs, and developing their skills, andcreating interference in getting to andfrom schools and a lack of safety inpublic parks. The project will work withat-risk women and girls, local authorities,other grassroots groups, and themedia to create greater access andsafety in public spaces.For further information, contactIman Bibars, ibibars@ASHOKA.ORG, atthe Association for the Developmentand Enhancement of Women.Paraprofessional Social Work TrainingProgram, International RescueCommittee (IRC), Somali Region ofEthiopiaThe Paraprofessional Social Worktraining program reaches girls andwomen living in hard-to-reach districtsin the Somali region of Ethiopia. ThisUNICEF-supported program brings twocommunity members from each village14 A GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATION

More Specific Measures to Avoid ExistingPotential Threats• Safety nets• Someone to turn to in case of an emergency• Place to spend the night in an emergency• Someone from whom to borrow money in an emergency• Self esteem/sense of agency/aspirations• Personal documentation/recognition of membership in thecommunity• Context-specific knowledge of services (placement, hours, evidenceof registration)• Specific knowledge of risky people, seasons, events• Specific safety/emergency plansSource: Erulkar, Annabel S.; Muthengi, Eunice. Evaluation of Berhane Hewan: A programto delay child marriage in rural Ethiopia. International Perspectives on Sexual andReproductive Health 35(1): 6-14 . Erulkar, Annabel S.; Mekbib, Tekle-Ab; Tegegne, Mesfin.Biruh Tesfa: Creating a ‘Bright Future’ for migrant girls in urban areas of Ethiopia. PromotingHealthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief. 2008 Adolescent andYouth Sexual and Reproductive Health: Charting Directions for a Second Generation ofProgramming-Background Documents for the Meeting, pp. 77-89 2003. Bruce, Judith;Hallman, Kelly. Reaching the girls left behind. Gender and Development 16(2): 227-245.2008. Hallman, Kelly. Program.(one female/one male) to be trainedover the course of one year as socialworkers. The social workers come fromvillages where conflict is pervasive andit is likely girls suffer from high levels ofsexual, psychological, and physical violenceas a result of the conflict and traditionalSomali cultural norms. Over thecourse of one year, as a part of a largersocial work program, IRC provides thestudents with a series of four one-weektrainings on responses to gender-basedviolence. Topics include case management,providing general psychosocialsupport, active listening, confidentiality,and referrals. The social work studentsconvene in the regional capital eachquarter for training and spend the restof their time in the field practicing theirnew skills. This psychosocial trainingprogram is complemented by a trainingprogram for justice, health, and legalservice providers to build the capacityof those in other sectors to respond tosurvivors of violence. The next phaseof this project will include developinga standard operating procedure forservice providers, to establish the rolesand responsibilities of each sector,outline a referral pathway, and streamlinethe response process. This programallows girls and women access to support,whether they have experiencedviolence or the threat of violence, orneed a social connection. In a nonconflictsetting with easier to access populations,this intervention could be morecomprehensive, however this form ofthe model can be used in conflict areaswhere humanitarian agencies have difficultyaccessing the target population.For further information, contactJody Myrum at Jody.Myrum@nike.com.Growing Up Safe and Healthy(SAFE): Reducing the genderequality gap through gender-basedviolence prevention messages inBangladeshThe Growing Up Safe and Healthy(SAFE) project aims to promote genderequity for 10–17-year-old unmarriedand married girls living in urban slumsin Bangladesh. SAFE addresses adolescentgirls’ heightened vulnerabilityand marginalization by targeting childmarriage and gender-based violence issuesthrough service-delivery programsthat raise awareness of violations ofwomen’s rights through a combinationof sexual and reproductive health messages(bodily integrity, issues of consentand choice, and promoting overallself-determination of their lives). SAFEalso creates strong links and networksbetween legal services and reproductiveand sexual health service providerslocated near the slums, human rightsand women’s rights advocates, researchorganizations, and Bangladesh’sMinistry of Women and Children’sAffairs. At the legal and health-servicecenters, SAFE employees instruct girlsand women on how to protect themselvesagainst sexual and reproductivehealth risks and gender-based violence.For further information, contactSajeda Amin at samin@popcouncil.org.Apne Aap: Eradicating sextraffickingin IndiaApne Aap, founded by investigativejournalist Ruchira Gupta, is a grassrootsorganization in Mumbai, India (with otherprogram sites in Bhiwandi, Bihar, Delhi,and West Bengal) that reaches the mostisolated and at-risk women and childrenwho are trapped in or are at-risk ofprostitution in India’s red-light areas andslums. Apne Aap mobilizes and mentorscommunity-based groups of traffickedand vulnerable girls and women so theycan empower one another. Apne Aapprovides a safe space and opportunitiesfor legal, educational, and livelihoodtraining to girls and women so theycan develop the skills and abilities toresist traffickers. The organization hasreached over 10,000 women and girls,and of these, 812 girls are in regularschools, 1,200 women have formedsmall business cooperatives known asself-help groups, and 3,042 women havesubmitted a petition to Indian Parliamentasking for a change in the anti-traffickinglaw, Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act(ITPA), to punish buyers and protectwomen and girls.For further information, pleasecontact Zoe Young at zoe@apneaap.org.VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 15

It’s All One Curriculum: A unifiedapproach to sexuality, gender, HIV,and human rights educationIt’s All One Curriculum is a resource kitfor developing a unified curriculum onsexuality, gender, HIV, and human rights.It is based on global research on risksto sexual health. It responds to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals and relatedpolicy mandates and brings a muchneededfresh and practical approach toeducating young people in a diverse andrapidly changing world. Specifically, It’sAll One Curriculum enables educatorsand policymakers to address not onlythe individual determinants of youngpeople’s sexual and reproductive health,but also the distinctive needs of differentsubsets—girls, boys, gay and lesbianadolescents. It’s All One Curriculum wasdeveloped by an international groupof experts to enable young people toenjoy—and advocate for their rights to—dignity, equality, and healthy, responsible,and satisfying sexual lives.To download a PDF of It’s All OneCurriculum in English, French, or Spanish,or to order a hard copy of the kit, goto www.ItsAllOne.org.Other resources:Amin, Sajeda and Althea D. Anderson. May2011. “Addressing sexual and genderbasedviolence (SGBV) against adolescentgirls,” Promoting Healthy, Safe,and Productive Transitions to AdulthoodBrief, no. 38, .Krause-Vilmar, Jina. 2011. PreventingGender-based Violence, BuildingLivelihoods: Guidance and Toolsfor Improved Programming. NewYork: Women’s Refugee Commission..Ricardo, C., G. Barker, and M. Eads. 2012, inpress. Engaging Boys and Young Men inthe Prevention of Sexual violence: A Systematicand Global Review of EvaluatedInterventions. SVRI and Promundo.Together for Girls is a global public–privatepartnership dedicated to eliminatingsexual violence against girls. Thepartnership focuses on three pillars:conducting and supporting nationalsurveys on the magnitude and impactof violence against children, particularlyfocused on sexual violence against girls;supporting coordinated program actionsin response to the data; and leadingglobal advocacy and public awarenessefforts to draw attention to the problemand promote evidence-based solutions.Please contact Together for Girls throughJennifer Kim, jen@togetherforgirls.org.The partnership’s website is .Notes1 Ellesberg, M. and L. Heise. ResearchingViolence against Women: A PracticalGuide for Researchers and Activists.Washington, DC: World Health Organization,2005.2 “Violence against children in Tanzania:Findings from a national survey 2009.”United Nations Children’s Fund, US Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention,Muhimbili University of Health and AlliedSciences, August 2011.3 Reza, Avid et al. “Sexual violence and itshealth consequences for female childrenin Swaziland: A cluster survey study.” USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention,2009.4 See note 2.5 Gray, Ron, Fred Nalugoda, David Serwadda,and Maria Wawer. “Marriageand HIV risk: Data from Rakai, Uganda.”Paper presented at Exploring the Risksof HIV/AIDS Within the Context of Marriage.Population Council, New York, 10November 2004.6 Jejeebhoy, Shireen. “The adverse healthand social outcomes of sexual coercion:Experiences of young women in developingcountries.” Population Council, 2004.7 Garcia-Moreno, Claudia. “Putting womenfirst: Ethical and safety recommendationsfor research on domestic violenceagainst women.” Department of Genderand Women’s Health, World Health Organization.Geneva, Switzerland, 2001.8 “Violence against children in Tanzania:Findings from a national survey 2009.”United Nations Children’s Fund, US Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention,Muhimbili University of Health and AlliedSciences, August 2011.9 For a fuller discussion, see also Hallman2004 (South Africa); Erulkar etal. 2004a; 2004b (Ethiopia); Amin etal. 2002 (Bangladesh); Haberland etal. 2003 (India); UNICEF and PopulationCouncil 2002; and Alexander et al.2006. The National Surveys of Adolescenceconducted by the GuttmacherInstitute and country partners in BurkinaFaso, Ghana, Malawi, and Ugandarevealed data on density of friendshipnetworks, showing that across all groups(rural/urban, schooling achievement),boys have more close friends on averagethan girls. (A. Biddlecom 2008 correspondencewith researcher.)10 Haiti Safety Exercise. Maternowska,Catherine and Ghislaine Ouedraogo.2010. “Haiti Adolescent Girls Network—Espas Pa Mwen: A Report on AdolescentGirl Programming in Haiti.”11 For a fuller discussion, see also Hallman2004 (South Africa); Erulkar etal. 2004a, 2004b (Ethiopia); Amin etal. 2002 (Bangladesh); Haberland etal. 2003 (India); UNICEF and PopulationCouncil 2002; and Alexander et al.2006. The National Surveys of Adolescenceconducted by the GuttmacherInstitute and country partners in BurkinaFaso, Ghana Malawi, and Ugandarevealed data on density of friendshipnetworks, showing that across all groups(rural/urban, schooling achievement),boys have more close friends on averagethan girls. (A. Biddlecom 2008 correspondencewith researcher.)12 Population Council team (Bruce, Austrian)developed a safety scan that couldbe used in workshop contexts to beginto define the parameters of safety byday, week, situation. An introduction tothese can be found in .13 Simbaya, Joseph and Martha Brady. “Understandingadolescent girls’ protectionstrategies against HIV: An exploratorystudy in urban Lusaka. Population Council,2009.14 Campbell et al. 2002; Gazaramian et al.1995; Goldin 1996; Murphy et al. 2001;Zierler et al. 1991.15 Reza, Avid et al. “Sexual violence and itshealth consequences for female childrenin Swaziland: A cluster survey study.”Center for Disease Control, 2009.16 Source: 2007 Liberia DHSS and2008–09 Liberia Coverage Exercise withpilot coverage exercise data from fourcommunity-based programs. Tabulationsby Adam Weiner.17 Hallman, Kelly. “Adolescent socialexclusion: The gendering of HIV risk inKwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.” PopulationCouncil, 2010.18 Bruce, Judith and Kelly Hallman. 2008.“Reaching the girls left behind,” Gender& Development 16(2): 227–245.16 A GIRLS FIRST! PUBLICATION

19 Lloyd, Cynthia. “Growing Up Global: TheChanging Transitions to Adulthood in DevelopingCountries.” National AcademiesPress, 2005.20 Breiding, Matthew J. and Avid Reza.“Risk factors associated with sexualviolence towards girls in Swaziland.”Bulletin of the World Health Organization2011;89:203–210.21 Breiding, Matthew J. and Avid Reza. “Riskfactors associated with sexual violencetowards girls in Swaziland.” Bulletin of theWorld Health Organization 2011;89:203–210. (2) Lesniak, L.P. “Penetrating theconspiracy of silence: Identifying thefamily at risk for incest.” Family CommunityHealth 1993;16:66–76. (3) Ajuwon,A.J., A. Olaleye, B. Faromoju, and O.Ladipo. “Sexual behavior and experienceof sexual coercion among secondaryschool students in three states in NorthEastern Nigeria.” BMC Public Health2006;6:310. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-310 PMID:17187685. (4) Boney-McCoy,S. and D. Finkelhor. “Prior victimization:A risk factor for child sexual abuseand for PTSD-related symptomatologyamong sexually abused youth.” ChildAbuse & Neglect 1995;19:1401–21.doi:10.1016/0145-2134(95)00104-9PMID:8777692).22 Hallman, K. et al. June 6, 2007. “Socialcapital, socioeconomic aspirations, andHIV risk behaviors among poor SouthAfrican youth.” Poster presented at 3rdSouth African AIDS Conference, Durban,South Africa.23 “The Adolescent Experience In-Depth:Using Data to Identify and Reach theMost Vulnerable Young People: Benin2006.” New York: Population Council,2009 (Page 49).24 “The Adolescent Experience In-Depth:Using Data to Identify and Reach theMost Vulnerable Young People: Haiti2005/06.” New York: Population Council,2009 (Page 49).25 Erulkar, Annabel. “Adolescent Life in LowIncome and Slum Areas of Addis AbabaEthiopia” Population Council, 2004.26 Bruce, Judith and Kelly Hallman. 2008.“Reaching the girls left behind,” Gender& Development 16(2): 227–245.27 Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-InformationServices (LISGIS). 2009. 2008Population and Housing Census FinalResults. Monrovia: LISGIS. Lloyd, CynthiaB. (ed.). 2005. Growing Up Global: TheChanging Transitions to Adulthood inDeveloping Countries. Washington, DC:National Academies Press. Mekbib, T., A.Erulkar, and F. Belete. 2005. “Who arethe targets of youth programs: Results ofa capacity building exercise in Ethiopia,”Ethiopian Journal of Health Development19(1): 60–62. Macro International.2011. MEASURE DHS STATcompiler.. Accessed8 March 2011. Population Council.2006. How to Conduct a CoverageExercise: A Rapid Assessment Tool forPrograms and Services. New York: PopulationCouncil.Population Council. 2009.The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: UsingData to Identify and Reach the MostVulnerable Young People (Malawi 2004).New York: Population Council. PopulationDivision of the Department of Economicand Social Affairs of the United NationsSecretariat (UNESA), World PopulationProspects: The 2008 Revision, . Accessed 2 February2011. Weiner, Adam. 2010. “Geographicvariations in inequities in access tosexual and reproductive health services,”Studies in Family Planning 41(2):134–138.28 Hallman 2004 personal communication.29 Conceptualized by Judith Bruce andKaren Austrian. Published by Austrian,K. and D. Ghati. Girl-Centered ProgramDesign: A Toolkit to Develop, Strengthenand Expand Adolescent Girls Programs.New York: Population Council, 2010.30 For review of the importance of socialcapital see: Bruce, Judith and KellyHallman. 2008. “Reaching the girls leftbehind,” Gender & Development 16(2):227–245. For description of the stepsinvolved in creating a girl platforms seeAustrian, K. and D. Ghati. Girl CenteredProgram Design: A Toolkit to Develop,Strengthen and Expand Adolescent GirlsPrograms. New York: Population Council,2010.31 Catino, Jennifer, Alejandra Colom, andMarta Julia Ruiz. 2011. “EquippingMayan girls to improve their lives,”Transitions to Adulthood Brief no. 5,; Erulkar,Annabel, Belaynesh Semunegus, andGebeyehu Mekonnen. 2011. “Biruh Tesfaprovides domestic workers, orphans,and migrants in urban Ethiopia withsocial support, HIV education, andskills,” Transitions to Adulthood Brief no.21, .32 Dupas, Pascaline. 2010. Do TeenagersRespond to HIV Risk Information? Evidencefrom a Field Experiment in Kenya.Unpublished Manuscript, UCLA.33 Jody Myrum, Nike Foundation, personalcommunication.34 Adolescent Girls Legal Defense Fund.Forthcoming. “Equality Now AdolescentGirls Legal Defense Fund Learning fromCases of Girls’ Rights.” For more details,contact Mehr Qureshi at mqureshi@equalitynow.org.35 Erulkar, Annabel. “Adolescent life inlow income and slum areas of AddisAbaba Ethiopia.” Population Council,2004. Hallman, K. et al. “Social capital,socioeconomic aspirations, and HIV riskbehaviors among poor South Africanyouth,” poster presented at 3rd SouthAfrican AIDS Conference, Durban, SouthAfrica, 6 June 2007.36 Erulkar, Annabel S. and EuniceMuthengi. 2009. “Evaluation of BerhaneHewan: A program to delay child marriagein rural Ethiopia.” InternationalPerspectives on Sexual and ReproductiveHealth 35(1): 6–14.37 CRISP Program in KwaZulu Natal.38 Erulkar, Annabel. “Biruh Tesfa (BrightFuture) Program Provides DomesticWorkers, Orphans & Migrants in UrbanEthiopia with Social Support, HIV Education& Skills.” Population Council.39 Diop, Nafissatou, Amadou Morwau,and Helene Benga. 2008. “Evaluationof the long-term impact of the TOSTANprogramme on the abandonment of FGMand early marriage: Results from a qualitativestudy in Senegal,” FRONTIERS FinalReport. New York: Population Council.AcknowledgmentsThis Review was written by Judith Bruce,Senior Associate and Policy Analyst atthe Population Council. This Review hasbenefited immeasurably from the input ofmany. The author gratefully acknowledgesthe following colleagues for their invaluablesubstantive feedback and technical contributions:Sajeda Amin, Farida Deif, Dina Deligiorgis,Lori Heise, Heidi Lehmann, MicheleMoloney-Kitts, Jody Myrum, and Avid Reza.Special thanks go to Nicole Ippoliti, SuraRosenthal, Gina Duclayan, and ChristinaTse for their tireless editorial and productionsupport. The author alone is responsible forany errors or omissions. Finally, the authorwould like to acknowledge and thank thePopulation Council, the Nike Foundation, thePackard Foundation and the UN AdolescentGirls Task Force for their partnershipand support, without which these ProgramReviews would not be possible.VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO MEANINGFUL EQUALITY 17

The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spreadof HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives.Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, the Council works withour partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies thatimprove lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is anongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.www.popcouncil.org