• About
• Press
• Programs + Speaking
• Events
• Blogs
• Books
• Tools
• Coaching + Training
• Shop
• Contact

Download this report and read it cover to cover. Facts presented:

• One person in eight is a girl or young woman age 10–24.

• In many places girls and young women do not enjoy the basic rights of voting, cannot inherit land, are subject to female genital cutting, and do not have the right to stop unwanted sexual advances or gain justice. As the world seeks to fight poverty and respect fundamental human rights, girls remain nearly invisible to those in positions of power—and yet it is only through major and sustained improvements in the condition of girls that the world will reach its goals.

• Girls undertake much of the domestic labor needed for poor families to survive: carrying water, harvesting crops, tending livestock, caring for younger children, and doing chores.

• A sixth of the world’s young people live on less than $2 a day, including 122 million girls in Sub-Saharan Africa2 who live on less than $1 a day.

• One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18. And 14 million girls ages 15–19 give birth each year. Adolescent girls are up to five times more likely to die from complications of pregnancy than women in their 20s, and their babies are also at higher risk of dying.

• Nearly half of sexual assaults worldwide are against girls ages 15 and younger, and girls ages 15–19 in developing countries are at a particularly high risk for physical and sexual violence.

• Around 59 percent of HIV-positive adults in Sub-Saharan Africa—the worst affected region in the world—are women, and 75 percent of infected youth are girls ages 15–24.

This report takes as a starting point that the wellbeing of girls matters, above all, because they are individuals with inalienable human rights. Nearly all countries are now legally bound to respect, protect, and fulfill women’s and girls’ rights as set out in two treaties: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. But in many countries and communities girls and young women still experience discrimination and abuse, and many of the public policy measures introduced to redress these issues are not enforced.

Even beyond the self-evident human rights argument, the wellbeing of girls is vital for societies—and protecting girls’ rights and fostering their opportunities is the right strategy for economic development. The condition of girls ripples out to their families, communities, and countries, and echoes into future generations in particular and profound ways.

Compelling data show that key future social and economic outcomes depend heavily on the condition of adolescent girls today—not only their access to education, which has become a well accepted (albeit still unfulfilled) part of the development agenda, but many other aspects of their welfare. In this way improving the lives of girls today is fully aligned with the agendas for both human rights and economic development.

"Most important, girls matter because they are human beings. Girls have equal rights to human dignity, self-determination, freedom from violence, good health, education, and participation in economic and political life."

We're in.

Comments (0) | by Courtney on July 3

email to a friend | link to this article

email this entry to a friend