Agency and Empowerment for Adolescent Girls: An Intentional Approach to Policy and Programming
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2021.1071Keywords:
adolescent girls, gender equality, empowerment, participationAbstract
As national governments roll out COVID response plans, an opportunity arises to re-cast adolescent girls’ programs to centrally anchor them on girls’ voices, leadership, ambitions, and assets in development policies and programs. Drawing together the evidence on what we know works for adolescent girls, as well as the growing literature on positive strengths-based programming which are gradually and increasingly being applied, this commentary calls for a girl-intentional approach to policy and programming. A girl-intentional approach is described through 3 case studies, which illustrate the additionality of new or improved adolescent knowledge, skills, and competencies; improved opportunities for adolescent engagement, voice, and agency; improved community safety and support; stronger, healthier relationships; and stronger and healthier norms, attitudes, values, and goals. The case studies describe program hooks that facilitate operationalization, point to measurable outcomes, and identify opportunities for scale, including the re-opening of schools. Overall, inter-sectoral solutions that address the myriad of issues affecting an adolescent girl’s life and tackle pervasive gender inequities require greater emphasis by development actors and national governments.
References
Austrian, K., Soler-Hampejsek, E., Mumah, J., Kangwana, B., Wado, Y., Abuya, B., Shah, V., & Maluccio, J. 2018. Adolescent girls initiative-Kenya: Midline results report. Nairobi: Population Council.
Banati, P., & Camilletti, E. (2018, October 3). Three windows of opportunity: Using science to inform programming for adolescents and young people. UNICEF Evidence for Action. https://blogs.unicef.org/evidence-for-action/three-windows-of-opportunity-for-adolescents/
Banati, P., Jones, N., & Youssef, S. (2020). Intersecting vulnerabilities: The impacts of COVID-19 on the psycho-emotional lives of young people in low-and middle-income countries. The European Journal of Development Research, 32, 1613-1638. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00325-5
Banati, P., & Lansford, J. E. (2018). Introduction: Adolescence in a global context. In P. Banati & J. E. Lansford (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent development research and its impact on global policy, (pp. 1-26). https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/AdolescentHandbook.pdf
Bashi, G., Martelotte, L., Modungwa, B., & Olmos, M. E. (2018). Young feminists’ creative strategies to challenge the status quo: A view from FRIDA. Gender & Development, 26, 439-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2018.1526464
Byanyima, W., Azoulay, A., Kanem, N., Fore, H., & Mlambo-Ngcuka, P. (2020). Why we’re uniting in support of African girl leaders to beat AIDS & shift power. http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/10/uniting-support-african-girl-leaders-beat-aids-shift-power/
Camilletti, E. (2018). Realizing an enabling environment for adolescent well-being: An inventory of laws and policies for adolescents in South Asia. UNICEF Office of Research–Innocenti. https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/WP%20camilletti%209.pdf
Carrico, A. R., Donato, K. M., Best, K. B., & Gilligan, J. (2020). Extreme weather and marriage among girls and women in Bangladesh. Global Environmental Change, 65, Article 102160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102160
Catalano, R. F., Skinner, M. L., Alvarado, G., Kapungu, C., Reavley, N., Patton, G. C., Jessee, C., Plaut, D., Moss, C., Bennett, K., Sawyer, S. M., Sebany, M., Sexton, M., Olenick, C., & Petroni, S. (2019). Positive youth development programs in low-and middle-income countries: A conceptual framework and systematic review of efficacy. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(1), 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.01.024
Chandra-Mouli, V., Lane, C., & Wong, S. (2015). What does not work in adolescent sexual and reproductive health: A review of evidence on interventions commonly accepted as best practices. Global Health: Science and Practice, 3(3), 333-340. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-15-00126
Das, J. K., Salam, R. A., Lassi, Z. S., Khan, M. N., Mahmood, W., Patel, V., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2016). Interventions for adolescent mental health: An overview of systematic reviews. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(4), S49-S60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.020 health.2016.06.020
Ellsberg, M., A. Vyas, A., Madrid, B., Quintanilla, M. Zelaya, J., & Stöckl, H. (2017). Violence against adolescent girls: Falling through the cracks? Background paper. (Ending Violence in Childhood Global Report 2017). Know Violence in Childhood. https://globalwomensinstitute.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs1356/f/downloads/Falling%20through%20the%20Cracks_Background%20Paper%20(1).pdf
Gentilini, U., Almenfi, M., Orton, I., & Dale, P. (2020). Social protection and jobs responses to COVID-19: A real-time review of country measures. World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/33635
Gharabaghi, K., & Anderson-Nathe, B. (2018). Children and youth in the era of climate change, Child & Youth Services, 39(4), 207-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2018.1557882
Harper, C., Jones, N., Marcus, R., Bantebya, G. K., & Ghimire, A. (2018). Empowering adolescent girls in developing countries: Gender justice and norm change. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180250
International Labour Organization. (2010). Vulnerable employment and poverty on the rise, Interview with ILO chief of employment trends unit. https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/mission-and-objectives/features/WCMS_120470/lang--en/index.htm%20OR%20https://esa.un.org/unmigration/documents/retreat/UN%20WOMEN_Indicator_vulnerable_employment.pdf
Jones, N., Devonald, M., & Guglielmi, S. (2019). Leave no adolescent behind: The gender- and age-specific vulnerabilities of adolescent refugees and IDPs (Policy note).Gender and Adolescence Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/leave-no-adolescent-behind-the-gender-and-age-specific-vulnerabilities-of-adolescent-refugees-and-idps/
Jones, N., Małachowska, A., Guglielmi, S., Alam, F., Abu Hamad, B., Alheiwidi, S., & Yadete, W. (2020). ‘I have nothing to feed my family . . . ’: Covid-19 risk pathways for adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries (Report). Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/i-have-nothing-to-feed-my-family-covid-19-risk-pathways-for-adolescent-girls-in-low-and-middle-income-countries/
Jones N., Presler-Marshall, E., & Lunin, L. (2018, June). Accelerating adolescent girls’ education and empowerment: A call for action to the G7 (Policy Brief). Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/accelerating-adolescent-girls-education-and-empowerment-call-action-g7/
Kennedy, E., Binder, G., Humphries-Waa, K., Tidhar, T., Cini, K., Comrie-Thomson, L., Vaughan, C., Francis, K., Scott, N., Wulan, N., Patton, G., & Azzopardi, P. (2020). Gender inequalities in health and wellbeing across the first two decades of life: an analysis of 40 low-income and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Lancet Global Health, 8(12), e1473-e1488. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30354-5
Kerr-Wilson, A., Gibbs, A., McAslan Fraser E., Ramsoomar, L., Parke, A., Khuwaja, H. M. A., & Jewkes, R. (2020). A rigorous global evidence review of interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. WhatWorks to Prevent Violence. https://www.whatworks.co.za/documents/publications/374-evidence-reviewfweb/file
Lassi, Z. S., Moin, A., Das, J. K., Salam, R. A., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2017). Systematic review on evidence‐based adolescent nutrition interventions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1393(1), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13335
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Gestsdottir, S., Naudeau, S., Jelicic, H., Alberts, A., Ma, L., Smith, L. M., Bobek, D. L., Richman-Raphael, D., Simpson, I., Christiansen, E. D., & von Eye, A. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions of fifth-grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4 H study of positive youth development. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 17-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604272461
Majeed, H., & Lee, J. (2017). The impact of climate change on youth depression and mental health. The Lancet Planetary Health, 1(3), e94-e95. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30045-1
Małachowska, A., Al Abbadi, T., Al Amaireh, W., Banioweda, K., Al Heiwidi, S., & Jones, N. (2020, May). Listening to young people’s voices under COVID-19. Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on adolescents in Jordan’s refugee camps and host communities (Policy Brief). Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Exploring-the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-adolescents-in-Jordan%E2%80%99s-refugee-camps-and-host-communities-1.pdf
Malhotra, A., Warner, A., McGonagle, A., & Lee-Rife, S. (2011). Solutions to end child marriage: Summary of the evidence. International Center for Research on Women. https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/19967_ICRW-Solutions001-pdf.pdf
Petroni, S., Das, M., & Sawyer, S. M. (2019). Protection versus rights: Age of marriage versus age of sexual consent. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(4), 274-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30336-5
Population Council. (2020). BALIKA (Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents). https://www.popcouncil.org/research/balika-bangladeshi-association-for-life-skills-income-and-knowledge-for-ado
Shrestha, S., & Wærdahl, R. (2020). Girls' access to adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health services in Kaski, Nepal. Asia & The Pacific Policy Studies, 2020(7), 278-292. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.305
Simac, J., Marcus, R., & Harper, C. (2019). Does non-formal education have lasting effects?. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2019.1669011
Temin, M., & Heck, T. (2020). Close to home: Evidence on the impact of community-based girl groups. Global Health: Science and Practice, 8(2), 300-324. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00015
UN Women. (2017). Report of the expert group meeting on the CSW 62 priority theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. https://www.unwomen.org//media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/62/egm/expert%20group%20report_revised_final.pdf?la=en&vs=2252
UN Women. (2020a). About generation equality. https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/beijing-plus-25/about
UN Women. (2020b). COVID-19 and violence against women and girls: Addressing the shadow pandemic (Policy Brief No. 17). https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-covid-19-and-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&vs=640
UNAIDS (2020). Seizing the moment. Tackling entrenched inequalities to end epidemics. https://aids2020.unaids.org/report/
UNESCO. (2014). Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all (EFA Global Education Monitoring Report). https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2014/teaching-and-learning-achieving-quality-all
UNFPA & UNICEF. (2020). Adapting to COVID-19: Pivoting the UNFPA–UNICEF global programme to end child marriage to respond to the pandemic. https://www.unfpa.org/resources/adapting-covid-19-pivoting-unfpa%E2%80%93unicef-global-programme-end-child-marriage-respond
UNICEF. (2020). COVID-19 - GBV risks to adolescent girls and interventions to protect and empower them. https://www.unicef.org/media/68706/file/COVID-19-GBV-risks-to-adolescent-girls-and-interventions-to-protect-them-2020.pdf
UNICEF & Population Council Institute. (2020). Are more people adopting COVID-19 prevention measures? (COVID-19 Research Results Brief #2). UNICEF and Population Council. https://doi.org/10.31899/pgy15.1064
UNICEF, UN Women, & Plan International. (2020). A new era for girls. https://www.unicef.org/reports/new-era-for-girls-2020
World Health Organization. (2017). Global accelerated action for the health of adolescents (AA-HA!): Guidance to support country implementation. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/255415/9789241512343-eng.pdf?sequence=1
World Health Organization. (2018). WHO recommendations on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/275374/9789241514606-eng.pdf
Wodon, Q., Male, C., Nayihouba, A., Onagoruwa, A., Savadogo, A., Yedan, A., Edmeades, J., Kes, A., John, N., Murithi, L., Steinhaus, M., & Petroni, S. (2017). Economic impacts of child marriage: Global synthesis report. The World Bank and International Center for Research on Women. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/530891498511398503/pdf/116829-WP-P151842-PUBLIC-EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27.pdf
Woldeyesus, E. K., Domingo, P., & Bekele, B. (2018). Policy and legal analysis notes: A review of the strategic plan for a multisectoral response to violence against women and children in Ethiopia (Policy Note). Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/policy-and-legal-analysis-notes-ethiopia/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.