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Reaching the Girls Left Behind: Investing in Adolescent Girls in Uganda

Reaching the Girls Left Behind: Investing in Adolescent Girls in Uganda. Presenter: Forum: Date:. Who are the most vulnerable girls?. Girls (10-14) who are not in school and not living with either parent

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Reaching the Girls Left Behind: Investing in Adolescent Girls in Uganda

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  1. Reaching the Girls Left Behind: Investing in Adolescent Girls in Uganda Presenter: Forum: Date:

  2. Who are the most vulnerable girls? • Girls (10-14) who are not in school and not living with either parent • Girls (10-14) living with neither parent or living with only one parent (usually with their mother) • Girls who are not in school, not at grade for age, or otherwise at risk for leaving school • Married girls (10-19) • Girls living in districts where a significant proportion of girls are married as children (e.g. 10% under 15; 40% under 18) • Girls living in districts where a high proportion of first sex is forced or tricked (e.g. over 10%) • Girls living in districts with high rates of HIV or other serious illness—putting them at risk of disease; having to cope with social and economic stressors of disease • Girls in domestic service or in other potentially exploitative work

  3. Policy Context and Legal Framework • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) signatory • Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) signatory • Uganda Poverty Reduction Strategy • Addresses youth as cross-cutting issue; yet girls are not specifically addressed • Education policy aims at increasing girls enrolment in primary, secondary and at the university levels

  4. Who are the most vulnerable girls? • Girls (10-14) who are not in school and not living with either parent • Girls (10-14) living with neither parent or living with only one parent (usually with their mother) • Girls who are not in school, not at grade for age, or otherwise at risk for leaving school • Married girls (10-19) • Girls living in districts where a significant proportion of girls are married as children (e.g. 10% under 15; 40% under 18) • Girls living in districts where a high proportion of first sex is forced or tricked (e.g. over 10%) • Girls living in districts with high rates of HIV or other serious illness—putting them at risk of disease; having to cope with social and economic stressors of disease • Girls in domestic service or in other potentially exploitative work

  5. PHOTO of beneficiaries or program… • All data, graphs and maps are drawn from the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, unless otherwise noted

  6. Where are the girls living, and with whom do they live? • In Uganda, most 10-19 year olds live in rural areas • Girls 10-14: • 89% live in rural areas • Boys 10-14: • 91% live in rural areas • Girls 15-19: • 83% live in rural areas • Boys 15-19: • 86% live in rural areas • 30% of girls, and 26% of boys 10-14 live apart from both their parents • 28% of both girls and boys 10-14 live with only one parent (usually with their mother)

  7. Social isolation among young girls greatly increases their vulnerability to exploitation(Percent of 10-14 year olds not in school and not living with either parent ) • In Uganda, 3% of all girls 10-14 are not in school and not living with either parent; in some regions up to 7% are socially isolated • In general, social isolation increases the vulnerability to exploitation • Girls who are not in school and not living with either parent are at exceptionally high risk of poor health and social outcomes and have less access to social and youth¹ ¹ Bruce, Judith and Kelly Hallman. 2008. "Reaching the girls left behind," Gender and Development 16(2): 227–245 • i

  8. In addition to the educational experience, out-of-school girls lose out on critical social opportunities and friendships with same sex peers(Percent of School Age Girls (6-18) Who are Not in School) • In Uganda, 19% of all school-aged girls are not in school • In both urban and rural regions, girls are more likely than boys to be out of school • Being out of school at 10-14 is a risk factor for child marriage in some settings

  9. School enrollment differs—often drastically—by gender, age and area of residence(Percent enrolled in school) • In Uganda, girls have the lowest school enrollment overall • School drop-out increases among both rural and urban girls around age 12

  10. School Enrollment among 15-19 Year Olds • In Uganda, only 19% of girls 15-19 are attending secondary school or higher • 46% of all girls 15-19 are not in school; girls are more likely than boys to be out of school

  11. Percent of 15 Year Old Girls In Grade 6 or Below • In Uganda, 65% of 15 year old girls are in grade 6 or below • In general, girls who are significantly behind are more likely to be married and have children, engage in sexual activity and less likely to access basic health and other services² • ²Lloyd, Cynthia B. 2004. “Schooling and Adolescent Reproductive Behavior in Developing Countries,” paper commissioned for the United Nations Millennium Project. New York: Population Council.http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/CBLloyd-final.pdf

  12. Child Marriage among 20-24 Year Olds • Marriage under age 18 is considered illegal child marriage according to CRC and CEDAW • In Uganda, 12% of girls are married by 15; 52% of rural and 27% of urban girls are married by 18 • In general, child marriage is often justified by gender norms and economic conditions • What investment there is in girls usually stops at marriage • Married girls are rarely in school and the youngest first time mothers and their children are at particularly high risk of poor outcomes³ ³Haberland, Nicole. 2007. “Supporting Married Girls, Calling Attention to a Neglected Group” Transitions to Adulthood, Brief 3. Population Council

  13. Females 15-24 that have Experienced Forced First Sex • In Uganda, 25% of all 15-24 year old females‘ first sexual experience was forced or tricked; in some regions 37% of girls report experiencing forced sex • Among married 15-24 year olds 30% have experienced forced sex by their spouses • In general, gender based and sexual violence is justified by cultural norms

  14. Illiteracy among Girls (15-24) Married by 15 • In Uganda, illiteracy rates among girls married by 15 are as high as 74%; nationally, 37% of 20-24 year old girls are illiterate • Policy has often given more attention to unmarried girls than to the rights of schooling for married girls

  15. HIV Prevalence and Testing among Females 15-24 Years Old(Percent of females 15-24 who have had an HIV test in the past year) • In general the HIV epidemic is increasingly affecting young, poorer women • In Uganda, HIV prevalence among 15-24 year old females is 3.9% while for men it is 1.3% (3:1 ratio)⁴ • Only 11% of 15-19 year olds and 19% of 20-24 year olds had an HIV test in the past year ⁴Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS: 2008 Uganda http://mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1oxl0a8wtyuy6&shva=1#inbox

  16. Delivery Assistance among 20-24 Year Olds:Assistance Varies by Mother’s Residence • In Uganda 85% of urban 20-24 year olds and only 41% of rural 20-24 year olds received assistance from a health professional at last birth

  17. Our Mission

  18. The Girls We Are Most Interested In, and Why: • Who are they? • What are the conditions and status that most concern the organization?

  19. The Specific Conditions our Program Addresses at the Level of the Girl:

  20. Our Interventions Include: • Input: • Intensity: (How often, how many)

  21. At the Level of Girls We Hope to: • Expected Results at the level of the girls

  22. Resources Needed to Do Our Work

  23. Additional Resources: Bruce, Judith and Erica Chong. 2006. "The diverse universe of adolescents, and the girls and boys left behind: A note on research, program and policy priorities," background paper to the report Public Choices, Private Decisions: Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals. New York: UN Millennium Project.  offsite PDF: www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Bruce_and_Chong-final.pdf Chong, Erica, Kelly Hallman, and Martha Brady.  2006.  Investing When it Counts Generating the evidence base for policies and programmes for very young adolescents. New York : UNFPA and Population Council. http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/InvestingWhenItCounts.pdf Lloyd, Cynthia B. 2004. “Schooling and Adolescent Reproductive Behavior in Developing Countries,” paper commissioned for the United Nations Millennium Project. New York: Population Council.http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/CBLloyd-final.pdf Meyers, Carey. 2000. Adolescent Girls' Livelihoods. Essential Questions, Essential Tools: A Report on a Workshop. New York and Washington, DC: Population Council and the International Center for Research on Women.  www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/adoles.pdf Building Assets for Safe, Productive Lives: A Report on a Workshop on Adolescent Girls' Livelihoods.  www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/BuildingAssets_Oct05.pdf Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood, series of briefs all available at www.popcouncil.org/gfd/TA_Briefs_List.html

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