A conversation held for the Day of the Girl

On the occasion of the celebration of 10 years of the National Day of Little girlthe organization Plan International Dominican Republic carried out a conversational with a group of Dominican girls and teenagers who talked about how they managed to overcome problems that affect them in their lives and in their communities, such as early unions, teenage pregnancy and violence.

The meeting, supported by the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents, Supérate, the National Council for Children and Adolescents, UNFPA, the Ministry of Women, the Coalition of NGOs for Children, was held at Gallery 360. With this panel called What Means little girl grow up happy and have a future? Plan International kicks off celebrations to mark the Day of Little girl.

The commemoration of this date highlights the special situation of vulnerability faced by girls in the Dominican Republic, reflecting the achievements made as well as the barriers they still face that limit their full development and fulfillment of rights.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the creation of the International Day of Little girlPlan International took the opportunity to present an audiovisual film that summarizes the impact achieved through the celebrations each year on October 11.

The International Day of Little girl it has significantly raised the discourse on issues affecting girls and their rights, as well as awareness of girls and their situation, but much remains to be done.

According to an analysis by Plan International, while there have been some significant victories, progress on girls’ rights over the past 10 years has been too slow, too fragile and too uneven. As a result, countless girls around the world face the same inequalities that their mothers did years ago. Overall, this means that the progress is not transformative and that 2022 looks little different than 2012.

One of the major achievements in terms of gender equality in the last 10 years has been the approval of Act 1-21, which prohibits child marriage because it provides legal protection against certain forms of abuse and harmful cultural practices.

This International Day of Little girl it’s a stark reminder of how much more needs to be done to achieve gender equality. We must go beyond legal recognition of girls’ rights and urgently back up commitments with new and urgent investment so that all girls have a chance to thrive.

Girls who grow up in poverty or face emergencies are less likely to benefit from these advances.

Key factors that suggest underdevelopment of girls throughout their lives include teenage pregnancy, as according to ENHOGAR-MICS 2019, 20% of young women have their first child before the age of 18. These figures rise to 34% among the poorest and 49% among those who complete only primary school. One of the most worrying figures is that 2% of young women have had a child before the age of 15, and situations of abuse, incest and sexual violence can often be hidden under this figure.

In the country, data from the Experimental Survey on the Status of Women (ENESIM, 2018) – which surveyed women and adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age – showed that 65% of adolescent girls surveyed had experienced sexual violence at some point. his life. Similarly, 52% of adolescent girls said they had been sexually assaulted in the past 12 months. Additionally, according to data from the Public Health System for 2020, 72% of registered victims of sexual violence were girls and adolescents.

Messages “To me little girl“

Plan International Dominican Republic, a leading organization in promoting the rights of children, especially girls, invites you to join the actions and activities for the Day of Little girl 2022

To inspire girls and adolescents to see themselves as future leaders and to highlight the importance of role models, Plan International invites them to participate in the “AMiYoNiña” challenge. By writing a post with a message about what you wish you’d heard or known in your teenage years, especially before the age of 16, hopefully by October 11, the Day of Little girlthese messages can be published as a post on social networks using the hashtag #AMiYoNiña and tagging @Plan_RD.