• The report "Girls and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean from a child and adolescent rights approach with a gender perspective" was presented, carried out within the framework of the Latin Childhood Observatory.
• The study points out the inconsistencies in the data across the countries of the region regarding women who suffered sexual violence in childhood.
• It is imperative to strengthen public policies that make visible and overcome the inequality and discrimination experienced by girls and adolescents.
October 15, 2022. The Latin American Childhood Observatory presented the Regional Report Girls and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean from a child and adolescent rights approach with a gender perspective. This study is part of a series of thematic reports with which Tejiendo Redes Infancia seeks to place the pending agenda on the rights of children and adolescents in the region.
The virtual launch of the presentation took place with the participation of the National Coalitions, the Argentine Committee for Children's Rights (CASACIDN), Argentina; the Network for Children's Rights (REDIM); and the Colombian Alliance for Children, all members of the Tejiendo Redes Infancia (Weaving Childhood Networks) network, with whom we have been promoting the #NiñasPoderosas (Powerful Girls) strategy for years. In 2021, we held the International Seminar as part of the celebrations for October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child.
The launch of the thematic report took place over three days, during which discussions were held on: How to eradicate violence against girls? How to make diverse girls and adolescents visible? and How do early unions affect girls and adolescents? These sessions included the participation of specialists from civil society organizations, international bodies, and empowered girls and adolescents, who presented some of the main concerns in each theme from a regional perspective, exploring the challenges and opportunities for the full exercise of the rights of girls and adolescents, concluding with recommendations for civil society organizations in the region.
Making the situation of girls and adolescents visible in the Latin American and Caribbean region is necessary and an urgent task. While the agenda for gender equality has progressed in some countries, we know that this has not been the case in others, especially due to adult-centrism, which renders girls invisible in public policies aimed at women, and even extends to feminist movements that rarely include girls in the gender agenda.
Even more so now in the face of the new socio-economic and socio-political context in which the SARS COV2 pandemic has placed governments and societies, where there are strong setbacks in women's access to formal jobs, precarious remuneration and an increase in the time they spend on care and domestic work, as well as the increase in partner, family and sexual violence towards women, girls and adolescents.
According to the study, there is no specific information in the region on violence against women in various contexts. For some countries, data exists on women who suffered sexual violence in childhood, with figures below 5% in most cases (UNICEF, 2019). Furthermore, early unions and child marriage increase the likelihood of child and adolescent pregnancy, which also affects the health and physical and emotional development of girls and adolescents, increasing the probability of maternal death, potentially leading to school dropout, and hindering their personal development.
It is imperative to strengthen public policies that underpin a rights-based approach to children and adolescents, incorporating a gender perspective and an intersectional approach through the National Systems for the Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. These perspectives should also serve as a self-referential framework for civil society, academia, and the social and private sectors, as interventions that justify the perpetuation of gender roles and stereotypes, particularly for girls and adolescents, are still observed.
To learn more about this presentation, you can access the videos at:
Day 1 - How to eradicate violence against girls? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLuSvEgVK6A
Day 2 - How to make diverse girls and adolescents visible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIRH4u3Zz4c
Day 3 - How do early unions affect girls and adolescents? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2bI-666WY
The publication is available at:https://infancialatina.org/publicaciones/las-ninas-y-las-adolescentes-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe-desde-un-enfoque-de-derechos-de-la-ninez-y-la-adolescencia-con-perspectiva-de-genero/
