WUNRN
Plan International
Girls Fare Worse in Disasters
Disasters and conflicts hinder girls’ access
to education - Photo: Cate Heinrich/IRIN
“Men, women, boys and girls experience disasters in different ways.
Pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities will be exacerbated in disasters
and will affect girls and women more,” said Plan International regional
director Gezahegn Kebede at an event for the launch of the report.
“In emergencies, given their gender, age, and humanitarian status [girls]
experience triple disadvantage,” said Kebede. However, education can be a
powerful mitigating tool, and can significantly improve their livelihoods.
The report entitled The State of the World’s Girls 2013: In Double
Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls and Disasters argues that a combination of
political, economic, social and cultural attitudes can lead to discrimination
of girls during disasters.
“Three of the four main categories of rights that are most relevant to
adolescent girls - rights to protection; development through education; and
participation - are also among the lowest priorities and often receive the
least funding in the humanitarian community. This is because these rights are
not seen as immediately life-saving - like food, water and shelter,” the
authors noted.
“In general, when times are tough and there are less household resources for
school fees, school uniforms, then there is a son preference. If families have
to make a choice, they would rather continue education for boys than girls,”
said Plan’s Kebede.
Research conducted by the report’s authors in
“Girls in the developing world tend to draw the short straw in life. They are
intrinsically vulnerable, and face everything from the threat of early marriage
and violence to the simple fact that their parents do not think girls important
enough to go to school,” said Rose Odhiambo, CEO of the Gender and Equality
Commission of Kenya.
More child marriage in emergencies
According to the
“Child marriage often increases in emergencies, for a variety of reasons, some
of which have to do with income for parents,” said Kebede.
Earlier research shows that fear of gender-based violence and pregnancy
out-of-wedlock can motivate families in fragile states to marry-off girls at
very young ages as a protective measure.
"Child marriage often increases in emergencies, for a
variety of reasons, some of which have to do with income for parents"
Girls under 15 are
five times more likely to die in childbirth compared to those that give birth
in their twenties, and those married before the age of 18 were also twice as
likely to be physically abused or threatened by their spouses when compared to
those who married later.
In
Gender-based violence during disasters
Poorly thought-out humanitarian programmes, too, increase the dangers girls
face in disaster situations. “We are all aware of the risk of exacerbated
gender-based violence based on
“Gender-based violence in and around school is a major issue that needs to be
addressed and teachers are often exploiting rather than protecting girls,
according to various studies,” said Elke Wisch, deputy regional director for
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Eastern and South Africa
In fragile countries like Somalia, lax or non-existent regulatory frameworks
coupled with cultural attitudes can increase violence against women and girls.
“The issue in
Education as the solution
“There is overwhelming evidence that girls’ education is a powerful
transformative force for societies and girls themselves,” UNICEF’S Wisch noted.
“It is the one consistent positive determinants of practically every desired
development outcome, from reductions in mortality to poverty reduction and
equitable growth, to enhanced participation and democratization.”
“A girl who has completed her education is less likely to marry and have
children whilst she is still a child herself. She is more likely to be
literate, healthy and survive into adulthood, as are her children,” said
Kebede.
Photo: UNICEF Pakistan/2011/Warrick Page
Needed: Policies to address girls’
vulnerabilities during disasters
But conflict hinders girls’ access to education. Plan International believes
that half of the estimated 57 million primary-school children out of school
reside in countries affected by conflict.
“When we include cyclical or protracted disasters this figure is of course even
higher,” Kebede said.
Research conducted looking at disasters over a 20-year period in 141 countries
shows that boys generally received preferential treatment over girls in rescue efforts.
The use of new technology, as well as innovative partnerships and policies, can
help improve access to education, particularly for girls in disasters.
In
By prioritizing education during emergency responses, disaster situations
provide an opportunity to get more girls into school. “Education in emergencies
provide safe spaces for girls and boys, provide psycho-social support and peer
support spaces and are often used to communicate life-saving messages
throughout the first phases of a disaster,” said Kebede.
The report calls for, among other things, greater gender-disaggregated data to
better inform policy, and specific initiatives to address the vulnerabilities
exacerbated by gender, especially in disaster prevention and response.