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Articles 31 - 60 of 745

Full-Text Articles in Demography, Population, and Ecology

Delivering Results In Girls' Education: How To Evaluate What Works, What Doesn't, And What We Don't Know, Stephanie Psaki Jan 2019

Delivering Results In Girls' Education: How To Evaluate What Works, What Doesn't, And What We Don't Know, Stephanie Psaki

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Girls around the world face daunting challenges when it comes to enrolling in primary school, completing secondary school, and gaining the basic knowledge and skills they need to be empowered, healthy, and productive adults. Many governments and organizations have risen to meet that challenge through policies and programs designed to remove common barriers to girls’ education. But as the number of actors in this space grows, and resources to address these challenges remain scarce, it is essential to ensure that investments are targeted toward the most effective policies and programs. This brief lays out the basics of program evaluation. The …


Adolescent Girls' Voices On Enhancing Their Own Productivity In Pakistan: Highlights 2019, Iram Kamran, Tahira Parveen, Rehan M. Niazi Jan 2019

Adolescent Girls' Voices On Enhancing Their Own Productivity In Pakistan: Highlights 2019, Iram Kamran, Tahira Parveen, Rehan M. Niazi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Of the 11 million girls aged 15 to 19 years in Pakistan, nearly half (47 percent) are “not in education, employment, or marriage” (NEEM). This brief presents highlights from a qualitative study conducted in Punjab province of Pakistan to probe the lives, perspectives, and aspirations of NEEM girls regarding education and involvement in economic activity and identify locally acceptable ways in which their lives may be positively transformed through access to education and safe and fair work opportunities.


« More Than Brides Alliance (Mtba) » : Rapport D’Évaluation À Mi-Parcours Au Mali Et Au Niger, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin Jan 2019

« More Than Brides Alliance (Mtba) » : Rapport D’Évaluation À Mi-Parcours Au Mali Et Au Niger, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

L’Alliance « Plus qu’une épouse » (More Than Brides Alliance—MTBA) a été formée, rassemblant les forces d’une équipe diversifiée, compétente pour la mise en œuvre et la recherche de programmes destinés aux adolescents. Le volet recherche de l’Alliance MTBA vise à fournir des preuves et des connaissances sur ce qui fonctionne pour retarder le mariage des enfants en Inde, au Malawi, au Mali, au Niger et au Pakistan en évaluant le programme d’intervention de l’Alliance MTBA et en examinant les facteurs spécifiques du mariage des enfants dans chaque contexte. Dans ce rapport, nous visons à évaluer les succès du programme …


The Girl Roster: A Practical Tool For Strengthening Girl-Centered Programming, Population Council Jan 2019

The Girl Roster: A Practical Tool For Strengthening Girl-Centered Programming, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief describes the Girl RosterTM, a practical tool designed by the Population Council to help practitioners understand their program areas and elicit foundational information to intentionally link girls—especially highly marginalized adolescent girls—to the vital resources, facilities, and services to which they are entitled but often have limited or no access. The tool is a user-friendly, efficient, and cost-effective way to collect program-relevant information about girls in a community, using a mobile phone–based questionnaire (or, where resources do not permit, paper and pencil). The tool enables users to see a fuller view of girls’ lived realities in defined …


Examining Early Marriage In India: Qualitative Findings, Neelanjana Pandey, Komal Saxena, Andrea J. Melnikas Jan 2019

Examining Early Marriage In India: Qualitative Findings, Neelanjana Pandey, Komal Saxena, Andrea J. Melnikas

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA) implements the “Marriage: No Child’s Play” program (2016–20) in India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. The MTBA is a holistic program that addresses early marriage through multiple strategies, including: sexual and reproductive health and rights, livelihoods, education, and prevalent community social norms around marriage. Furthermore, the program operates at multiple levels (girl, family, community, block, and district) to address individual, familial, and structural barriers to reducing child marriage in these communities. This report first looks at the legal environment in which programs operate by examining participants’ awareness of laws, acts, and programs related to …


More Than A Backdrop: Understanding The Role Of Communities In Programming For Adolescent Girls—Action Guide, Sarah Blake, Miriam Temin Jan 2019

More Than A Backdrop: Understanding The Role Of Communities In Programming For Adolescent Girls—Action Guide, Sarah Blake, Miriam Temin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The structural and social features of a girl’s community play a critical role in determining what effects programs for adolescent girls can achieve. Girls’ communities include both the physical spaces girls must navigate and adults and peers who shape their beliefs about marriage, work, and education. This action guide focuses on key questions to ask when designing programs: How many girls live in a given community? Is the community urban, peri-urban, or rural? Is it formal or informal? How stable or cohesive is a community? Who is considered a “community member”? What resources exist for girls in the community, and …


Accelerating Action To End Child Marriage In Bangladesh—Project Brief, Population Council Jan 2019

Accelerating Action To End Child Marriage In Bangladesh—Project Brief, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Bangladesh ranks among the five countries with the highest rate of child marriage in the world. Community norms and values are among the underlying factors that support the practice of child marriage in Bangladesh. The Population Council is partnering with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to delay marriage as part of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage. This program is being implemented to generate evidence on reduction of child marriage through an adolescent skills-building program. The project works to empower girls with life-skills and livelihood and gender-awareness trainings, as well as engaging communities …


Climate, Population, And Vulnerability In Pakistan: Exploring Evidence Of Linkages For Adaptation, G.M. Arif, Muhammad Riaz, Nadeem Faisal, Mohammad Jamal Khan Khattak, Zeba Sathar, Muhammad Khalil, Maqsood Sadiq, Sabahat Hussain, Kiren Khan Jan 2019

Climate, Population, And Vulnerability In Pakistan: Exploring Evidence Of Linkages For Adaptation, G.M. Arif, Muhammad Riaz, Nadeem Faisal, Mohammad Jamal Khan Khattak, Zeba Sathar, Muhammad Khalil, Maqsood Sadiq, Sabahat Hussain, Kiren Khan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The global discussion of climate change and its impacts and causes has changed completely in the past quarter century. Scientific opinion now accepts that rapid warming is occurring and that greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted as a result of human activities are largely to blame. The consequences of taking no action will be catastrophic. Unfortunately, the burden of impact will fall disproportionately on the poor and most vulnerable people who rely heavily on agriculture in countries where average temperatures are already high. Climate change is particularly harmful because it increasingly threatens food security in these countries. Pakistan is one of the …


More Than Brides Alliance: Midline Evaluation Report, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Santosh Kumar Singh, James Mkandawire, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin Jan 2019

More Than Brides Alliance: Midline Evaluation Report, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Santosh Kumar Singh, James Mkandawire, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The More than Brides Alliance (MTBA) was formed to bringing together the strengths of a diverse team skilled in adolescent program implementation and research. The goal of the research presented in this report is to promote an evidence-based programmatic approach to delaying marriage in India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan by gathering detailed quantitative and qualitative information from the program areas over time to examine the impact of the present intervention and inform future strategies. This report highlights data from the midline survey on a set of outcomes approximately midway through the MTBA intervention and compares them with the same …


Insights And Evidence Gaps In Girl-Centered Programming: A Systematic Review, Nicole Haberland, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady Jan 2018

Insights And Evidence Gaps In Girl-Centered Programming: A Systematic Review, Nicole Haberland, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Increased attention to the needs of adolescent girls has led to a growing number of programs in low- and middle-income countries. Questions remain, however, about what aspects of program design are most effective. This hinders efforts to effectively allocate resources, scale up programs, and replicate results across settings. This review looks at how the number of program components, involvement of supporting actors who influence the lives of girls, supplemental “booster” activities, intervention exposure level, and community saturation level influenced outcomes for girls. While findings suggest the importance of multicomponent programs and longer program exposure, each area requires further rigorous research …


Delivering Impact For Adolescent Girls: Emerging Findings From Population Council Research, Population Council Jan 2018

Delivering Impact For Adolescent Girls: Emerging Findings From Population Council Research, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite numerous global commitments to invest in improving the lives of adolescent girls, questions remain as to what package of interventions can deliver the best outcomes. This report synthesizes findings from nine recent Population Council impact evaluations, conducted around the world, which indicate that empowerment and asset-building interventions for adolescent girls can improve education, health, economic, social capital, gender-equitable attitude, and violence outcomes for girls. The report includes implications for programs and investment, and identifies open questions for further research and evaluation.


Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (Imagen): Adapting The Girl Roster™ For Lakota Communities, Kelly Hallman, Stephanie Martinez Jan 2018

Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (Imagen): Adapting The Girl Roster™ For Lakota Communities, Kelly Hallman, Stephanie Martinez

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief reports on a first-of-a-kind meeting between the Population Council’s GIRLCenter and organizations such as the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society (WBCWS) that work locally with Native American communities to understand the specific needs of adolescent girls in Indian Country. This followed an inaugural meeting of the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) with its wealth of insight concerning the needs of the Native communities they serve, and the GIRL Center’s myriad programmatic tools and resources that have been tried and tested in global settings for several decades. The IMAGEN Approach is an adaptable process that links these two …


Girlsread! Girls’ Rights: An Empowerment Curriculum, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Nicole Haberland, Barbara Mensch, Pamela Nyirenda, Diana Bulanda-Shalala Jan 2018

Girlsread! Girls’ Rights: An Empowerment Curriculum, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Nicole Haberland, Barbara Mensch, Pamela Nyirenda, Diana Bulanda-Shalala

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This curriculum guide is designed to help female mentors in the GirlsRead! program in Zambia to directly engage girls in critical thinking about gender inequalities and discrimination, and help them build the assets and confidence needed to act on their own behalf and as progressive voices in their communities. GirlsRead! participants are girls in grade 7—the last year of primary school—when they are at high risk of leaving school. The curriculum includes 19 sessions that cover a range of topics from gender equality to sexuality to rights, in meetings that provide a space and opportunity for girls to regularly interact …


A Study Of Employment Outcomes Among Technical And Vocational Secondary Education Graduates In Egypt [Arabic], Salma Nasser, Ali Rashed Jan 2018

A Study Of Employment Outcomes Among Technical And Vocational Secondary Education Graduates In Egypt [Arabic], Salma Nasser, Ali Rashed

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In Egypt, some 450,000 students graduate from technical and vocational schools each year. Yet just over 50 percent are employed immediately following their graduation. This brief explores the kinds of jobs that are available to these graduates, and the factors that affect the remaining 50 percent who do not join the work force. The report aims to understand the types of training that best prepare students for the available jobs, differences in opportunities for male and female graduates, and connections between work and the home and/or community circumstances that may hinder employment. The report offers recommendations for improving the education …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Endline Results—Executive Summary, Population Council Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Endline Results—Executive Summary, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescent girls in Zambia face a range of risks and vulnerabilities that challenge their healthy development from girls into young women, and they often lack the social, health, and economic assets that are necessary to mitigate these risks. The issues that confront vulnerable girls—high rates of gender-based violence, unsafe sex that puts girls at risk for unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections, school dropout, lack of economic resources and income-generating options, and lack of agency and participation—are interdependent and have similar causes. The vulnerabilities confronting Zambian adolescent girls formed the basis for designing the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), which 1) …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Financial Literacy And Savings—Two-Year Follow-Up, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Financial Literacy And Savings—Two-Year Follow-Up, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Through the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), the Population Council and partners implemented a social, health, and economic asset-building program in Zambia for over 11,000 vulnerable adolescent girls aged 10–19 years. The AGEP intervention was comprised of three major components: 1) weekly safe spaces groups in which girls met once a week for two years for training on sexual and reproductive health, life skills, and financial education; 2) a health voucher that girls could use at contracted private and public facilities for general wellness and sexual and reproductive health services; and 3) a savings account that was designed by the …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) intervention was conducted over two years to support more than 11,000 vulnerable adolescent girls in Zambia. It was led by the Population Council in partnership with the Young Women’s Christian Association of Zambia (YWCA), the National Savings and Credit Bank of Zambia (Natsave), and the Government of Zambia. To assess the impact of AGEP on mediating and longer-term demographic, reproductive, and health outcomes, Population Council researchers designed and implemented a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial across all program areas. This brief presents the final AGEP findings, highlighting, in the Zambian context, what can be …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Nutrition, Paul C. Hewett, Amanda L. Willig, Jean Digitale, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Jere R. Behrman, Karen Austrian Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Nutrition, Paul C. Hewett, Amanda L. Willig, Jean Digitale, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Jere R. Behrman, Karen Austrian

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescence is a critical period in the lives of young people and potentially a time to reap lasting benefits from interventions that improve general, sexual, nutritional, and maternal and child health. The government of Zambia is committed to improving the nutritional status of adolescents and pregnant women and their children. Nonetheless, adolescent girls in Zambia remain at risk for macro- and micro-nutrient deficiencies that have deleterious effects on growth, development, and maternal and child health. The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) nutritional curriculum, developed in partnership with PATH, was tailored to provide age-appropriate information and covered six sessions on nutrition. …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Programme: Endline Technical Report, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Paul C. Hewett, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Jere R. Behrman Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Programme: Endline Technical Report, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Paul C. Hewett, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Jere R. Behrman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The theory of change behind the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) posited that adolescent girls are empowered by building social, health, and economic assets that they can then draw on to reduce vulnerabilities and expand opportunities. In the long term, they will then increase their likelihood of completing school, delaying sexual debut, and reducing risks of early marriages, unintended pregnancies, acquisition of HIV, and other possibly detrimental outcomes. This endline report indicates that, while there were some changes for the program participants in the medium and long term, they did not translate into longer-term effects on reproductive and demographic outcomes …


Climate Change, Resilience, And Population Dynamics In Pakistan: A Case Study Of The 2010 Floods In Mianwali District, Zeba Sathar, Muhammad Khalil, Sabahat Hussain, Maqsood Sadiq, Kiren Khan Jan 2018

Climate Change, Resilience, And Population Dynamics In Pakistan: A Case Study Of The 2010 Floods In Mianwali District, Zeba Sathar, Muhammad Khalil, Sabahat Hussain, Maqsood Sadiq, Kiren Khan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In 2010, Pakistan experienced massive flooding that went on uninterrupted for more than eight weeks, and seriously affected more than 20 million people. This study explores the effects of the floods on one of the most adversely affected districts, Mianwali, in Punjab province. The study focuses on four areas pertaining to resilience: movements and migration processes; shifts in poverty levels and living conditions; changes in livelihood activities; and health-seeking behavior, particularly fertility-related processes. This study highlights the need to include demographic and health information in the analysis of natural disasters. The report marks the beginning of a research agenda that …


Marriage And Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Rohingya Adolescents And Youth In Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study, Sigma Ainul, Iqbal Ehsan, Eashita Haque, Sajeda Amin, Ubaidur Rob, Andrea J. Melnikas, Joseph Falcone Jan 2018

Marriage And Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Rohingya Adolescents And Youth In Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study, Sigma Ainul, Iqbal Ehsan, Eashita Haque, Sajeda Amin, Ubaidur Rob, Andrea J. Melnikas, Joseph Falcone

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This qualitative study focuses specifically on displaced Rohingya adolescents and youth (ages 14–24) and explores how the crisis has impacted their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), marriage practices, safety and security, and related attitudes and aspirations. This research aims to identify approaches to improve adolescents’ knowledge of SRH issues and their access to and uptake of services, and to identify gaps in programming knowledge and practice. Findings from this formative research and recommended actions will help the Government of Bangladesh, donors, and other relevant stakeholders to mobilize resources and deliver SRH services in a more organized and efficient way and …


Pedaleando Hacia El Futuro: Una Oportunidad Para Incrementar Y Mantener La Asistencia Escolar De Niñas Adolescentes Encomunidades Indígeneas Del Árearural En Guatemala, Paola Broll Jan 2018

Pedaleando Hacia El Futuro: Una Oportunidad Para Incrementar Y Mantener La Asistencia Escolar De Niñas Adolescentes Encomunidades Indígeneas Del Árearural En Guatemala, Paola Broll

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Population Council Guatemala, con el apoyo de UNFPA y otros donantes, desarrolló la estrategia de expansión y escala de Abriendo Oportunidades (AO) a través de conglomerados geográficos con abordaje ecológico. La provisión de 250 bicicletas fue un componente adicional de AO para probar su efectividad en el aumento de movilidad y la asistencia escolar en cuatro municipios guatemaltecos. Este reporte describe como el proyecto fue exitoso en el aumento de la movilidad, reinserción, y finalización del ciclo escolar 2017 de sus participantes. Los resultados muestran como la dotación de las bicicletas incrementó en 24% la reinserción escolar del ciclo 2016 …


Pedaling Toward The Future: Increasing And Maintaining The School Attendance Of Adolescent Girls In Indigenous Communities Of Rural Guatemala, Paola Broll Jan 2018

Pedaling Toward The Future: Increasing And Maintaining The School Attendance Of Adolescent Girls In Indigenous Communities Of Rural Guatemala, Paola Broll

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Population Council Guatemala, with the support of UNFPA and other donors, developed a strategy of expansion and scale up of Abriendo Oportunidades (AO) through geographic conglomerates with an ecological approach. They provided 250 bicycles as an additional component of AO to assess its effectiveness in increasing mobility and school attendance in four municipalities in Guatemala. This brief describes how the project was successful in increasing mobility, reinsertion, and completion of the 2017 school year among its participants. Results show that the provision of bicycles to adolescents participating in the Abriendo Oportunidades program increased school reintegration from the 2016 cycle to …


Skill Retention After School-Leaving: Analysis Of Data From The Malawi Schooling And Adolescent Study, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Barbara Mensch, Stephanie Psaki, Monica J. Grant, Christine A. Kelly, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2018

Skill Retention After School-Leaving: Analysis Of Data From The Malawi Schooling And Adolescent Study, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Barbara Mensch, Stephanie Psaki, Monica J. Grant, Christine A. Kelly, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The skills young people develop in school provide an essential foundation that can either be reinforced or deteriorate depending on the strength of the foundation and opportunities after leaving school. This brief describes findings from an analysis of a longitudinal data set of Malawian adolescents aged 14–17 attending school when first interviewed in 2007. The study investigated whether literacy and numeracy skills at school-leaving—among those who dropped out before completing secondary school—were retained several years after. Results show a significant gender difference in skill level after school-leaving for English skills, even after controlling for initial skill level and grade attainment, …


Community-Level Assessment Of Droughts In Odisha: Effects, Resilience, And Implications, Sangram Kishor Patel Jan 2018

Community-Level Assessment Of Droughts In Odisha: Effects, Resilience, And Implications, Sangram Kishor Patel

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

India has been severely affected by drought—one-third of the country is either drought-prone or classified as desert. Odisha’s geographic location makes it vulnerable to various natural disasters and climatic risks so the Population Council conducted a study there to explore the impact of drought on people and their resilience, as well as examine the perceptions of state-level infrastructure and institutional initiatives to strengthen responses to droughts. The study found that farmers, laborers, and the poor are severely affected physically, financially, and psychologically as a result of consecutive droughts that have affected agriculture and livelihoods. The report notes a number of …


Community-Level Assessment Of Floods And Cyclones In Coastal Odisha, India: Impact, Resilience, And Implications, Sangram Kishor Patel Jan 2018

Community-Level Assessment Of Floods And Cyclones In Coastal Odisha, India: Impact, Resilience, And Implications, Sangram Kishor Patel

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

India is among the countries that have been severely affected by both floods and cyclones. In 2012, the Government of India estimated that nearly 12 percent of India’s land is prone to floods and river erosion. The Population Council conducted formative research in the state of Odisha to explore the people’s perceptions on impact and resilience to cyclones and floods, and to examine the state-level infrastructure and institutional initiatives to strengthen responses to these events. Findings reported in this brief indicate that flooding and cyclones have had a disproportionate affect on vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and disabled …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep), Population Council Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep), Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

For Zambian girls, social isolation, economic vulnerability, and lack of appropriate health information and services are critical problems that prevent a healthy transition from girlhood to womanhood. The challenges that girls are confronted with—high rates of gender-based violence, unsafe sex that puts them at risk for unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection, school dropout, lack of economic resources and income-generating options, lack of agency and participation—are linked together through their root causes. Through the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), the Population Council and partners implemented a social, health, and economic asset-building program for vulnerable adolescent girls in Zambia. This brief summarizes …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Sexual And Gender-Based Violence, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Sexual And Gender-Based Violence, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Acceptability and experience of sexual and gender-based violence is alarmingly high among adolescent girls in Zambia. Even more striking is the very young age from which notions of violence are ingrained and experience with violence begins. This brief summarizes the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) evaluation which demonstrated that in the Zambian context, a program focused on changing norms among girls themselves is not enough to impact attitudes toward and experience of violence. Social and cultural norms are shaped by households, schools, communities, and all of the adults that girls interact with in these places—even the mentors of their own …


Child Domestic Work And Transitions To Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Evidence From Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar Jan 2018

Child Domestic Work And Transitions To Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Evidence From Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

There are an estimated 17.2 million child domestic workers in the world, and the vast majority are girls. Domestic work keeps children out of school, confined to the home, socially isolated, and burdened with excessive domestic duties. Furthermore, evidence is emerging that domestic work is a feeder profession for sex work. In 2015–16, the Population Council undertook a study of migrant, out-of-school girls in Ethiopia. The domestic work conditions described in this brief create unbearable conditions for girls who enter into commercial sex work as an alternative, hoping for an improvement in their work situation. The study found that a …


Forced Child Unions: From Legal Reform To Social Disruption—Formative Research In Five Communities In Chisec, Alta Verapaz, Paola Broll, Cecilia Garcés Jan 2018

Forced Child Unions: From Legal Reform To Social Disruption—Formative Research In Five Communities In Chisec, Alta Verapaz, Paola Broll, Cecilia Garcés

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Evidence has shown that child early and forced marriage/unions (CEFM/U) are harmful to the rights and development of girls and adolescents. It has also shown that increasing the minimum marriage age is not enough to eradicate this phenomenon because of the underlying practices of social institutions at the community level. This report details an investigation undertaken when a modification to the Civil Code was approved, then modified, in order to increase the minimum age of marriage in Guatemala. The investigation aimed to identify the norms, practices, and attitudes prevailing in the school, family, religion, government, and economy with regard to …