Girl’s speak out in Because I am a Girl, Plan International’s report launched in May 2008. The report focuses on girls living in the shadow of war. It describes the situations and responses of girls dealing with the effects of conflict. Plan International’s report draws attention to the fact that progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals is being hampered by lack of investment in girls and young women.
The report carries several testimonies of girls like Christiana, from Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, who was just 14 when captured by rebels in 1998. “I was a virgin and one of the rebels raped me,” she said. “I was then kept as a sex slave for three years.” A decade on, and Christiana now campaigns on behalf of rape victims. “I think that fighting for the rights of girls is very important. It has helped young women like me… to develop pride in themselves.”
Figures in the report reveal that:
- 38 countries have used girl soldiers in armed conflict in the last two decades
- 200 million girls live in countries that are at risk of, in the midst of, or emerging from, armed conflict
- 90 percent of victims of modern warfare are civilians, mainly women and children
- About 20 million girls are out of school in war zones
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions