Kevin Rudd launches 2011 Because I am a Girl report

The 2011 Because I am a Girl report, titled, â#€#˜#So, What About Boys?â#€#™#

Girls around the world are fighting a losing battle for gender equality unless boys join the cause, says a major global report from Plan, launched in Australia today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd.

The Because I am Girl: The State of the World's Girls report is this year titled So, what about boys?, and reveals that fathers, brothers and husbands have an essential role to play in creating true gender equality throughout the world.

The report shows that far from being an issue just for women and girls, gender is also about boys and men; without involving men and boys more effectively the battle for gender equality cannot be won.

Have a look at our new Because I am a Girl website.

From escaping individual and family poverty to reducing violence, the report also shows how everyone – girls and boys, men and women - can benefit from turning the aspiration of gender equality into reality.

The report highlights that all children, boys and girls, have a better chance in life when their mothers have benefitted from gender equality; educated mothers will be able to support their families both economically and emotionally.

It also cites studies that show young men who adhered to traditional views of manhood were more likely to engage in substance use, violence, delinquency, and unsafe sexual practices.

To make gender equality possible, Plan is calling for a shift in thinking away from boys and men as being part of the problem to boys and men as part of the solution.

The 2011 report highlights the critical role that education about gender equality plays, starting from the earliest years and engaging parents and families throughout a child’s life. It presents clear evidence that to bring about change we need to start at the beginning, in the home, in early childhood programs and continuing at school.The education of boys and girls at all ages and stages is key.

At the launch, Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd highlighted the need to focus on gender equality and girls’ education through the Australian aid program.
 
His comments come after the appointment of Australia's first Global Ambassador for Women and Girls, Penny Williams, in September this year.

"The fact is that lifting women and girls out of poverty drives development – it’s not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do," Mr Rudd said.

"Study after study shows development assistance is more effective when women are central to the aid investment.

"It is simply unacceptable that 70 per cent of the 1.5 billion people living below the poverty line are female."

Chief executive of Plan, Ian Wishart, added: "Plan's work with girls and their communities all over the developing world has demonstrated to us that with even just a small amount of assistance or investment, girls can transform not only their own lives, but the welfare of the entire societies they live in.

"In particular, enabling girls to access an education and gain greater opportunities and life choices has been proven as one of the most effective ways to combat poverty and injustice across the world. 

"While men still hold the levers of power in almost all societies, we have found that they are also set back by gender stereotypes and inequalities that are taught to them at a young age and perpetuated into their adulthood," Mr Wishart said.

The report clearly outlines the important role that men and boys can and should play in ensuring girls grow up in a world that gives them access to their rights.

"Our experience in developing countries clearly shows that addressing gender inequality is a critical first step towards eliminating poverty,” added Mr Wishart. “What’s more, it’s also clear that every nation can benefit by strengthening its commitment to treating boys and girls equally."

The report also includes the results of a survey of more than 4000 children that reveals many young people around the world still hold strong, traditional views about gender roles. Australia’s report launch follows similar events in Canada, Germany, India, Thailand and the UK.

• Ian Wishart, chief executive of Plan International Australia, is available for interviews. Contact details below.

More about this year's report:

Drawing on research and case studies, the report argues that working for equality must involve men and boys both as holders of power and as a group that also suffers the consequences of negative gender stereotypes. It also makes recommendations for action, showing policy makers what can make a real difference to the lives of girls and boys all over the world. For the report, Plan International surveyed more than 4000 12 to 18-year-olds from countries including Rwanda, India, Brazil, Canada and the UK, revealing gender stereotypes that are still deeply entrenched in both boys and girls.

Facts at a glance:

• 70 per cent of the 1.5 billion people living below the poverty line are female.
• There are 75 million girls out of primary and lower secondary school.
• A girl in South Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than finish primary school.
• Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. If they are 15-19, they are twice as likely to die.
• An extra year of secondary school boosts a girl’s eventual future wage by 15 to 25 per cent. Many girls in developing countries don’t make it to secondary school as they are pulled out to help support their mothers and the household, or are forced into marriage.
• Girls from poorer countries and living in a rural area are 16 more times less likely to be in school than a boy from a comfortable household living in a town.
• Every day an estimated 3500 girls in the world's poorest regions will marry before their 15th birthdays.
• 70,000 adolescent mothers die every year in the developing world because young girls are having children before they are physically ready for parenthood.
• 20-50 per cent of girls have experienced violence from a family member.
• Girls are three times more likely to suffer from malnutrition than boys.
• Globally, young women aged 15 to 24 account for 64 per cent of HIV infections among young people.

For more information or to speak to Ian Wishart, contact:

David Cook
Media Officer
Plan International Australia
Mobile: 0448 816 900
Email: David.cook@plan.org.au

Editor's notes:
Because I am a Girl is Plan’s global campaign to fight gender inequality and promote girls’ rights in order to lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.

The campaign is based on an annual series of reports published by Plan International titled Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls. The reports examine the rights and needs of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women – and how they are uniquely placed to break the cycles of intergenerational poverty gripping many people in developing countries.

The series is being produced annually in the run up to 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals. Each report provides tangible proof of the inequalities that still exist between boys and girls and highlight that without greater gender equality none of the MDGs can be achieved.

Twitter: @mediaatplan