Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008 (In the Shadow of War)

Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008 (In the Shadow of War) is the second in a series of eight reports published by Plan examining the rights of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women. The series will be produced annually in the run up to 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.

The 2008 report, subtitled ‘In the Shadow of War’, examines the state of girls in conflict situations around the world and looks at what happens to them before, during and after war is over. It makes recommendations for change at international, national and local levels. It is aimed at all those who have a duty of care for young women – particularly those in power who have the responsibility to ensure that girls survive, are protected, can realise their potential, and are able to participate in decisions made about their lives.

Nearly every country in the world has agreed that girls should have these rights by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child and yet they continue to be ignored and deprived of their rights on a daily basis, especially, but not only, in conflict situations.

The report is organised in two sections – the first is a comprehensive overview of data and an analysis of why and how girls experience conflict in particular ways due to their age and sex. It includes the voices of many girls. The second section monitors global statistics to see how girls are faring. As well as focusing on a different topic each time, the reports follow a group of 135 girls born in 2007, in different parts of the world, to see how their lives are affected by being young and female.