Groundbreaking research from Plan International that has documented girls over 18 years from birth
reveals that globally, girls’ lives have improved over the past two decades but these gains are now
at risk from the next wave of challenges approaching.
From the alarming anti-women’s rights backlash, better funded and gaining more political traction
than ever before,to restrictive sexual and reproductive health policies, widespread gender-based
violence and the devastating impact of global aid cuts, gender equality is at a crossroads and the
moment for action is now. Plan International Australia is calling for the world to push back against
these threats and demand accountability, responsibility and action for adolescent girls and women.
Released today on International Women’s Day, the Real Choices, Real Lives study found that
adolescence is a tipping point for girls’ equality, when gender norms tighten, freedoms shrink and
inequalities grow. It is at this point that girls are often expected to protect themselves from
harassment or assault, limit their movements, take on more household responsibilities and in many
cases, sacrifice their education to support their families’ livelihoods, all while facing rising risks of
violence, early pregnancy and marriage.
The first and only qualitative study to have followed a single group of girls for so long, the research
tracked the lives of 142 girls over 18 years, following the same cohort from birth to adulthood across
nine mostly low-income countries. It documented their experiences of and reflections on growing up
in Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Philippines, Togo, Uganda
and Vietnam.
It showed significant intergenerational progress across a wide range of indicators. With improved
access to education, girls are dreaming bigger and new laws protecting them from child marriage
means they have broader choices in shaping their futures. By 2024, nearly two-thirds of the girls
were completing or had completed secondary education and 9% had moved on to university, far
outstripping the educational levels of their mothers, most of whom had only primary schooling or
none at all.
Fewer girls were married as children than the previous generation, with just over one in ten married
or in unions by age 18, compared to almost 50% of their mothers. “My hopes for tomorrow are to participant from Benin, aged 16 at the time.
But the barriers remain and they are severe: an alarming 91% of the girls in the study experienced
violence by the age of 11. Normalisation of violence affects girls’ confidence, relationships and limits
their political voice. New types of harm, such as online harassment and the rise of unregulated AI,
are extending these risks into digital spaces.
The research also identified that long standing gender expectations that prioritises boys meant that
supporting their families’ livelihoods falls overwhelmingly on girls’ shoulders. On average, girls spent
five hours a day on unpaid care work, cooking, cleaning, and caring for siblings, often from a very
young age, which the boys in their families were not asked to do. This “time poverty” leaves little
room for education, rest, play, or social participation. As well as additional responsibilities in the
home, many girls also lacked access to healthcare, frequently due to gender biases that prioritise
boys’ needs.
Rising anti-rights movements were identified in the report as a new emerging and urgent threat to
girls’ freedoms and rights, seeking to restrict education, agency and civic engagement. Funding cuts
and more restrictive laws on sexual and reproductive health are creating environments where girls
are discouraged from speaking out and denied essential services.
“While it is important to celebrate achievements and milestones, this International Women’s Day has
to be different. It needs to return to its roots as a protest movement. We must come together to
push back against the dangerous narrative that gender equality has already been achieved.
Endemic violence, unequal care loads, unequal pay, misogyny, the injustice and horrors of the
Epstein files… all proves that this is so far from the truth. We can’t risk this narrative taking hold as
there is still too much to fight for,” said Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena.
“Supporting girls through adolescence is a critical step we can take in our push for equality. By
providing them with education and opportunities, evidence shows that it can drastically improve the
trajectory of their lives and of their entire communities.”
Throughout the study, girls consistently challenged the gender norms imposed on them. Many
described wanting lives that were different from their mothers’, with careers in medicine, law,
engineering, teaching, business or public service, and a determination not to marry or have children
too young.
Despite the dangers of openly resisting gender norms, over half did so, while others found informal
ways to engage in politics and drive change in their communities. To achieve their goals, the girls
called for meaningful platforms to raise their voices, influence decisions, and access programs and
funding that promote gender equality and strengthen resilience. Participants said they needed
comprehensive support that tackles gender inequalities, keeping them safe and in school, learning,
even through adolescence, pregnancy or crises.
Yet despite the need, less than 1% of global aid is currently targeted specifically to adolescent girls,
even though evidence consistently shows that investment during adolescence delivers the highest
returns – improving education, health, economic participation and long-term stability for entire
communities.
Plan International Australia is calling on the Australian Government to commit $50 million in its
International Gender Equality Strategy over four years for initiatives that explicitly benefit adolescent
girls across education, health, violence prevention, climate response and economic participation,
and take measures to increase the participation and visibility of adolescent girls across its aid
program.
“The evidence is crystal clear: when we invest in girls, everything changes. Girls become women
with choices, and entire communities rise with them. If Australia wants its aid to work harder,
investing in girls early is one of the smartest and most cost-effective choices it can make. If we fail to
act now, we risk failing an entire generation of girls,” said Ms Legena.