Real Choices, Real Lives is a Plan International research study that has been following the lives of 142 girls in nine countries around the world (Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Philippines, Togo, Uganda and Vietnam) from their birth in 2006 until they turned 18 in 2024.
The study has conducted interviews with the girls’ caregivers each year since the girls were born, and with the girls themselves from the age of five onwards. By hearing from girls directly, Real Choices, Real Lives has ensured that girls’ real lives, voices, experiences and recommendations for change are centred in work to advance equality for girls around the world.
In this report, we share findings from 18 years of research with girls around the world. What does it mean to be a girl growing up in some of the poorest communities globally? How are gender and social norms introduced to and internalised by girls as they grow up, and what impact does this have on their beliefs, values, expectations and behaviours? How do gender norms intersect with issues of education, climate change, health, violence, agency, and aspirations to shape girls’ opportunities? How are girls navigating and resisting gender norms as they move through childhood and adolescence, and – critically – how best can we support them to claim their rights and achieve equality?
