Hear Our Voices

Hear Our Voices: Do Adolescent Girls’ Issues Really Matter?

Thousands of girls claim they are embarrassed and ashamed to express the everyday injustices and threats of sexual violence they face, in ‘Hear Our Voices’ – one of the largest studies of adolescent girls’ rights of its kind.

voices, report, adolescent girls, teens

Thousands of girls claim they are embarrassed and ashamed to express the everyday injustices and threats of sexual violence they face, in ‘Hear Our Voices’ – one of the largest studies of adolescent girls’ rights of its kind.

Plan International spoke directly with more than 7,000 girls and boys aged 12 to 16 in 11 countries across the world, as part of its Because I am a Girl campaign for girls’ rights.

The study’s results bring the daily realities of girls into vivid colour. They provide consistent, disturbing illustrations of the most pressing concerns for adolescent girls, giving powerful insights into the issues facing them, in their own words.

“Girls want to have more self-confidence to not feel afraid or ashamed to express their feeling and needs,” says one girl from Ecuador.

Hear Our Voices

This summary report reveals the findings of ‘Hear Our Voices’, one of the largest studies of adolescent girls’ rights of its kind.

Plan spoke directly with more than 7,000 girls and boys in 11 countries across the world about their experiences of girls’ empowerment and gender equality in schools.

The study’s results bring the daily realities that girls face into vivid colour. They provide consistent, disturbing illustrations of the most pressing concerns for adolescent girls, giving powerful insights into the issues facing them, in their own words.

The findings include:

  • 1 in 3 girls reported that they never speak up and say what they think around boys.
  • Only 49% of girls said they always participate in class as much as boys.
  • 1 in 3 girls said they never decide if they get pregnant.
Download options

technical report

pdf

10.39 mb

american overview

pdf

757.25 kb

asian overview

pdf

574.86 kb

east and south african overview

pdf

535.19 kb

west african overview

pdf

557.14 kb

summary (english)

pdf

1.30 mb

Summary (francais)

pdf

1.50 mb

Summary (espanol)

pdf

1.45 mb

Campaigns, Gender-based violence, girls’ leadership

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