Gender- and Adolescent- Responsive Social Protection: Unleashing the Potential of Social Protection for Adolescent Girls and Women
Date of Meeting: 12 March 2019
Meeting Organizer:
UNICEF
UK aid
GAGE
ISJC Staff Present: Catherine Millan FloresReporter: Catherine Millan Flores
Which SDG does this topic cover? SDG 5
Type of meeting: CSW Side Event
Brief summary of presentation of information made
The commitment of countries to provide social protection is necessary but action and stimulation to talk about this topic is also necessary. The importance of social protection talked about in the opening of this session. Social protection not only reduces poverty, but it also reduces violence against women and girls. It gives girls a chance in their life.
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations, UK
- The lack of social protection has many complex barriers
- “Women have voices.” It is our turn to let their voices be heard
- Social protection
- Generates financial independence for women and girls
- Empowers girls
- Reduces poverty
- Strengthens healthy sexuality decision making for women and girls
- It is not only about social protection for women and girls but also about educating men
- Investing in policies help ensure social protection
Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF
- Voices are given to women through research
- Worldwide children between 8-10 years old are two times more likely to be involved in household work
- Girls who are between 15 and 29 years old are three times more likely to be out of school
- In Yemen, there are 11.3 million people who need humanitarian aid
- UNICEF has offered cash transfers to 1.5 million families
- In Bangladesh and Romania, there are some programs for adolescents who do not attend school that focus on
- Graphic design
- Cell phone repair
- India has developed cash transfer for women
- From birth until girls are 20 years old
- There are 5 areas to scale up social protection
- Secure birth registration
- Education grants for women with disadvantaged backgrounds
- Enhancing economic participation of women
- Strengthen data and inform evidence
- Redesign development of the future
Dr. Prerna Banati, Deputy Director A.I., UNICEF and Dr. Nicole Jones, Director of the Gender and Adolescence, GAGE
- Social protection cannot be achieved if vulnerable people are not included
- In the Middle East, girls who are 4-10 years old can be married
- Adolescence is an important and unique stage in life because gender identification, self-esteem, and future influences make in impact in their lives
- Around 28% of girls who are younger than 20 become mothers in Africa
- Social protection helps to address the following problems:
- Girls spend 550 million hours in unpaid care
- 2/3 of children (girls) spend more than 21 hours each week in unpaid work
- Domestic violence against girls who receive cash transfer is reduced
- Cash transfers affects girls’ decision making
- Negative impact of cash transfer
- Cash transfers become income sources and an incentive for young marriage
- Cash transfers linked to service programs are more effective than cash transfers
- Ghana’s Leap program: link cash transfer to health care
What was of particular significance to share with The Salvation Army globally?
It is very important to understand that social protection includes protection for women’s and girl’s human rights especially in communities where women and girls are not taken in consideration. When a country has social protection, any individual can be assured that there is accessibility to any basic service such education, health, water, sanitation, and security. They can neither find threats to their life or future. Humans are very valuable because they are made in the image of God. As Christians, we need to use a holistic approach when we are helping vulnerable people. Remembering that we do not only need to focus on the visible problem, but we can go further in helping them.