Worldwide, millions of girls are missing out on education, becoming victims of human trafficking, dying from gender-based violence, and/or experiencing child labour. Even in so-called developed countries like the U.S. and Canada, girls and teens experience high incidences of food insecurity and sexual assault.
International Day of the Girl Child, celebrated on October 11th, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, to bring raising awareness about the injustices and unique challenges that young girls and teens face in their fight for basic human rights.
Being aware of the issues that young girls and teens face globally will help to bring about change within communities. As women, we all have a part to play in supporting each other.
To help empower girls around the world, the best thing you can do is to educate yourself and share your knowledge with others. Young girls have the ability to make a difference in the world if they have access to the right resources. According to Girl Boss, these resources include “proper nutrition and secondary education.”
Unicef writes, “Barriers to girls’ education – like poverty, child marriage and gender-based violence” contribute to unequal levels of education between girls and boys. The organization also states that when girls are provided with a secondary education, “child marriage rates decline, child mortality rates fall, and the lifetime earnings of girls increase.”
Interested in helping to improve the lives of girls globally as well as in your area? Donate your time or resources to organizations based in Canada and the U.S. Below are some options to start.
Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization that focuses on eliminating gender equality by removing any barriers that prevent girls from exercising their rights.
Girl Up is dedicated to fighting gender equality, promoting access to education, and reducing gender-based violence. There are 3,300 Girl Up clubs that are led by youth to help girls in their communities and in other countries.
Girls for a Change (GFAC) offers opportunities to design and implement projects for social change. GFAC empowers Black girls and other girls of colour in Central Virginia through learning opportunities within leadership, financial literacy, goal-planning, and more.
EmpowHERto
Founded in 2015, EmpowHERto is a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to helping 14-21 year-old women and girls reach their fullest potential.
EmpowHERto is as strong as the community that holds it up. Together, we can do more than we can do alone. Let’s bring our abilities and passions together to affect real change.
partner@empowherto.org
Toronto, Ontario
EmpowHerto 