CONCURRENT PANELS: Transforming Research to Action

The Girl-Child in Global and National Contexts: Research, Policy and Advocacy Issues

The 1990s have witnessed a proliferation of research and programs on adolescent girls domestically and internationally. Researchers and activists working in the U.S. and with global organizations identified key research issues being addressed, and programmatic and policy strategies for advancing the situations of girls world-wide. Attention was also given to ways girls have been involved in research methodologies and activist initiatives.

Moderator: Leslie Calman (NOW, LDEF)

Participants: Geeta Rao Gupta (President, International Center for Research on Women), Lynn Phillips (Author Girl's Report, Eugene Lang College, New School University); Leslie Wolfe (President, Center for Women's Policy Studies); Penina Mlama (Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Dar es Salaam); Sara Friedman (UNICEF)

Lynn Phillips began the panel discussion by giving an overview of the data presented in NCRW's Girl's Report regarding the changing status of girls in the United States. She pointed out that while national studies have increasingly focused on girls, they tend to erase nuances and variations both within and across girls' experiences with respect to class, sexuality, cultural variations within racial categories, and ability. She also argued that although girls' positions have improved in many areas, demonstrating that policies and programs can make a difference, girls still need to be central to new and continuing projects.

Stating that we face the worst public policy environment in decades, Leslie Wolfe spoke about her center's efforts to turn the Beijing platform for action into US-relevant terms by working with women state legislators. While these initiatives have been successful, several emergencies for girls persist: AIDS and HIV, whose infection co-factors are racism, sexism, sexual violence, poverty, and ignorance; violence against girls and an increase of violence among girls; poverty; and initiatives, such as punitive welfare reform measures and the Southern Baptist fatherhood movement, which promote patriarchal marriage and fatherhood.

Moving from the U.S. context to a discussion of issues facing girls internationally, Geeta Rao Gupta talked about the lessons learned from three programs focused on reproductive health issues for girls in order to identify areas in which intervention is productive. Gupta argued that the lack of autonomy in decision-making that women experience makes it very difficult for them to define the partnerships they're entering into, the practices they will engage in, whether their pleasure will be given priority, and how they will balance these with procreation. She concluded that in order to effect change in these areas, the balance of power needs to be addressed; and power is not a finite concept, particularly in the context of poverty where empowering one empowers all.

Penina Mlama continued the discussion of girls internationally by addressing the role of research in relation to activism and policy in Africa. Massive amounts of information are gathered, but little action is taken with respect to girls and access to education. Mlama argued that more emphasis needs to be placed on action-oriented research so that problems can be solved, and girls must be active participants in both the solutions and in research methodologies. This is especially important in contexts where girls are not socialized to express thoughts in public or in front of men. She concluded by offering the example of FAWE as an organization that is attempting to move in this direction, and indicated FAWE's desire to network, both internally and internationally.

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