Real Choices, Real Lives: Violence in Girls' Daily Lives
Global research with girls and women over the years has indicated that violence is one of the key barriers to gender equality. Girls talk about their experience of it at home, at school and in their wider communities. They do not feel safe. Both the fear and the fact of violence saps girls’ confidence, and limits their opportunities – it keeps them 'in their place'. This year we looked specifically at the experiences of violence among the girls and their families taking part in Plan International UK’s Real Choices, Real Lives cohort study sample. The analysis found that as girls grow so does their experience of violence and, as with the wider research, it happens at home, at school and in the community.
Girls' Experience of Violence
Lili Harris, Real Choices, Real Lives Research Manager, explores the impact of violence on the daily lives of girls and their families. Find out how they are adapting their behaviours and aspirations as they enter early adolescence.
Girl, 11, Cambodia
Already at the age of 11, many of the girls are all too aware of the specific threats facing them in their daily routines – from simply walking to school to fetching water.
Sometimes, I am worried about being raped, beaten and hit by a car or motorbike when I walk to school. After school, it is not as quiet as I have friends with me.