Girls Advocacy Program Plan Philippines

Violence against girls and young women and the denial of their economic rights stand in the way of achieving meaningful gender equality. Serious violations of these human rights are affecting millions of girls and young women. Societies pay a high price for not tackling these issues. A girl is discriminated against from an early age due to culturally accepted gender biases. Girls take over the stereotyped role of their mothers who are often portrayed as abused and submissive women relegated to domestic work. Moreover, people see girls and women as sex objects and typify them as club/bar entertainers, beauty pageant contestants and racy or pornographic film stars. The pejorative expectations that the Philippine society has of women and girls are compounded by problems of extreme poverty, a low percentage of girls completing a full course of education, scarcity of jobs in rural areas, massive labour migration, aggressive tourism campaigns, and a negative portrayal of girls and women by mass media. These factors cause girls and women to become easy victims of GBV and economic exclusion. Physical and economic aspects of gender-equality are intertwined. A lack of economic opportunities makes it very difficult for girls and young women to oppose child marriage and makes them more vulnerable to child trafficking and commercial and sexual exploitation. Equality in laws and policies does not necessarily mean that girls and young women enjoy the same development outcomes and benefits as boys and men.