international day of the girl

Sunday 11th October, 2020 is International Day for Girls.  NCJWA believes that we should be celebrating our girls and young women and the amazing things they can and do achieve.  Some girls around the world – including in Australia – don’t have the opportunities they should have.  

Worldwide, nearly 1 in 4 girls aged 15–19 years is neither employed nor in education or training compared to 1 in 10 boys of the same age

While forcing anybody to get married is a serious crime in Australia, every year 12 million girls under 18 are forced into marriage and approximately 15 million adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced forced sex

At least 60% of countries still discriminate against daughters’ rights to inherit land and other assets:

And in Australia, there is a particular issue of period poverty affecting girls’ education and sense of well-being

How can I make a difference?

A number of local charity organisations are doing tremendous good for girls locally and elsewhere. You can donate, sign petitions, spread awareness, get informed.

Collective Shout – a grassroots campaigns movement against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls. They hold advertisers accountable for their imagery, and currently have a number of campaigns running, including one against PornHub relating to child sex abuse and violence against women. Get involved https://www.collectiveshout.org/

Share the Dignity – they distribute period products to those in need and work to end period poverty here in Australia. They run collection drives through Woolworths and have a campaign called ‘in the bag’ coming up that you can get involved with in which they pack thousands of bags for those in need across the country filled with essentials and special gifts to make their Christmas one to remember. To get involved https://www.sharethedignity.org.au/

One Girl – a fundraising organisation that aims to provide education to girls in poor countries, with the understanding that “when you educate a girl, everything changes”. Breaking the cycle of poverty helps one girl and then the whole world. To get involved https://www.onegirl.org.au/

For more ways to help: https://www.worldvision.org/gender-equality-news-stories/seven-ways-empower-women-girls

For more information on the status of girls please read: https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/womens-human-rights/

For more information about the International Day of the Girl: https://www.girlboss.com/read/what-exactly-is-international-day-of-the-girl