International Day of the Girl

This blog was co-authored with Meghna Bhat, Training & Technical Assistance Specialist

Today is International Day of the Girl and we join countries around the world in celebrating the importance of empowering girls. Declared in 2011 by the United Nations and grounded in youth advocacy, the purpose of International Day of the Girl is to address the importance of girls’ rights and identify ways to reduce the unique barriers girls encounter in their daily lives around the world.

Two of the huge barriers that girls face in their day-to-day lives are sexual and domestic violence. On this day, we must particularly focus on identifying and implementing initiatives towards preventing sexual and domestic violence. Empowering girls is one of the strategies identified by CDC in the STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence report. While empowering girls alone will never eradicate sexual violence, it can be a complementary strategy to other primary prevention efforts.

As President Obama says in the Presidential Proclamation, “Today, we recommit ourselves to the belief that when everyone has the opportunity to go to school, explore their passions, and achieve their dreams, our communities are stronger, more resilient, and better positioned for peace and prosperity.”