Summary

In its report, the WG highlights the important contributions made by girls and young women from different regions and backgrounds to the promotion of gender equality and the advancement of human rights, along with the profound transformative potential of their activism. It examines the structural barriers to the exercise of their activism and identifies accomplishments and promising practices. The report concludes with a set of recommendations to States and other stakeholders to create a safe and enabling environment where the activism of girls and young women can fully flourish.

Girls and young women around the world play crucial roles as human rights defenders and agents of change. Many of them are at the forefront of initiatives aimed at transforming societies, while others are striving to mobilize effectively and find a place of influence. They are an integral part of the struggle for more democratic and fairer societies and their activism has brought about unique contributions to the advancement of gender equality and human rights.

The right of girls and young women to participate in political and public life is guaranteed under international human rights law. That gives rise to binding legal obligations for States to enable their activism and to remove the structural barriers that inhibit or endanger their participation. Girls and young women are also entitled to special measures to ensure the realization of their rights in consideration of their age, gender and other characteristics.

Girl activists face particular challenges owing to common misperceptions around children’s right to participation in political and public life, restrictions on their autonomy, disregard for their best interests, paternalistic control and superficial, tokenistic involvement in diverse processes. Additional barriers include deep-rooted structural gender- and age-based discrimination, which is frequently exacerbated by other forms of discrimination including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, health status, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, combined with marginalization and exclusion, poverty, lack of access to education, lack of safety and security, hostile environments in the private and public spheres and a lack of resources.

Beyond the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing crises caused by conflict and displacement, climate change, natural disasters, sharp socioeconomic inequalities, political instability and rampant digitalization have had a considerable impact on the possibilities for girls and young women to exert their activism. However, that environment has created new opportunities as well as new challenges. Girls’ and young women’s equal rights and opportunities in all areas, namely family and cultural life, economic and social life, political and public life, safety and health, including sexual and reproductive health, are the basis for creating an enabling and just environment for their activism. The dignity and agency of all girls and young women must be recognized and actively promoted, supported and protected, while ensuring safeguards against threats, violence and reprisals, and undertaking concrete steps to remove the structural barriers and the systemic disadvantages that they face. They should be duly informed about their human rights from the youngest age and empowered to be active participants in their own lives and in public affairs, engaging creatively in all fields.

Sustained access to adequate technical and financial resources, supportive networks, freedom from violence, opportunities for self-care and collective care, and protection from reprisals remain fundamental for girls’ and young women’s activism to thrive. Their capacity to participate in the civic space depends on a coherent and integrated set of social and economic policies directed at the family, community, school and workplace, combined with safeguards to ensure their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. Their physical and mental health and the economic viability of their individual and collective actions are essential for their development and ability to thrive.

The root causes of the numerous barriers faced by girls and young women in their attempts to contribute to transformative actions should be tackled through targeted measures by States and all stakeholders concerned. The adoption of a comprehensive human rights-based approach that is child rights-centred, while being gender-responsive and intersectional is crucial to ensuring a sustainable environment for girls’ and young women’s activism. As told to the Working Group during the consultations it held: “Authorities should support the voices of young activists more; instead of silencing or minimizing them, they should be used as platforms to empower, generate a change.