Because I am a Girl: Digital and Urban Frontiers 2010

The 2010 Plan International "Because I am a Girl" report looks at the lives of adolescent girls in both the urban and the digital worlds. The study looks at the boom in city populations and the explosion of information and communication technology (ICT) and how it affects girls and young women’s lives. Using case studies, girls’ voices, expert opinion, and original research, the report highlights the positive and negative aspects of the urban and the digital worlds. It also looks at what adolescent girls need in order to thrive, and makes recommendations to those in authority at international, national, and local levels.

Section 1 of the report looks at the opportunities and threats for girls in cities and in new technologies. Section 2 revisits girls from a study ‘Real Choices, Real Lives’ begun in 2007 that was designed to follow a cohort from birth to age 9. It examines in detail how the cohort of girls is faring and includes parents and older adolescent siblings. Section 3 provides statistical evidence to show how girls’ lives are changing, including a map of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This document provides descriptions and evidence of the lives of girls in urban areas and the challenges to safety, education, and access to employment and resources they face. On page 92, the document gives the "Plan International's 8-Point Call to Action on Girls' Rights in the City", supported by articles from the United Nations (UN) Child Rights Convention (CRC). The document addresses each point by elaborating actions available to governments, municipalities, urban planners, and civil society organisations (CSOs). The 8-point call includes following:

• "All girls should have the right to access safe education in the city
  
• All girls should have the right to be free from violence in the city
  
• All girls should have the right to secure and decent housing
  
• All girls should have the right to move safely in the city
  
• All girls should have the right to affordable and accessible services in the city
  
• All girls should have the right to age-appropriate and decent work in a healthy urban environment
  
• All girls should have the right to safe spaces in the city
  
• All girls should have the right to participate in making cities safer, more inclusive and more accessible."

On page 100 there is a "Street Girls' Manifesto" in which adolescent girls from shelters in 7 countries express what are their rights, what they have identified as ways that communities and governments can make them safe, and what regional- and global-level actions are needed to protect street children. Among their points are the following related to communication:

• "Training for police to keep children safe
• Good relations between government and children
  
• Put money into support workers who can pay detailed attention to children
  
• Adults should know about child rights
  
• All countries should have good child laws
  
• Girls should be allowed to speak and be heard
  
• There should be awareness campaigns about street children
  
• There should be more awareness of the problem of violence."

In the technologies section, seven specific reasons for why ICTs are important to adolescent girls are listed as:

1. "To keep in touch with others, which reduces their isolation in countries where this is an issue
   
2. In order to further their education and acquire new skills
   
3. In order to take an active part in their communities and countries
   
4. In order to have the skills to find work
   
5. To build specific skills and knowledge on subjects they might otherwise not know about, such as HIV and AIDS
   
6. Because evidence has shown that learning to use these technologies can build self-esteem
   
7. Last but definitely not least, in order to keep safe"

The document states that employment opportunities for adolescent girls and young women require knowledge of ICTs. Barriers to use of technology include: discrimination; language differences; money, time, and freedom (particularly compared to that available to boys); confidence; and comparative numbers of their gender accessing computers. Sexual exploitation via technology is described as online solicitation that endangers girls. Peer-to-peer communication also sometimes makes girls feel unsafe.

The document addresses information technology development and access, urging: more control over ICT development by girls; more math, science, and vocational education for girls; and safer and better internet access stemming from stronger government, industry, and social media accountability action. Page 140 lists Plan's child protection online safety rules.

Mobile phones are described as a tool used by girls for their safety. Girls say that phones support multi-tasking, access to peers, and access to SMS (text) message alert systems that may increase safety. Campaigning on gender issues is possible both through computers and mobile technology when girls have sufficient knowledge and access.