The Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) is a 5-year joint project (2016-2020) led by the Dutch offices of Plan International, Terre des Hommes and Defence for Children – ECPAT and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project aims to promote equal rights and opportunities for girls and young women in 10 countries spread across Africa and Asia.
The prevalence of gender-based violence and discrimination worldwide remains high. In this context, the project will pay particular attention to the vulnerabilities that girls and young women face (sexual violence, early and forced marriages, forced labour, trafficking, access to education, inter alia.). It aims to create initiatives for girls, and by girls, to increase and strengthen their participation in the socio-economic sphere.
The global theory of change of the project is currently being adapted and customized to each country, with DCI national sections in Liberia and Sierra Leone having conducted a pilot meeting in early March. The implementation of the project and activities on the ground will officially kick off in July 2016. In addition, DCI and its partners will conduct advocacy initiatives at both regional and international levels to ensure that girls’ rights remain atop political agendas.
DCI is extremely enthusiastic about this new project, as it represents a tremendous opportunity to continue the work started in 2011 through the Girl Power Programme and the Defence for Girls initiative. To know more about the impact of the Girl Power Programme, read the report “Lessons from the Girl Power Program 2011-2015”