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The Generation Equality Forum is being convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the Governments of France and Mexico in close partnership with civil society and youth. The session 'Spotlight on Adolescent Girls During COVID-19 and Beyond' is being hosted by PMNCH, in partnership with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, Plan Canada and Young Feminists Network.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected adolescent girls and young women across multiple outcomes, including education, livelihoods, sexual and reproductive health, sexual and gender-based violence, the burden of unpaid care, and early and forced marriage. These heightened barriers to economic and social opportunities and the resulting loss of human capital have the potential to derail progress towards gender equality unless recognized and addressed. These inequities have impacted women and girls even more during lockdowns. Reports emerging during the current times have shown that women and girls have been subject to more violence and discrimination along with a lack of access to resources, education, and health services.
This event and its focus on adolescent girls will bring together themes of the SDGs – all of which impact the second decade of a girl's life, shapes her future, and have a bearing on gender equality. This includes no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, and reduced inequalities.
The event will a gender lens, broker a conversation between young people and high-level government officials on challenges faced by adolescent girls across the world, how these challenges have changed during COVID-19, and spotlight strategies that focus on a gender equal response for improving adolescent well-being. It will also spotlight the need to infuse voices of young women and girls, serve as a critical point to raise awareness about the need to focus on adolescent girls' well-being, and to garner commitment for a Global Summit on Adolescents Well-Being in 2023 - a crucial milestone in ensuring that programs and policies geared towards adolescent well-being are rooted in gender equality. In line with the definition and conceptual framework of adolescent well-being, the event will also call for a multisectoral response, that focuses on empowering and positively impacting the lives of adolescent girls.
In addition, it will aim to inspire action from countries and their partners to work together to overcome gender-related barriers that contribute to broader inequities that deprive adolescent girls of basic health services, nutrition, and education. The discussions will bring together a diversity of voices and ideas, exchange best practices, and feed into the conference's broader objective of outlining multi-sectoral pathways for adolescent girls and young women to harness their potential and become transformational leaders.