Just Released - Girl Goals: 30 Years of Progress for Adolescent Girls

Ahead of International Women’s Day, UNICEF, UN Women and Plan International have released a landmark new report, Girl Goals: What has changed for girls? Adolescent girls’ rights over 30 years. Building on three decades of data since the endorsement of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, it shines a spotlight on both the achievements and the persistent challenges still facing millions of adolescent girls worldwide.

Crucially, adolescent girls’ leadership and voices were instrumental in shaping the report, ensuring their lived experiences and perspectives are at the forefront.

Here is a selection of key insights:

• Education: Although the number of out-of-school girls fell by 39 per cent in the last two decades, 122 million girls remain out of school globally.

• Gender-based violence: Nearly 1 in 4 adolescent girls aged 15-19 who have been married or partnered have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

• Harmful practices: The prevalence of child marriage has declined over the past 25 years, but millions of girls (nearly 1 in 5) continue to be married in childhood. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is also declining, but not nearly fast enough to meet global targets.

• Health & nutrition: In the past three decades, the prevalence of underweight among adolescent girls has declined only slightly while the prevalence of overweight has doubled.

Despite these challenges, progress is possible. Girl Goals highlights proven approaches to support adolescent girls’ rights to education, health and protection from harm, while also underscoring the need for greater investment, especially as we approach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline.