The rights and needs of adolescent girls, who are generally neglected or vulnerable, should be taken into account in disaster preparedness and response, participants said while launching a global report on the state of the world’s girls in the capital on Wednesday.
The report, titled “In Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls and Disasters”by Plan International, was published worldwide on October 11 to mark International Day of the Girl.
“Women, especially young girls, are affected more by disasters, and to a great extent their vulnerability is linked to the general attitude towards them and the social, cultural and economic situation they live in,” the report says. For adolescent girls, this vulnerability is aggravated because they are female and young.
Explaining some unique problems girls face during and after disasters, Elena Ahmed, interim country director of Plan International Bangladesh, said: “Adolescent girls may experience sexual abuse and harassment, become pregnant too young, be pulled out of school or forced into marriage. They also have a very small chance of recovering either emotionally, physically or intellectually from the impact of an earthquake, flood or famine that has turned their lives completely upside down”.
Mohammad Abdul Wazed, director general of the Department of Disaster Management,acknowledged the concerns raised about girls being neglected during disasters, and he pledged to address the issue.
The report, based on original research including interviews with girls, and secondary data, is aimed at humanitarian and development organisations whose “one-size-fits-all” approach has largely failed to address the special needs of adolescent girls in disaster scenarios.
Two presentations by Plan – one on adolescent girls and climate change and another on adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health vulnerabilities during disasters – were screened at the launching ceremony.
Other speakers included Olivier Brouant, head of European Community Humanitarian Office’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection; Karin Rohlin, head of development cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden; and Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, national project director of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (Phase II).
