Act for girls

Girls learn at a Plan International Digital Learning Centre in India.

Because I am a Girl

Stand with brave girls everywhere as they campaign for equal rights

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At Plan International UK, we believe girls shouldn't be discriminated against just for being girls. Our Because I am a Girl campaign focuses on giving girls an equal opportunity to boys, and our campaigns tackle the real issues girls and young women face every day around the world.

With your amazing support, brave girls across the globe have led campaigns and changed their futures, taking on issues from the trafficking of girls in Nepal to child marriage in Tanzania, accessing sexual health services in Uganda and living safely in the world’s cities. But we’re still a long way from achieving gender equality – including here in the UK.

That’s why we asked you to help ensure the new Relationships and Sex Education curriculum includes the issues that matter most to young people. It’s why we’re taking action on street harassment and highlighting girls' experiences of periods in the UK, in our first-of-its-kind report. And it’s why we’re calling for a period emoji, so girls everywhere can talk about their periods without shame or stigma.

Why we campaign for girls' rights

41,000 girlsare forced into marriage every day

6 out of 10UK victims of reported sex offences on school premises are girls or women

Only 12%of girls and women in India have access to sanitary products

Raisa, 17, Birmingham

STREET HARASSMENT

Across the UK, girls are being harassed in public places – and told it's just part of growing up. 

Our latest survey shows that 38% of girls are experiencing verbal harassment like catcalling, wolf whistling and sexual comments every month, while 15% are being touched, groped or grabbed – and they've told us they want it to stop.

That's why we're asking you to say 'It's not OK', as we call on the government to recognise harassment in public as a form of gender-based violence.

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Sabina, left, 17, and Sarita, right, 15, are campaigning to end trafficking in Nepal.

Standing with brave girls in Nepal

Every day, girls are being trafficked within Nepal, across the border into India and overseas. Once they’re taken away from their homes, they're being sexually exploited in brothels, and forced into child marriage, domestic servitude and to work in clothes factories.

It's a horrendous abuse of girls' rights, and it has to stop. That's why we asked you to support youth advocates like Sarita and Sabina, as they campaign to get their Mayor to take action. 

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Because I am a girl

Stand with every brave girl

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A photo of Sugi, from the UK.

Break the Barriers

When you start your period it’s all hush, hush. You can’t talk about it. It should be seen as a natural human thing.

- Sugi, 20, Middlesbrough

Our first-of-its-kind report reveals girls' experiences of periods in the UK, and how a culture of stigma and silence is putting girls' physical, sexual and mental health at risk.

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Kiah-Ann, 17, Nottingham

Let’s Talk. Period

In the UK, period stigma, combined with the high cost of period products and a lack of education, has led to a ‘toxic trio’ of period poverty, and it’s impacting girls’ lives – as our 2018 report, Break the Barriers, revealed.

Now we’re delivering Let’s Talk. Period, a new project committed to ending period poverty in England, which we’ll be delivering with young people’s sexual health and wellbeing charity, Brook, funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

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My story in virtual reality: Mamie's Dream

“Because I was born a girl, I’ve had to face many difficult challenges along the way – from avoiding FGM, to teenage pregnancy, and getting an education.”

In a country where 73% of girls don’t finish their education, Mamie’s dream of becoming a teacher in Sierra Leone seemed impossible – but she was determined to succeed. This is her story.

Watch Mamie's story

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