Addressing the security needs of adolescent girls in protracted crises: Inclusive, responsive, and effective?

ABSTRACT

Adolescent girls face significant and often unique forms of insecurity in protracted crises. Yet, their specific needs tend to be overlooked by international agencies, and they are rarely consulted as programs are developed and implemented. Drawing from field research conducted in four crisis contexts—Lake Chad (Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon), South Sudan and Uganda, Lebanon (Beirut), and Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazar)—this article explores the experiences of insecurity that adolescent girls face in crisis contexts, and the extent to which responses to their needs are inclusive, responsive, and effective. Employing literature from inclusive peacebuilding, the article argues that marginalizing adolescent girls in the development and implementation of programs compromises the ability for such programs to be responsive to their needs. Moreover, it misses the opportunity to employ their skills, knowledge, and strengths to build resilience and security within their communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Protracted crisis
• conflict
• adolescent girls
• inclusive security
• violence
• humanitarian response

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our research partners at Plan International (Australia) for their facilitation of this research. Ethics clearance was provided by Monash University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (2018 and 2019).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Eleanor Gordon is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. She has worked for 20 years in the field of conflict, security and justice, including 10 years with the UN and other international organizations in conflict-affected environments. Her research and practice focus on inclusive ways in which to build security and justice after conflict.

Katrina Lee-Koo is an associate professor in politics and international relations in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. She researches in the fields of women’s, youth, and children’s experiences of conflict and their contributions to the search for peace. She is the co-editor of Young Women and Leadership (Routledge, 2020) and co-author of Children and Global Conflict (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

Notes

1 Where we refer to programs we are principally addressing externally-funded programs developed and/or delivered by international humanitarian organizations, including international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Across all four sites, adolescent girls were asked what organizations worked in the area and whether they had engaged with them. While the type of organization was not prescribed in the questions, subsequent discussions focused predominantly on international organizations, including intergovernmental organizations (including the UN), donor organizations (including the World Bank), and international NGOs (including Plan International).

2 This data may be skewed by the selection sample for KIIs and FGDs. In a several of the research sites, research participants were chosen through locally-engaged community organizations and groups, suggesting that they were already known to NGOs and CSOs.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Plan International Australia (project numbers 61467522, 238228095, 239952902, and 250278096 / project lead, Associate Professor Katrina Lee-Koo).