IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
IMPACT
REPORT
  2020
IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
CONTENTS
    FOREWORD FROM THE CEO                                 3        OBJECTIVE 2: SHARING EVIDENCE                        14   OBJECTIVE 5: SECURING FUNDING   24
    Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell                                         AND LEARNING                                              FOR THE MOVEMENT

    THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP                                4        OBJECTIVE 3: AMPLIFYING VOICES                       17   OBJECTIVE 6: ENSURING           25
    TO END CHILD MARRIAGE                                                                                                    THE SECRETARIAT IS EFFECTIVE
                                                                   STORY OF CHANGE                                      19
    WHAT 2020 HAS MEANT FOR                               7        Young women leaders in Latin                              REFLECTIONS AND LOOKING
                                                                   America and the Caribbean design
                                                                                                                                                             26
    GIRLS AND CHILD MARRIAGE                                                                                                 FORWARD
                                                                   and deliver a successful campaign
    GIRLS NOT BRIDES SECRETARIAT                          8                                                                  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                27
    OBJECTIVES                                                     OBJECTIVE 4: ADVOCATING TO                           21
                                                                   DECISION-MAKERS
    OBJECTIVE 1: CATALYSING                               9
    COLLECTIVE ACTION                                              STORY OF CHANGE                                     23
                                                                   Mobilising young people and civil
    STORY OF CHANGE                                      12        society around changes to the legal
    Unlocking the power of the collective                          age of marriage in India
    with Girls Not Brides Uganda

    This report is dedicated to the activists and friends of the movement to end child marriage who have lost their lives
    to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. They continue to inspire and drive us towards a world without child
    marriage, where all girls and women can reach their full their potential.

    Illustrations by Marcela Quiroz

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
FOREWORD FROM THE CEO

    As I look back at 2020, I feel a mix of pride,   one thing remained clear – the work of          of Trustees to be more representative of     to be part of Girls Not Brides: brave, bold
    privilege and pain. Pride in all we have         Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to     where we work. This kept us connected to     and inspiring others to join them in their
    been able to achieve as a global partnership     End Child Marriage was needed now more          our members, whose counsel during this       collective work.
    to end child marriage, privilege to have         than ever. The realisation that COVID-19        time has been invaluable.
    worked with such a powerful movement of          threatened the gains we have delivered over                                                  As we move into 2021, we will continue
    activists and allies around the world, and       the last decade fuelled our resolve.            Recognising the need to accelerate efforts   to reach out to each other, as we cannot
    pain as I have seen how devastating the                                                          and respond to this new context, we          end child marriage alone. We will work
    COVID-19 pandemic has been.                      Throughout the year, we have seen how           updated our Partnership Strategy, which      to strengthen our global movement, find
                                                     pandemic-related restrictions – including       sets out a comprehensive framework for       new allies and continue on our journey to
    At the start of the year, we made a              lockdowns, school closures, job losses and      the Pathway to Zero; the Girls Not Brides    a world where each and every girl is able to
    commitment to deepen our work and                poverty – are harming women and girls.          secretariat priorities stem from this and    live her dreams. I invite you to join us as we
    redouble our efforts to make a world             Although we have been geographically            frame our contribution to the movement.      continue to build the global movement to
    without child marriage a reality. With           apart, we listened to Girls Not Brides                                                       end child marriage so that together we can
    the guidance of Girls Not Brides member          member organisations and allies, heard          In 2020 we also expanded our work with       get to zero.
    organisations, partners, donors and allies,      their stories of hurt and hope, and focused     young people. As leaders and as future
    we reframed our strategy and embarked on         our efforts at the country level to make sure   – and current – parents, we believe that     Thank you,
    a Pathway to Zero Child Marriages.               that the girls most at risk will not be left    young people have the power to end child
                                                     behind when the pandemic passes.                marriage in their lifetimes. In February,    Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell
    However, with the onset of COVID-19, we                                                          I was personally moved by a group of 36      CEO, Girls Not Brides: The Global
    realised 2020 would not allow for business       We brought the world closer to our work         young women in Rajasthan, all of whom        Partnership to End Child Marriage
    as usual; it quickly became a time of great      by launching a new Member Advisory              are leading local campaigns to end child
    uncertainty. But through this uncertainty        Committee and by diversifying our Board         marriage. They embodied what it means

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP                                                                                       THE GIRLS NOT BRIDES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
                                                                                                                 At the end of 2020, the Girls Not Brides partnership was made up of 1,527 member

    TO END CHILD MARRIAGE                                                                                        organisations from 104 countries committed to working together to end child marriage
                                                                                                                 and support married girls. Girls Not Brides member organisations work across sectors –
    GIRLS NOT BRIDES MEMBERS BY REGION                                                                           including health, education, human rights and humanitarian contexts – and range from
                                                                                                                 small grassroots actors to large international organisations.

                                                                                                                         81                                          EASTERN
                                                                                                                                                                   EUROPE AND
                                                                                               WESTERN                                                             CENTRAL ASIA
                                                                                               EUROPE                               THE MIDDLE
                                                                                                                                     EAST AND
                                                                                                                                   NORTH AFRICA
                                                                                         UK           The Netherlands
                NORTH
               AMERICA               104                                                                                                                  17
                                             USA
                                                                                                                                       Pakistan           Nepal

                                                                                               Mali
                                                                                                                        29            Rajasthan
                                                                                                                                              Jharkhand
                                                                                                                                                        Uttar Pradesh

                                                                                                                                              West Bengal
                                                                                                                                                              Bangladesh

                                                                            Senegal
                                                 Guatemala                      Burkina Faso             Niger
                                                                                       Ghana      Benin       Nigeria
                                                                              Cote d’Ivoire      Togo
                                                                                                           Cameroon                               340
                                                   47                                                      DRC
                                                                                                                Uganda       Kenya

                                                                                        428                 Burundi       Tanzania

                                                                                                                                                                                21
                                                                                                                          Malawi
            LATIN AMERICA                                                                                Zambia
                                                                                                                         Mozambique
               AND THE                                                                                                  Zimbabwe

              CARIBBEAN                                                                                                                           SOUTH ASIA
                                                                                                          460
                                                                          WEST AND                                                                                                  EAST ASIA
                                                                          CENTRAL                                       EASTERN AND                                                AND PACIFIC
                                                                           AFRICA                                        SOUTHERN
    •   Girls Not Brides National Partnerships                                                                             AFRICA
    •   National civil society coalitions working to end child marriage

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
Coalitions are networks of civil society organisations that are committed to addressing
        Note on terminology: In this report, we use the term child marriage                      child marriage and working together at the national level to spearhead this change. They
                                                                                                 are close allies to Girls Not Brides, but have not signed a Memorandum of Understanding..
        as an umbrella term to encompass all forms of child, early and forced
        marriage and unions. Understanding the practice in the context of
        this broader term ensures that all girls affected by the practice are
                                                                                                 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MEMBER OF GIRLS NOT BRIDES
        included, regardless of whether they are in a formal or informal                         “We have built alliances with other global and regional
        union, and that all aspects of the issue – including culturally-specific                 platforms to advocate for sexual and reproductive health issues.
        understandings of childhood and development, and the relationship                        [We have also gained] a better understanding of the impact that
        between age, consent and force – are recognised and expressed.                           child, early and forced marriage and unions have on girls and
                                                                                                 how the issue should be included in public policymaking.”
                                                                                                 Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar (MEXFAM), Mexico
    THE MOVEMENT TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
    The informal global network of civil society and grassroots organisations, national and
    international non-governmental organisations, activists, academics, UN agencies, funders,
    governments, leaders and champions, who are all working towards a different world – one      “Since our confirmation as a member, we have benefited from the
    without child marriage and where girls are free to decide their future.                      movement through resource supports such as policy documents,
                                                                                                 webinar calls, newsletters with relevant information on child
    THE GIRLS NOT BRIDES SECRETARIAT                                                             marriage, funding alerts and our direct communication with the
    The Girls Not Brides secretariat coordinates, rallies and supports the work of the
                                                                                                 Girls Not Brides secretariat. We look forward to more benefits as
    Partnership and movement. We are a lean team with staff members based across Africa,
    Asia, Europe and Latin America. We play three broad roles in driving change: a central       we move on with strategic development.”
    support and coordination body for the only global civil society partnership to end
    child marriage; a representative of and advocate for civil society on efforts to end child
                                                                                                 Youth Dream for Constructive Achievement (YDCA), Liberia
    marriage; and an expert resource and central actor in the global movement to end child
    marriage.
                                                                                                 “We have received technical support from Girls Not Brides,
    NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND COALITIONS                                                         which has helped us to accelerate our child marriage campaign
    Many Girls Not Brides member organisations have come together to accelerate progress to      in the Nepali community. The Girls Not Brides Theory of Change,
    end child marriage in their countries by forming National Partnerships and coalitions.       fundraising toolkit and other publications are empowering as
                                                                                                 well as motivating us to work on child marriage.”
    National Partnerships are networks of Girls Not Brides member organisations that
    believe in the power of collective action to end child marriage and ensure girls achieve     Janaki Women Awareness Society (JWAS), Nepal
    their full potential in all aspects of their lives. They have signed a Memorandum of
    Understanding with the Girls Not Brides secretariat to align their work with the
    Partnership Strategy.

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
WHAT 2020 HAS MEANT FOR
    GIRLS AND CHILD MARRIAGE
    COVID-19 is threatening progress made over the last decade towards ending child marriage. School closures and
    increased economic hardship, early pregnancy, and gender-based and domestic violence mean that 13 million more girls
    could marry as children over the next decade.1 This is in addition to the 12 million girls who already marry every year.2

    WHAT THIS HAS MEANT FOR GIRLS NOT BRIDES                                  “With students at home […] we shifted our                 WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE FUTURE
                                                                              focus to support girls who do not have
    While 2020 was challenging, it was also an opportunity                                                                              The challenges of the pandemic will continue long
                                                                              internet [as] they are at a heightened risk of
    for us to show our resilience. The movement to                                                                                      after lockdowns are lifted. We are concerned about
    end child marriage has lost dedicated activists and
                                                                              failing exams, dropping out of school and                 the projected increase in child marriage, and cuts to
    friends to COVID-19 and faced new challenges and                          marrying early.”                                          official development assistance and private funding
    restrictions to collective action, programming, funding                   Project Soar, Morocco                                     for effective responses during current economic
    and support for girls. Despite these setbacks, girls and                                                                            contractions. We are disappointed to see how in some
    communities continue to demand a better future, and                       At the Girls Not Brides secretariat, we listened to our   contexts lockdowns and public health measures
    our Partnership has risen to the challenge.                               members and adapted our work to best support the          are constraining civil society space and limiting
                                                                              Partnership through this global crisis. We facilitated    opportunities to hold governments to account.
    Girls Not Brides member organisations adapted and                         peer-to-peer connection and learning; we advocated
    innovated in their programming, from using social                         for girls to be at the centre of the COVID-19 response
    media to reach girls, delivering resources to support                     and recovery; and we developed and shared the latest          Donors and decision-makers at every
    at-home learning during school closures, and providing                    learning and evidence on child marriage and COVID-19          level must rally together to implement an
    essential food, water and hygiene packages to those in                    so our members have the tools to respond and adapt            integrated response to the pandemic that
    need.                                                                     effectively.                                                  takes into account the needs of girls and
                                                                                                                                            those at risk of child marriage, in all their
                                                                                                                                            diversity.

    1
      UNFPA, New UNFPA projections predict calamitous impact on women’s health As COVID-19 pandemic continues, 2020.
    2
     UNICEF, Child marriage database, 2020.

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IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Aidstream
GIRLS NOT BRIDES
        SECRETARIAT OBJECTIVES
        In 2020, the secretariat’s approach to supporting the movement to end child marriage was
        underpinned by six objectives:

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

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OBJECTIVE 1: CATALYSING
    COLLECTIVE ACTION
    The determination and dedication                      information on the 2020 theme, key messages,              “Girls Not Brides toolkits and support
                                                          campaign ideas, and practical resources including
    of Girls Not Brides has shone                                                                                   really help us to construct plans and
                                                          animated graphics for social media and template
    throughout 2020. Despite navigating                   advocacy letters.                                         campaign activities. We really appreciate
    many new challenges and                                                                                         it!”
    restrictions, member organisations                    We also made small grants to seven of our National
    continued to reach girls around                       Partnerships and coalitions to support their              WE CAN, Bangladesh
    the world, and collaborate on joint                   collective activities. These ranged from a press
    activities and share learning and                     conference on ending gender-based violence
                                                          – including child marriage – in Benin, to a Girl
    advice with each other, supported by                                                                            “Working together brought
                                                          Leadership Summit and social media campaign with
    the Girls Not Brides secretariat.                     the participation of over 5,000 girls in Uttar Pradesh,   understanding, happiness and sharing of
                                                          India.                                                    ideas. We brainstormed [and] designed
    MEMBER ORGANISATIONS MOBILISED
                                                                                                                    activities together and achieved success.
    AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL DAY                          Further details on our members’ campaigns and
    OF THE GIRL                                                                                                     I was excited to be working with young
                                                          activities are featured on the Girls Not Brides
                                                          website.                                                  people because I believe they have a lot to
    One highlight of the Partnership’s work in 2020
    was our joint action around the International Day                                                               offer and it paid off.”
    of the Girl on 11 October. Over 250 of our member
    organisations mobilised around this year’s theme          The Girls Not Brides secretariat                      Young Pearl Foundation, Nigeria
    of “My voice, our equal future,” leading activities       facilitated 90 shared learning and
    to support girls and call for action to end child         capacity strengthening sessions in
    marriage.                                                 2020. This included online and in-person
                                                              working groups and trainings, webinars
    To support their advocacy, we designed, produced
                                                              and peer-to-peer learning sessions.
    and disseminated a comprehensive toolkit with

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10
of in-person and virtual workshops covering internal   Each session was member-led and covered a range
     NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND COALITIONS                     capacity strengthening and strategy development.       of topics from implementing policy and laws to
     STRENGTHENED THEIR WORK                                  We also coordinated two webinars on the drivers        engaging religious leaders and promoting girl-led
     In 2020, Girls Not Brides National Partnerships          of child marriage in Latin America, the Caribbean      research and campaigning. The discussions grew in
     and coalitions continued to advocate for – and           and Guatemala, taking into account factors such as     popularity – with a 153% growth in attendance over
     achieve – meaningful change at the national level.       gender inequality, poverty and access to sexual and    the series – and member organisations reported
     For example, Girls Not Brides Bangladesh worked          reproductive healthcare.                               strengthened cross-regional relationships and
     with legal experts to review the effectiveness and                                                              confidence. We will integrate this popular and
     impact of the national legal framework to end child      The Mesa de la Niña has since identified priorities    effective innovation into our work beyond the
     marriage and Girls Not Brides Mozambique trained         for its work in 2021. These include improving          pandemic, along with several new initiatives for
     132 people for the effective dissemination and           access to education and sexual and reproductive        2021. These include the twinning of established and
     coordination of a newly approved law to address          healthcare, community interventions to address         nascent National Partnerships for mutual support,
     child marriage.                                          discriminatory gender norms, and social support        and the establishment of an online hub for shared
                                                              programmes for pregnant and/or married                 learnings.
     The Girls Not Brides secretariat supported and           adolescents. You can find out more about their work
     responded to National Partnerships’ and coalitions’      in a guest blog on the Girls Not Brides website.       We also organised an online convening of our
     needs, as identified through capacity self-                                                                     English-speaking African National Partnerships,
     assessments and ongoing discussions.                     PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING INCREASED                        coalitions and members from Burundi, Cameroon,
                                                              IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19                             Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria,
     One example of this support is our work with                                                                    Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each of
                                                              While Girls Not Brides member organisations
     the Working Group to Advance on Girls and                                                                       the 10 sessions had between 27 and 40 participants,
                                                              work in different contexts, they often face similar
     Adolescents’ Rights (the Mesa a favor de las niñas y                                                            who shared knowledge on issues such as improving
                                                              challenges and have relevant expertise to share.
     las adolescentes, the Mesa de la Niña) in Guatemala,                                                            economic security for girls, gender transformative
                                                              With the suspension of in-person transnational
     with whom we have collaborated since 2018. In                                                                   approaches to end child marriage, and identifying
                                                              meetings in 2020, the secretariat facilitated a
     2020, this coalition of 22 civil society organisations                                                          global and regional advocacy opportunities. As a
                                                              series of seven online peer-to-peer discussions, so
     requested our support to strengthen their capacity                                                              result, each participating coalition identified lessons
                                                              that National Partnerships and coalitions could
     to work together and grow their technical expertise                                                             learned and priority areas to take forward in their
                                                              share their learnings, best practices, successes and
     on child marriage. In response, we organised a series                                                           national collective work.
                                                              challenges.

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STORY OF CHANGE: UNLOCKING                                                                                                           STRENGTHENING NATIONAL
     THE POWER OF THE COLLECTIVE                                                                                                          MOVEMENTS

     WITH GIRLS NOT BRIDES UGANDA                                                                                                         Over the last decade, the movement
                                                                                                                                          to end child marriage has made great
                                                                                                                                          progress and – before the COVID-19
     In 2020, Girls Not Brides launched the Accelerating                         that protect girls, and called for the development       pandemic started – rates of child
     Progress to End Child Marriage Programme in                                 of a revised National Strategy on Child Marriage         marriage were decreasing globally.
     Uganda with Girls Not Brides Uganda (led by Joy for                         and Teenage Pregnancy. They secured pledges              However, child marriage persists in
     Children) – a National Partnership made up of 90                            from 15 members of parliament to champion the            many countries and gender inequality
     civil society organisations – in a country where 34%                        strategy. They also implemented subnational              still restricts girls’ lives around the
     of girls marry before the age of 18.3 Results include                       activities in refugee-hosting districts, deepening our   world.
     new commitments from government representatives’                            understanding of the causes of child marriage in
     grassroots advocacy on ending child marriage and                            humanitarian settings and fostering a relationship
                                                                                                                                          Girls Not Brides has proven that
     increased media coverage of the issue.                                      with the office of the prime minister of Uganda.
                                                                                                                                          collective civil society action at the
                                                                                                                                          national and subnational level drives
     Girls Not Brides Uganda led an integrated programme                         The programme also promoted community change
     to end child marriage in the country, while the Girls                       in focus districts and built public support for the      sustainable change. However, our
     Not Brides secretariat provided ongoing technical                           movement. Girls Not Brides Uganda trained youth          member organisations need more
     advice and support on issues identified by them:                            activists using the Girls Not Brides Stand Up, Speak     support and resources to build their
     communications, budget advocacy, and monitoring,                            Out! training manual, with support from district         work and mobilise all the stakeholders
     evaluation and learning. Girls Not Brides Uganda                            champions. The latter are agents of change who, for      that affect girls’ lives.
     has now developed a communications strategy and                             example, share messages on radio stations and follow
     established groups to monitor budget development                            up on cases of child marriage in their communities.      In 2020, Girls Not Brides launched a
     and support media engagement. Girls Not Brides                                                                                       new multi-year approach to intensify
     partially funded their National Coordinator, who has                        Girls Not Brides Uganda also contributed to              support for national movements across
     helped the National Partnership maintain and build                          media coverage and engaged with radio stations,          select focus countries, with the greatest
     momentum in their work.                                                     journalists, national TV and social media to build
                                                                                                                                          initial focus on Uganda, Niger and India.
                                                                                 public awareness of child marriage. The Accelerator
                                                                                                                                          We believe this work will accelerate
     Throughout the year, Girls Not Brides Uganda                                Approach pilot in Uganda was supported by players
                                                                                                                                          progress and provide evidence of what
     advocated for better implementation of existing laws                        of People’s Postcode Lottery.
                                                                                                                                          works to end child marriage in these
                                                                                                                                          contexts and beyond.
     3 Girls Not Brides, Child marriage Atlas, 2020. The Atlas is based on
     UNICEF data for 2020. It is updated every two years, with the next review
     taking place in June 2022.

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13
OBJECTIVE 2: SHARING
     EVIDENCE AND LEARNING
     To address gaps in the evidence base and avoid the duplication of research and learning on child marriage, Girls Not
     Brides spearheaded a major learning initiative with the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage in
     2020: the Child Marriage Research to Action Network (CRANK). Other highlights include contributing to broader global
     learning opportunities and consortia, sharing evidence from the Partnership, disseminating new accessible resources –
     including on the impact of COVID-19 – and increasing the understanding of how child marriage intersects with related
     issues and sectors.
                                                               topics. It is also a knowledge management mechanism    to increase the evidence on the shared drivers of –
     THE CHILD MARRIAGE RESEARCH TO ACTION                     through which we track ongoing and upcoming            and solutions to – child marriage and FGM/C. We
     NETWORK (CRANK)                                           research by CRANK members, monitor patterns and        reviewed these links by documenting the work of two
     The CRANK is a joint initiative by Girls Not Brides       identify gaps. The CRANK is open to all. Those who     member organisations in Kenya (the Association of
     and the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End              sign up can participate in quarterly calls, receive    Media Women and Msichana Empowerment Kuria),
     Child Marriage and brings together leading global         the biannual research digest, and share their work     and carrying out a review of the global evidence to
     researchers and organisations working on child            through the CRANK’s online research tracker.           address child marriage and FGM/C. The review of the
     marriage learning and evidence to ensure that the                                                                global evidence found that many approaches work
     research community is aligned, responds to gaps in        WE DEEPENED KNOWLEDGE ON HOW CHILD                     better as part of a comprehensive, multi-pronged
     knowledge and is connected with practitioners so          MARRIAGE INTERACTS WITH OTHER SECTORS                  strategy, and that poor implementation can often be a
     that new evidence can be taken forward in policy and                                                             challenge; it also found that some approaches known
     practice. The first meeting in December 2020 brought      In 2020, Girls Not Brides continued to build           to be effective from the global evidence are not
     together 54 participants from civil society, the United   relationships with partners working across different   well documented in Kenya. We shared our findings
     Nations (UN), research institutes and Girls Not Brides    sectors, including humanitarian contexts, education,   at a webinar co-hosted with Amref Health Africa,
     member organisations to discuss the latest evidence       and sexual and reproductive health. One highlight      attended by 49 Kenyan stakeholders – including
     and research on the impact of COVID-19 in India and       from our cross-sectoral collaboration is our work      government representatives – and at a UNICEF-
     sub-Saharan Africa. In 2021, the CRANK will continue      with the movement to end female genital mutilation/    hosted webinar with a global audience of over 150
     to bring child marriage researchers, practitioners and    cutting (FGM/C). With funding from the Bill &          researchers, UN agencies and donors.
     policy makers together every three months to share        Melinda Gates Foundation, Girls Not Brides worked
     and discuss the latest evidence on priority learning      with member organisations and partners in Kenya

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youth workers created seven stories and reported            to understand the impact of COVID-19 on young
     WE PROMOTED GENDER-TRANSFORMATIVE                                     increased capacity in using social media and                women and girls. With financial support from Girls
     APPROACHES                                                            storytelling to explore gender and discrimination with      Not Brides, researchers aged 15 to 25 years gathered
     Child marriage happens because girls are perceived as                 the adolescents they work with at the community level.      data from over 700 young people across the two states
     less valuable than boys. In all areas of life, systematic                                                                         to build an accurate picture of how girls have been
     discrimination perpetuates unequal gender norms,                                                                                  disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Their
     which are reinforced by other forms of discrimination.                    WE PRODUCED AND DISSEMINATED                            findings will be used to inform the Rajasthan and Uttar
     Addressing these harmful gender norms and unequal                         NEW RESOURCES                                           Pradesh coalitions’ advocacy, and to ensure that the
     power relationships is key to ending child marriage.                                                                              movement to end child marriage represents the voices
                                                                               We produced and disseminated 24 new                     of young women and girls.
     In partnership with the Child Marriage and Sexuality                      resources in 2020. This included online
     Working Group,4 which focuses on showing how                              resources and toolkits, thematic briefs,
     control over adolescent girls’ sexuality is a root cause                  position papers, literature reviews and                     OUR CHILD MARRIAGE AND COVID-19
     of child marriage, we documented the positive, lasting
                                                                               case studies.                                               BRIEF
     impact that gender transformative interventions can
     have in girls’ lives. This regionally specific work, which                                                                            For the movement to respond to
     focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, adds to                   This year, Girls Not Brides member organisations,               COVID-19, we needed to understand its
     our 2019 work in Africa and Asia. The Working Group                   partners and stakeholders continued to access the               impact on girls and communities around
     will expand this work throughout 2021 by developing                   latest evidence and learnings to guide their work,              the world. Early in the pandemic, the
     a framework that provides guidance to strengthen                      through the Girls Not Brides online Resource Centre.            Girls Not Brides secretariat sent out a
     programmes to take a more gender-transformative                       We produced several new and updated resources                   survey for member organisations to
     approach and put girls’ agency at the centre of ending                this year, including a series of thematic briefs on             share their concerns and experiences,
     child marriage.                                                       child marriage and COVID-19, gender equality, the               adapted our work to respond to their
                                                                           Sustainable Development Goals and humanitarian                  needs, and rapidly published the
     We also supported Girls Not Brides Rajasthan to                       contexts, and a regional brief on child marriage in Latin       COVID-19 and child, early and forced
     host a workshop for 27 young people on gender,                        America and the Caribbean. This year we expanded                marriage: An agenda for action brief.
     sexuality and discrimination, in collaboration with                   the reach of our resources by translating into more
     UNICEF. The workshop encouraged youth workers
                                                                                                                                           This document provides insights,
                                                                           languages, including Arabic, Bangla, French, Hindi,
     to use storytelling to share their experiences and                                                                                    recommendations and resources to
                                                                           Spanish and Portuguese.
     communicate with other young people. As a result,                                                                                     support girls during and after the crisis.
                                                                                                                                           It is one of our most downloaded briefs in
                                                                           WE SUPPORTED GIRL- AND YOUTH-LED                                2020, and has been circulated and quoted
     4
       Members and Partners of the Child, Early and Forced Marriage and    RESEARCH IN INDIA                                               by other partners including SheDecides,
     Unions, and Sexuality Working Group are as follows:
     Aahung, American Jewish World Service, CARE, CREA, Firelight          In 2020, young members of the Girls Not Brides                  the World Health Organization and the
     Foundation, Global Fund for Women, Girls First Fund, Girls Not
     Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, GreeneWorks,    State Partnership in Rajasthan and state coalition              UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to
     International Center for Research on Women, International Women’s
     Health Coalition, The Kendeda Fund, MADRE, Nirantar Trust, Plan       in Uttar Pradesh designed and undertook research                End Child Marriage.
     International, Population Council, Promundo, The Summit Foundation,
     UNFPA, UNICEF, and The YP Foundation and Empower.

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OBJECTIVE 3: AMPLIFYING VOICES

     Amplifying the voices of under-represented groups is critical to ensuring that the movement to end child marriage
     not only represents the needs of all girls but also takes into account the expertise of those working at a community
     level. In 2020, Girls Not Brides supported our member organisations, young people and girls to share their experiences
     and solutions with broad audiences.
                                                               to Violence Against Girls and Boys, we also produced   with the issue of child marriage around the world.
     WE HELPED GIRLS AND MEMBERS                               two illustrated stories and accompanying animations,   Young women and girls are the group most affected
     TELL THEIR STORIES                                        which brought to life the personal experiences of      by child marriage, and 40% of Girls Not Brides
     Girls Not Brides member organisation stories              girls who experienced child marriage in Colombia/      member organisations are self-identified youth-led
     featured in a range of global, regional and national      Venezuela and Uganda. We also created an animation     organisations.5 We must support these young people
     media outlets. To ensure their experiences reached        to accompany a 2019 illustrated story from India.      to influence the movement to end child marriage and
     a broad audience, the Girls Not Brides secretariat                                                               create meaningful change for girls everywhere.
     secured global coverage for stories from our member       Social media continued to be an effective way to
     organisations, partners and girls themselves. This        further amplify the voices of some of the world’s      In 2020, we delivered a range of in-person and online
     included features in a range of top-tier media,           most marginalised communities. For example, we         trainings and workshops to support young people
     including the BBC World Service, the Guardian and         collaborated with the Association of Indigenous        in taking effective action to end child marriage.
     Thomson Reuters. We also ensured the work of              Lawyers “Chomija,” Ixoqib Miriam, Kinal Antzetik       We partnered with Restless Development India to
     member organisations in Uganda and the Middle East        Guerrero, Mano Vuelta and the National Network         train over 50 youth staff of Girls Not Brides member
     was covered in regional and national media.               of Indigenous Lawyers, to reach over 2,000 people      organisations, and the feedback from this training
                                                               with Facebook Live, broadcasting a webinar on          also contributed to the development of our youth
     We focused on sharing girls’ stories, told in their own   sexual violence and child marriage in Indigenous       strategies with young people and civil society leaders
     voices. We published two long-form multimedia             communities in Mexico and Guatemala.                   in Rajasthan and Jharkhand states. We also trained 17
     stories on our website, spotlighting the work of                                                                 young activists in Zambia and 12 in Uganda on using
     two of our member organisations – the Mariposa            WE SUPPORTED YOUNG PEOPLE                              our youth activism toolkit, Stand Up, Speak Out!
     DR Foundation in the Dominican Republic and                                                                      Participants can now facilitate and support youth-led
                                                               Thanks to social media and our connected world, we
     International Rescue Committee in Lebanon. With                                                                  collective action in their communities.
                                                               are seeing more young people than ever engaging
     support from Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End

     5 Based on a data set of 1199 members.

17
18
STORY OF CHANGE: YOUNG WOMEN
     LEADERS IN LATIN AMERICA AND
     THE CARIBBEAN DESIGN AND
     DELIVER A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
     This year we collaborated with Jóvenas Latidas, a collective of youth activists based in 11 countries across Latin
     America and the Caribbean. We supported the design and delivery of their campaign to highlight the impact of
     COVID-19 on gender equality – specifically on increasing gender-based violence, including child marriage – and
     adolescent girls’ and young women’s rights.

     The Jóvenas Latidas campaign messages were               Girls Not Brides throughout the design and delivery    Jóvenas Latidas will continue their collective action
     co-created and shared through four blogs on the          process. This included the production of four          and campaigning into 2021, as they move into new
     Girls Not Brides website – covering the topics of        toolkits to strengthen the campaign team’s skills;     advocacy and activism spaces like the Argentine
     engaging young activists, child marriage in the          technical guidance on how to edit audio and video      Ministry of Health’s Advisory Council on Adolescent
     region, girls’ and adolescents’ rights and the power     content for radio and podcasts; the development of     and Youth Health. United by their strong group
     of collective work – three podcasts, numerous            key messages and priorities for the campaign; and      identity, Jóvenas Latidas will share their key
     illustrations, infographics and videos for Instagram     a suite of original illustrations and animations for   messages and advocate for governments across
     and Facebook, five audio clips broadcast on the radio,   their online content.                                  the region to put the needs of young women at the
     and a campaign statement. The campaign – which                                                                  centre of their pandemic responses, so they can live
     was built from the ground up – sparked 195,000           “I would like to thank the whole team for all          free and full lives.
     impressions on Facebook and a further 298,000 on         their hard work and for guiding us so we could
     Instagram; Jóvenas Latidas were able to reach their      see our own potential, come together as a group
     target audience of young women aged between 18           and present ourselves as Jóvenas Latidas, in
     and 34.                                                  the region and to other organisations.”
                                                              Young leader of Jóvenas Latidas, Argentina
     The campaign was developed by its young leaders,
     with financial support and technical guidance from

19
20
OBJECTIVE 4: ADVOCATING
     TO DECISION-MAKERS
     With the COVID-19 pandemic and global climate crisis front and centre for many leaders and decision-makers,
     it is more important than ever that girls are listened to and their needs are integrated into all the policies and
     programmes that affect them. In 2020, Girls Not Brides and partner organisations advocated for – and secured –
     political commitments and action on ending child marriage at the global, regional and national levels.

                                                                                   The Generation Equality Forum, which is led by UN          participate in the Regional Conference of Women 2020
     GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS                                                             Women to mobilise governments and civil society            and held collaborative side events with UN agencies
     Girls Not Brides member organisations advocated                               to accelerate gender equality and deliver on the           and governments to drive interest in – and action
     to their governments to take action and deliver                               commitments of the 1994 Beijing Platform for Action,       on – the issue. Child marriage was acknowledged in
     on their commitments to end child marriage. The                               benefitted from the participation of girls and young       commitments to advance gender equality in the region,
     secretariat worked with member organisations on                               people after we worked with partners – including the       and SDG 5.3 was formally included in the Gender
     this, including the need for governments to implement                         Adolescent Girls Investment Plan6 and the Mexican          Equality Observatory of the Economic Commission of
     their Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) promise to                           government – to broker a relationship between the          Latin America and the Caribbean.
     “eliminate all harmful practices including child, early                       Forum’s Action Coalition leaders and over 150 youth and
     and forced marriage” (SDG 5.3).                                               adolescent girls. By establishing an open space where      In Africa, Girls Not Brides worked with multiple
                                                                                   girls and young people were able to speak directly to      partners and at regional forums to share learning
     As a result of the advocacy of member organisations,                          leaders and provide recommendations based on their         and technical expertise with a number of high-
     the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls was                              expertise and lived experiences, we contributed to their   level processes and initiatives. We highlighted the
     recognised by the 114 governments who co-sponsored                            voices being part of the Generation Equality process.      importance of comprehensive sexual education and
     a new UN General Assembly resolution on child                                                                                            sexual and reproductive health and rights services
     marriage. This resolution was passed by consensus and                         REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS                                        in West and Central Africa during discussions with
     maintains international pressure on governments to                                                                                       the Economic Community of West African States
                                                                                   Child marriage was recognised as part of the priorities
     implement their commitment to ending child marriage                                                                                      Regional Child Protection Working Group, and engaged
                                                                                   on the gender equality agenda for Latin America
     and ensure that girls are not disproportionately                                                                                         the Southern African Development Community
                                                                                   and the Caribbean, following advocacy by Girls Not
     affected by the pandemic.                                                                                                                Parliamentary Forum in dialogue around the links
                                                                                   Brides members and partners. The Girls Not Brides
                                                                                                                                              between child marriage and education.
                                                                                   secretariat supported member organisations to
     6 The Adolescent Girls Investment Plan brings together 11 partners to drive
     the political commitment and evidence-informed investments required to
     have impact, and to shift outcomes for adolescent girls on a global scale.

21
We engaged with the Forum for African Women             Global Action to advocate for the Kenyan government        social protection, primary and secondary schooling
     Educationalists, Plan International and the Rozaria     to develop a national plan of action to end child          for girls, and the provision of sanitary products. In
     Memorial Trust as regional partners in Africa working   marriage and implement their commitments to the            2020, one of SIRP’s key areas of focus was to track this
     on girls’ education to influence regional bodies,       AU on ending child marriage. In total, 36 members          budget to ensure the government delivered on their
     including through an open letter to the African         of parliament and civil society and Girls Not Brides       budgetary commitments in the context of COVID-19.
     Union (AU), advocacy events and outreach. We also       representatives were present at the virtual meeting,       For example, SIRP’s budget monitoring ensured the
     published a joint op-ed with the Global Partnership     which also included contributions from Ugandan             renovation of classrooms in three schools, in line with
     for Education on the links between child marriage,      and Zimbabwean parliamentarians on developing              original budget commitments. SIRP’s achievements
     education and COVID-19. As a result, addressing child   national child marriage strategies. This meeting was       – and those of the other five member organisations –
     marriage was included in the AU’s pandemic response.    a valuable opportunity to introduce the work of Girls      provide key learnings for how budget advocacy can
     In addition, we strengthened our engagement with        Not Brides Kenya to national legislators and to present    increase investment by governments by ensuring that
     non-traditional regional partners – including the       key asks, including increased budget allocations to        budget lines support girls and address child marriage.
     International Centre for the Education of Girls and     end child marriage, strengthened child protection
     Women in Africa – to ensure that a cross-sectoral       frameworks, and closer links between addressing child
     approach to addressing child marriage was included      marriage and FGM/C. This is particularly important
                                                                                                                        “We shared stories and experiences of a
     on the regional agenda.                                 as we build our work to end child marriage in Kenya
                                                             in 2021, where we will be working with a range of          number of girl school dropouts in the 17
     In the Middle East and North Africa, Girls Not Brides   stakeholders at the national and subnational levels,       local government councils of Enugu State
     and regional partners contributed to the UN Regional    including with government representatives, civil           […] due to poverty, lack of access to school
     Accountability Framework of Action on Ending Child      society organisations, young people and community-
                                                                                                                        facilities, patriarchy and the consequent
     Marriage. We contributed to the priorities outlined     based organisations.
     in the framework and sponsored a representative
                                                                                                                        result of forced and early marriage for
     from Iraqi member the Khairat Al-Nahraeen               Girls Not Brides member organisations in a number of       these young girls […] We painted a scenario
     Human Organization to participate and share their       countries advocated to their governments to secure         of the impact of the practices of child
     experiences and learning from programming in            funding for national and subnational work to end           marriage on the girl, and in that way we
     humanitarian contexts at the Regional Accountability    child marriage. Following a successful workshop in
                                                                                                                        were able to secure approval of State
     Workshop in Amman, Jordan.                              2019, the secretariat directly supported six member
                                                             organisations from Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan        actors.”
     NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS                                     and Togo in their advocacy to secure budget lines
                                                             related to preventing and responding to child              Society for the Improvement of Rural People,
     Across the world, Girls Not Brides member
                                                             marriage. In 2020, we provided follow-up funding           Nigeria
     organisations have advocated to national
                                                             for five of those organisations. As a result of the 2019
     governments to implement existing commitments to
                                                             pilot in Nigeria, the Society for the Improvement of
     end child marriage and to secure new ones.
                                                             Rural People (SIRP) secured the equivalent of $6.8
     For example, the Girls Not Brides secretariat worked
                                                             million in the Enugu State 2020 Budget for child and
     with Girls Not Brides Kenya and Parliamentarians for

22
STORY OF CHANGE: YOUNG PEOPLE AND CIVIL SOCIETY
     MOBILISE AROUND CHANGES TO THE LEGAL AGE OF
     MARRIAGE IN INDIA
     Focusing only on laws and age risks criminalising           The survey responses, formally recorded and                  comprehensive sexuality education in schools and
     boys and girls who are already married, and driving         published in the Young Voices National Report,               communities; and access to sexual and reproductive
     the practice underground. It also overlooks the social      highlighted young people’s nuanced understanding             health and rights. Young people also shared their
     and economic changes needed to ensure girls and             of the issue of marriage as an institution. A common         experiences in regional and national media, and
     their families have alternatives to child marriage,         thread emerged: young people lack choices and                through taking part in Facebook Live sessions which
     and to challenge existing gender norms and promote          freedom to have aspirations and make decisions               reached over 1,000 people. Find out more in our blog
     gender equality.                                            on the matters that impact their lives the most –            covering this process.
                                                                 marriage, relationships, education and career.
     In India – the country with the highest absolute                                                                         The Young Voices movement in India illustrates
     number of child brides in the world – laws prohibiting                                                                   the importance of civil society-led advocacy in
                                                                 “Amending the law is not the same as
     child marriage have been in place since 1929, but the                                                                    challenging governments to move away from
     practice continues. In 2020, a government task force        changing our realities; realities are very                   protectionist policymaking – which threatens the
     proposed increasing the minimum age of marriage             different from one family to the other. All                  autonomy and agency of adolescents and young
     for girls from 18 to 21 to delay when girls have their      girls should have equal access to education,                 people – towards decision-making that takes into
     first child. In response, Girls Not Brides joined a group   and this will ensure the reduction in child                  account the experiences and needs of young people
     of 96 civil society and youth organisations in India                                                                     and addresses the systemic and complex causes of
                                                                 marriage. Girls do not have access to the
     to ensure the voices and needs of young people were                                                                      child marriage.
     heard by this task force.                                   opportunities that boys enjoy.”

     With these organisations, we surveyed 2,500 young           Participant in the survey with and of young
                                                                                                                                 Laws and policies are only one part of
     people on the potential impact of increasing the legal      people in India
                                                                                                                                 ending child marriage – reaching this
     age of marriage. Young people were concerned that,
                                                                 As a result of this process, four young women                   goal also means addressing community
     if other aspects of their realities are not addressed,
     changing the law could lead to an increase in child         directly addressed the government task force and                attitudes, social norms and service
     marriage and greater gender bias. For example, if           submitted a series of demands. These included the               provision for girls.
     parents with limited means are expected to support          right to complete their education; employment
     their daughters for longer, they may marry them off         opportunities that are safe and close to their homes;
     in secret, or with forged documents.                        incentives that enable girls to realise their aspirations;

23
“Thank you for sharing this information
     OBJECTIVE 5: SECURING                                                                                       with us to seek fundraising at this time of

     FUNDING FOR THE MOVEMENT                                                                                    COVID-19, when we are facing enormous
                                                                                                                 challenges.”

                                                                                                                 Association Solidarité et Actions pour le
                                                                                                                 Développement Durable, Democratic Republic
     The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the already limited resources available to the                         of the Congo
     movement to end child marriage, and will continue to have an impact in 2021 and beyond.
     We are concerned about the impact of cuts to official development assistance and
     government and foundation funding, particularly on our smaller community-based and                             GIRLS FIRST FUND AND VOW TO END
     national member organisations. From available data, half of our member organisations                           CHILD MARRIAGE
     have reported to us having annual budgets of under $50,000. It is more important than
     ever that donors invest in and support civil society organisations, and that Girls Not Brides                  In 2018, the Girls Not Brides secretariat
     member organisations have the support they need to access these opportunities.                                 helped to catalyse a new donor
                                                                                                                    collaborative – the Girls First Fund –
                                                                                                                    to increase funding and support for
     The Girls Not Brides secretariat works closely       The event was attended by 133 participants including
                                                                                                                    community-based organisations working
     with donors to share information and evidence        donors and civil society organisations.
                                                                                                                    to end child marriage. In 2020, we provided
     and discuss funding flows. In partnership with
     Global Affairs Canada, we convened a meeting of      In 2020, Girls Not Brides member organisations
                                                                                                                    expertise as part of the Girls First Fund’s
     33 representatives from key donors to discuss the    accessed funds from diverse sources, including            Board Committee, and connected its work
     impact of COVID-19 on girls and the movement to      grants and crowdfunding with the GlobalGiving,            to the latest developments in the global
     end child marriage, and to share recommendations     JustGiving and W4 platforms. Over the year, the           movement to end child marriage. In its
     that emerged from conversations with Girls Not       Girls Not Brides secretariat compiled and sent            first granting year (2019-20), the Girls First
     Brides member organisations. We also worked          member organisations eight newsletters sharing            Fund granted funds to 150 community-
     with the Ford Foundation to host a virtual event,    relevant funding opportunities. We also organised a       driven, girl-centred organisations across six
     which amplified the experiences of young women       webinar and email outreach on digital fundraising         countries. The secretariat also collaborated
     and girls working at the community level to end      with GlobalGiving, which is a popular method of           closely with VOW to End Child Marriage,
     child marriage. Participants shared insights and     fundraising for our community-based members. In           an innovative initiative to mobilise the
     recommendations on how donors can support girl-      total, 30 member organisations successfully joined        wedding sector to raise money for the Girls
     led, youth-led and community-based organisations     the platform, and the projects that were featured on
                                                                                                                    First Fund.
     working to end child marriage during the pandemic.   the Girls Not Brides website secured over $25,000.

24
OBJECTIVE 6: ENSURING THE SECRETARIAT
     CONTINUES TO BE EFFECTIVE

     The collective work of Girls Not Brides and the movement to end child marriage is supported by a global secretariat
     with staff based across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. To best serve the needs of the movement, the
     secretariat made a number of changes in 2020, including strengthening our systems, structures and policies, and
     diversifying our governance.

                                                            to inform relevant decisions and projects by the Girls   To ensure the secretariat can effectively support
     GOVERNANCE                                             Not Brides secretariat. This is particularly important   our growing global partnership, we restructured
     This year we expanded our Board of Trustees by         to our global Partnership Strategy and Theory of         the now over 40-strong secretariat team into three
     hiring three new additional board members.             Change refresh process, the results of which will be     directorates to streamline decision-making and
     These are Emma Puig De La Bellacasa, Rita Sarin        launched in 2021.                                        improve cross-team communication.
     and Zipporah Jean Alaroker, who bring a wealth of
     experience and expertise from their work in Africa,    CHANGES AT THE SECRETARIAT                               We also updated and implemented a robust
     Asia, Europe, and Latin America.                                                                                safeguarding framework focused on ensuring
                                                            We established an internal diversity, inclusion,
                                                                                                                     that all children, young people and adults at risk
                                                            voices and equity (DIVES) taskforce to ensure
     MEMBER VOICES                                          that commitments in these areas are set and
                                                                                                                     who come into contact with Girls Not Brides are
     This year, the secretariat created a Member Advisory                                                            safe from harm. The framework comprises a Staff
                                                            translated into action throughout our work. The
     Committee, comprised of 12 individuals from Girls                                                               Safeguarding Policy, a Code of Conduct for all
                                                            DIVES taskforce has identified priority areas
     Not Brides member organisations across the globe,                                                               secretariat staff and a Safeguarding Standards
                                                            including human resources, policy and recruitment;
     selected through an open application process.                                                                   Policy for all Girls Not Brides member organisations.
                                                            organisational culture and ways of working; learning
     Playing an advisory role, the committee ensures        and reflection; governance and decision-making; and
     another channel for the knowledge, perspectives and    language and communication.
     interests of Girls Not Brides member organisations

25
REFLECTIONS AND                                                                    Four key members of the Girls Not Brides secretariat and
                                                                                        Board of Trustees share their reflections on the global and

     LOOKING FORWARD                                                                    regional status of the movement to end child marriage, and
                                                                                        on what is to come.

     EUGENIA LOPEZ URIBE, HEAD OF LATIN                      YVETTE KATHURIMA MUHIA, HEAD OF                        SHIPRA JHA, HEAD OF ASIA ENGAGEMENT
     AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ENGAGEMENT                    AFRICA ENGAGEMENT                                      The movement to end child marriage is stronger
     For so long, child, early and forced marriage and       In Africa, 2020 has seen greater recognition of        than ever in the Asia region, with a clear mission to
     unions have been a silent alarm in Latin America and    the importance of education in preventing child        work for real change in girls’ lives. We have identified
     the Caribbean, where there is little understanding      marriage and a concerted effort to advocate for        strategies to ensure that choice and consent are
     of its prevalence and impact. We made progress in       girls’ retention in learning programmes. Member        front and centre of our work to end child marriage
     2020, however, with the prioritisation of the issue     organisations have innovated – with the use of         in South Asia, and that families, communities and
     by the Economic Commission of Latin America             test papers and radio programmes – to ensure           governments support this approach. Child marriage
     and the Caribbean. Through building collective          a lack of internet does not block girls’ access to     is increasingly acknowledged as an issue that laws
     action – especially with feminist and human rights      education. With schools now reopened in most           alone cannot address. Together with a stronger
     movements – and amplifying the progress already         African countries, it is critical that we work with    membership and growing networks in the region,
     made, Girls Not Brides has contributed to further       young people – and especially young women and          Girls Not Brides is advocating with governments,
     change. We worked with our growing membership           girls – to ensure they are enrolled in learning        persuading them to take positive actions. We will
     in the region as they adapted their interventions       programmes that enhance their agency and amplify       take this forward in the coming year, addressing
     to support girls at the frontline of crises such as     their voices and solutions to end child marriage       the root causes of child marriage and highlighting
     the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and            in their communities. In 2021, we will also support    alternatives so that young people are able to make
     political unrest. We will continue to put gender        Girls Not Brides member organisations to monitor       informed choices.
     transformation at the heart of the movement to end      commitments made by African governments to end
     child, early and forced marriage and unions, and will   child marriage and – with evidence on what works to
     engage in collective advocacy to ensure that girls      end the practice – rally our governments to dedicate
     and adolescents can access their rights, despite the    resources to these initiatives.
     challenges of the pandemic.

26
MABEL VAN ORANJE, CHAIR OF THE BOARD                       • We are always learning. We recognise the need            • Change happens on the ground. The pandemic has
     OF TRUSTEES                                                  to constantly learn from each other – about what           made it crystal clear that working with girls, their
     As Girls Not Brides approaches its ten-year anniversary,     works, and what does not – evaluate and improve our        families and their communities is central to progress.
     I cannot help but reflect on the values that have shaped     approaches.                                                Their empowerment is the key to a world without
     our work to end child marriage. While there have been                                                                   child marriage.
     great changes in the last decade, our ethos remains the    • Collaboration at all levels is key. As civil society
     same and will continue to guide us in our mission. We        acting alone cannot end child marriage, we need to       The first decade of our work has shown that real
     believe that:                                                continue to mobilise and collaborate with all relevant   change can happen. A world without child marriage is
                                                                  actors – including the UN, governments, religious        in sight. We now need to accelerate our efforts to make
     • There is power in partnership. Everyone can make           leaders and donors – and across related sectors.         sure that all girls can reach their full potential.
       a difference, but we cannot create a critical mass for
       change unless we work together as a truly global
       partnership.

27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

     The work of Girls Not Brides would not be possible      • Skoll Foundation
     without the support of our donors. Their generosity     • Education Out Loud (managed by Oxfam IBIS and
     drives our contribution to the global movement to end    financed by the Global Partnership for Education)
     child marriage. They are:
                                                             • Jeremy Coller Foundation
                                                             • Vintner’s Daughter
     • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
                                                             • Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End to Violence
     • Swedish International Development Cooperation
                                                              Against Girls and Boys – a project of the New Venture
      Agency (Sida)
                                                              Fund
     • Nationale Postcode Loterij
     • The Kendeda Fund                                      Friends and partners of Girls Not Brides, who, even
     • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation                       under the most challenging circumstances, have
     • Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade and             continued to collaborate with us on our mission to end
      Development, Government of Canada                      child marriage and champion our values across the
     • Players of People’s Postcode Lottery                  globe.
     • NoVo Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation
                                                             The 1,527 Girls Not Brides member organisations
     • Ford Foundation
                                                             working at the community, national, regional and
     • Every Good Thing LLC                                  global levels to bring child marriage to global attention,
     • The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg       build an understanding of what it will take to end child
     • Private family foundation managed by Greenwood        marriage, and call for laws, policies and programmes
      Place                                                  that will make a difference to the lives of millions of
     • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation               girls

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