The Plan International Solomon Islands will organize an event to commemorate the International Day of the Girl (IDG) in Honiara today.
The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights. On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl (IDG), to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
The IDG is an annual event that will be celebrated in Honiara today at the Auditorium, National Museum. This year’s key primary messaging for IDG 2020 campaign period is “Freedom Online” which addresses the importance of online safety for girls.
IDG focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights. For this year, the focus is on highlighting the harassment and abuse girls and young women face on social media, because it silences girls’ voices and is a barrier to their leadership.
The Covid-19 lockdown will have worsened the experience for many. “This is very true for Solomon Islands context where a lot of our young people, particularly the girls and young women, face a lot of harassment and child protection issues on social media,” the Country Manager, Plan International Solomon Islands, Ella Kauhue said.
In a recent research, more than 14,000 girls in 22 countries around the world were interviewed and more than half have been harassed and abused on social media. Research findings show that online violence is serious, causing real harm and silencing girls’ voices. It highlighted that in this global pandemic, when all our lives are moving online, girls are more at risk than ever.
Source: Press Release