Threats to Girlhood
Threats to Girlhood
17.1% of young women and girls under age 18 in the US live in poverty- almost one in every five girls.181
girls won’t have to worry about being raped while sleeping in an unsafe environment.186
One in five single parent families in Australia lives in poverty, 84% of which are headed by woman.182
The two cohorts with the highest rates of obesity are low income and minority girls.187
The number of homeless young people and young people living in “precarious housing situations” is significantly higher than the number of young people living in shelters. In Canada, there are 2.7 times more homeless children than there are children living in shelters.183
43% of US children under the age of six live in low-income households.188
Domestic sexual abuse and male violence are common threats to homeless girls. Sexually abusive family members often cause girls to choose homelessness over living with their families; once homeless, girls become vulnerable to male violence in shelters, in ‘squats,’ and while ‘couch surfing.’184 Through interviews with girls who had struggled with homelessness, the Justice for Girls organization found that homeless girls are often forced to engage in sexual activity with older men in exchange for temporarily housing.185 Through interviews with the Justice for Girls organization, homeless girls reported that having consensual sex in exchange for a safe place to sleep often means that centsarticles/adolesfeature13.htm
181 U.S. Census Bureau. “2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Detailed Table.” In: Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law. “An Agenda for Change: An Illinois Perspective on Creating a Better Future for America’s Women and Girls.” December 2009. p.6. http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/publications/agenda-for-change.pdf 182 Australian Senate, Community Affairs References Committee. “A hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty: Report on poverty and financial hardship.” March, 2004.p. 223-4. http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/poverty/report/report.pdf 183 Justice for Girls. “More Than Bricks and Mortar: A Rights Based Strategy to Prevent Girl Homelessness in Canada.” May 2008. p.8-9. http://www.justiceforgirls.org/publications/pdfs/jfg_housing_web.pdf 184 Justice for Girls. “More Than Bricks and Mortar: A Rights Based Strategy to Prevent Girl Homelessness in Canada.” May 2008. p. 8-12. http://www.justiceforgirls.org/publications/pdfs/jfg_housing_web.pdf 185 Justice for Girls. “More Than Bricks and Mortar: A Rights Based Strategy to Prevent Girl Homelessness in Canada.” May 2008. p. 8-9. http://www.justiceforgirls.org/publications/pdfs/jfg_housing_web.pdf 49
In Australia, 700,000 children are growing up in families in which neither parent works full-time.189 Victims of domestic violence are often forced to choose between staying in violent relationships or exposing their children to a life of poverty. The threat of raising their children in poverty often forces woman to stay in violent and abusive relationships.190 Growing up in poverty impacts children’s academic performance, which limits their employment opportunities in adulthood, making it difficult for those who have grown up in poverty to escape poverty during adulthood.191 By age three, children living in poverty in the UK are already developmentally six months behind other children when it comes it school-readiness.192 186 Justice for Girls. “More Than Bricks and Mortar: A Rights Based Strategy to Prevent Girl Homelessness in Canada.” May 2008. p. 8-9. http://www.justiceforgirls.org/publications/pdfs/jfg_housing_web.pdf 187 The Girl Scout Research Institute. “The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living.” (2006) P. 7 http://www.girlscouts.org/research/publications/original/gs_exec_summary.pdf 188 National Center for Children in Poverty. “Ten Important Questions About Child Poverty and Family Economic Hardship.” http://www.nccp.org/faq.html#question5 189 Australian Democrats. “Poverty In Australia.” http://www.democrats.org.au/campaigns/poverty_in_australia/ 190 Australian Senate, Community Affairs References Committee. “A hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty: Report on poverty and financial hardship.” March, 2004. p. 219. http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/poverty/report/report.pdf 191 Australian Senate, Community Affairs References Committee. “A hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty: Report on poverty and financial hardship.” March, 2004. p. 223-4. http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/poverty/report/report.pdf 192 Julia Griggs and Robert Walker. “The cost of child poverty for individuals and society.” 2008, p. 5. http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/2313.pdf 50