The current state of the world and status of girls and women is consciously maintained by governments, religions and other super-institutions. Girl Museum takes the position that helping others is an individual responsibility NOT a fashionable trend. The goal is to stop these things happening so that the ‘helping’ industry is actually going out of business, not growing. 

There are several organizations, besides governments, that gather and compile statistics about girls around the world.  Below is information on some of issues that are important to Girl Museum and links to find out more.

Knowledge is power, but action is key, so think about what you can do as you read the following information on Education, Poverty, Women/Children/Girls' Rights, Sex/Slave Trafficking, Women/Girls' Health, HIV/AIDS.

UNICEF's primary publication, The State of the World's Children, closely examines a key issue affecting children each year. The 2004 annual report focuses on girls' education and its relationship to other development goals. 
http://www.unicef.org/sowc04/

Based on enrolment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimistic numbers.
UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2007
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats#fact6

The conditions that lead to poverty are intertwined with much bigger issues that are often out of the hands of the people themselves. However, with the ultra abundance of the current world food producers, famine is not necessary.  Ask why children are hungry and don’t stop until you have heard an acceptable reason.

According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they, “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”
http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-over-25000-children-died-around-the-world

In the United Kingdom, “a shocking 30-40% of all food is never eaten;” In the last decade the amount of food British people threw into the bin went up by 15%; Overall, £20 billion (approximately $38 billion US dollars) worth of food is thrown away, every year. In the US 40-50% of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/7/causes-of-hunger-are-related-to-poverty

Stop Child Poverty campaign is to raise awareness of child poverty worldwide, and to help everyday world citizens make a difference in the lives of children in need.
http://www.stopchildpoverty.org

Global Issues – Poverty Statistics
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Women/Children/Girls' Rights

Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history. Only two countries, Somalia and the United States, have not ratified this celebrated agreement.
http://www.unicef.org/rightsite

Justice for Girls is a non-profit organization that promotes freedom from violence, social justice and equality for teenage girls who live in poverty.
http://www.justiceforgirls.org

The Working Group on Girls (WGG) and its International Network for Girls (ING) are dedicated to promoting the rights of girls in all areas and stages of their lives, advancing the rights and status of girls and assisting them to develop their full potential as women.
http://www.girlsrights.org

Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights.
http://www.hrw.org

The Working Group on Girls (WGG) and its International Network for Girls (INfG) are dedicated to promoting the rights of girls in all areas and stages of their lives, advancing the rights and status of girls and assisting them to develop their full potential as women.
http://www.girlsrights.org

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity.
http://www.amnesty.org

The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international, multi-generational, feminist, creative, future-orientated membership organization committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
http://www.awid.org

Global Fund for Women is an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice that supports groups working to advance the human rights of women and girls. We advocate for and defend women's human rights by making grants to support women's groups around the world.
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org

UNICEF is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to providing opportunity, access, education, children’s rights and empowerment for young people around the world.
http://www.unicef.org

United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. It supports projects that promote women's economic security, human rights and status.
http://www.unifemuk.org/index.php

Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies.
http://www.womenforwomen.org

According to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, an estimated 27 million people are enslaved around the world today – that’s more than the population of 18 States – or more than the population of New York and Virginia combined.  The majority of victims of slavery are women and children – traffickers prey on those who suffer most from macro factors like gender discrimination, family violence, and a lack of access to education and economic opportunity.

Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CASTLA) assists persons trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and slavery-like practices and works toward ending all instances of such human rights violations.
http://www.castla.org

Anti-Slavery International works at local, national and international levels to eliminate all forms of slavery around the world.
http://www.antislavery.org

Love 146 works toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation through Prevention and Aftercare programs.
http://www.love146.org

Apne Aap (Hindi for “self-help”) works to empower the women and children of India’s red-light districts to escape sex trafficking.  By providing them with education, healthcare and job skills, we are breaking the cycle of poverty and discrimination that forces women into prostitution.
http://www.apneaap.org

Human Trafficking is a web site that brings Government and NGOs in the East Asia and Pacific together to cooperate and learn from each other’s experiences in their efforts to combat human trafficking.
http://www.humantrafficking.org

Women/Girls' Health

Health, nutrition and hygiene are of absolute importance to girls as the mothers of the future. It is vital to all humans that the physical and emotional health of all girls is prioritized.

World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
http://www.who.int/en/

Center for Young Women’s Health (CYWH) is a collaboration between the Division of Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynecology at Children’s Hospital Boston.
http://www.youngwomenshealth.org

Hardy Girls Healthy Women (HGHW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women. Our vision is that all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety in their everyday lives.
http://www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org

Managed by the Office on Women’s Health, Girl’s Health was created to help girls (ages 10-16) learn about health, growing up, and issues they may face, focusing on health topics that girls are concerned about and helps motivate them to choose healthy behaviors by using positive, supportive, and non-threatening messages.
http://www.girlshealth.gov

Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
http://www.unaids.org/en/

“Women comprise about half of all people living with HIV worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic is worst, they make up an estimated 57% of adults living with HIV, and three quarters of young people living with HIV on the continent are young women aged 15-24. So in order to curb the HIV epidemic it is vital to address women’s needs for HIV prevention, treatment and care. Reversing the underlying socioeconomic factors contributing to women’s HIV risk– gender inequality, poverty, lack of economic and educational opportunity, lack of legal and human rights protections – is critical for success.”

 “In 14 of 17 African countries with adequate survey data, the percentage of young pregnant women (ages 15–24) who are living with HIV has declined since 2000-2001. In 7 countries, the drop in infections has equaled or exceeded the 25% target decline for 2010 set out in the Declaration of Commitment” (p. 30).
http://www.globalissues.org/article/219/aids-around-the-world

Center for Disease Control (CDC)
In 2006, nearly 15,000 or more than a quarter of new HIV cases in the United States were among women and girls ages 13 years and older. Women of color are especially impacted by the disease.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsWomenGirlsHIVAIDS/

If you are interested in knowing more about a particular topic or would like Girl Museum to do an exhibition about an issue you feel is significant, feel free to let us know.

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