Putting Children First: Identifying solutions and taking action to tackle poverty and inequality in Africa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23-25 October 2017 This three-day international conference aimed to engage policy makers, practitioners and researchers in identifying solutions for fighting child poverty and inequality in Africa, and in inspiring action towards change. The conference offered a platform for bridging divides across sectors, disciplines and policy, practice and research.

1. 26/10/2017
Nicola Jones, Bekele Tefera, Guday Emirie, Workneh Yadete,
Kiya Gerzehagne, Kassahun Tilahun, Kiros Birhanu
What shapes adolescent psycho-social well-being and resilience?
Exploring findings on Gender and Adolescence

2. 1. Why adolescence?
"Investing in adolescents, especially girls, is crucial to compete in the
21st century." - World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
1.2 billion adolescents globally,
majority in the Global South
A critical window for intervention
Investing in adolescent girls leads to
triple dividend

3. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE):
A longitudinal research programme (2015-2024)
By finding out ‘what works,’ for whom, where and why,
we can better support adolescent girls to maximise their
capabilities now and in the future

4. GAGE’s 3 Cs conceptual framework

5. 1. Research questions on adolescent
perspectives and experiences:
•Girls’ and boys’ experiences, attitudes
and identities across adolescence -
including those of the most marginalised
•The role of context and political
economy factors in shaping their
gendered experiences
Research questions
Stemming from our conceptual framework, GAGE addresses two core sets of questions:
2. Research questions on programme
effectiveness:
• Capability Outcomes – the effect
• Bundling components – the combination
• Timing - when to intervene
• Duration – with what intensity
• Legacy – with what sustained cumulative
benefits

6. Quantitative survey:
• Adolescent girls and boys + their caregivers
• 2 age cohorts: 10-12 yrs + 15-17 yrs in
rural and urban locales, in programme
intervention and non-intervention sites
• Sub-sample of adolescents with disabilities
Qualitative research:
• Nodal adolescents, their siblings, caregivers,
community leaders
• Nested sample of adolescents with disabilities
• Key informant interviews and historical
process tracing with officials, service providers
and donors
Annual qualitative research:
• Nodal adolescents, their caregivers and
peer networks to better pinpoint shifts in
adolescent capabilities over time
• Social network analysis to understand
evolving influence of peer groups
ETHIOPIA: 6700
Rural Amhara/Oromia: 4200
Pastoralist: 500
Urban Amhara/Oromia/
Dire Dawa: 2000
ETHIOPIA:
@200 Nodal
girls and boys
ETHIOPIA:
80 girls and boys

7. Formative qualitative work in Ethiopia

8. Research sites – Afar, Amhara and Oromia
Chiro Town, West Hararghe
Wuqro, Farta Woreda,
South Gondar
Semurobi Woreda, Zone 5

9. Qualitative research tools used:
Community mapping and timeline, including changing norms and perceptions
of adolescents
Key informant interviews with district and community level officials, service
providers, adolescent empowerment programme graduates
In-depth interviews with adolescents and parents on their
experiences and perspectives relating to the second decade of life
FGDs with adolescents using participatory community mapping,
vignettes to explore social norms and body mapping
Inter-generational trios to explore generational shifts regarding adolescent
experiences and age and gender-related social norms
182 interviews
504 respondents

10. Participatory research exercises with early adolescents

11. “Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or
significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or
workplace and financial stressors. It means "bouncing back" from difficult experiences” (American
Psychological Association, 2017)
Why understanding adolescent resilience
is important

12. Findings across three capability domains
Bodily Integrity Psychosocial
Wellbeing
Voice and
Agency

13. What does the existing evidence say? Bodily Integrity
• Marriage rates amongst the youngest girls are falling
• the 2016 EDHS found that 6% of girls aged 15-19 were married before 15.
• Declines are stalled among older girls
• over 40% of young women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18.
• Of married girls aged 15-19, 56% are in an arranged marriage.
• Child marriage is highly variable—it has different prevalence rates, different forms, and
different drivers in different regions.
o In Amhara, CM is declining, in Harari it appears to be increasing.
o In Oromia and Gambella, child “love” marriages are increasingly “chosen” by girls
themselves.
• FGM/C is also variable and declining—the national FGM/C prevalence among women
age 15-19 decreased by 24% between 2005 and 2016.

14. Families are not always respites from violence
Both girls and boys are at risk of violence from their parents and their older siblings.
• Perpetrators included parents, older siblings, and other HH members.
• Violence was often seen by parents as a form of “discipline”.
• Adolescents are also at risk when they try to intervene in their parents’ fights.
“Here there are parents who tie the hands of their children together and bitterly punish
them. Some parents punish their children of our age. Some of them even burn their
body with a burning knife or spoon.” (Body Mapping, 14-15 year old boys, Chiro)
Some adolescents report that girls are particularly vulnerable to parental violence—if they
do not do their chores or interact with boys without permission.
”Unless he is younger, an adolescent male will fight back his father. Due to this,
fathers cannot beat adolescent children for being ill disciplined. But they usually
beat females.” (Boys FGD, aged 14-15, Wuqro)

15. School violence takes many forms and is
normalized but reporting systems are weak
Corporal punishment
by teachers was
frequent and severe
Gender-based
violence is
prevalent with girls
regularly beaten
and harassed by
boys
Student on student
violence is spilling
over at community
level
Absence of
functioning
reporting systems
means victims of
sexual violence at
school are often
silenced.
“The teachers punish students. They
punish students with sticks and plastic
pipes. They beat students when
students become late and talk in the
class. They beat on inside the hand.”
(Girl, 12, Farta)
“My elder sister was beaten when she was at
school and this made her drop-out of school. It
makes me feel bad to know that I was forced to
quit school for the same reason.” (Girl, 14-15,
Farta)
“Male children prevent girls from
using the water at school. They push
us when we want to drink water.”
(Girl, 10-12, Semurobi)
“Children from other
villages come and beat
us. Recently, the
children from other
places stopped coming
to this place because
we brought bigger boys
there after they beat us
few months ago.” (Boy,
14-15 years, Chiro)

16. HTPs are changing but in a non-linear way
FGM/C is practiced on adolescent girls in
Chiro and Semurobi—and is becoming
both less invasive (e.g. towards sunna
rather than infibulation) and more covert.
“The young men abducted younger girls
and raped. Sometimes, the man takes the
girl to town or big urban towns and stays
with her for a month or six months. Then he
forces her to return to her parents.” (KII
with Christian religious leader, Wuqro)
“They ask her for marriage. If she
or her family refuses, they abduct
her.” (Girl, 14-15, Wuqro)
“They say it is no good if a girl is not cut. If it is
the Sunna, then, she will not have a strong
desire for men and she will not have
complications during pregnancy. When it is
infibulations, sometimes both the baby and the
mother die. If lucky, she will survive it” (mother,
Semurobi)
In Wuqro, abduction for the purpose of
rape and marriage is not uncommon
and is rarely prosecuted.

17. Community violence is common and affects boys
and girls differently
Girls in all sites are at
risk of rape and sexual
violence. Victim blame
is rampant.
Boys also found to be at
risk of sexual violence +
kidnapping for organ
trafficking
(Chiro, Ethiopia)
Boys involvement in
demonstrations
perceived as a concern
by mothers and girls
Migrant girls at particular
risk of physical and sexual
violence due to chat
culture, bars, commercial
sex work and lack of
protective social networks
(Chiro, Ethiopia)
“Men also rape boys. One of my neighbor's
boys raped and the perpetrator is now in
prison” (Mother, Chiro)
“The place we are living in is scary. It is
not a place for girls.” (Mothers,
Semurobi )

18. What does the existing evidence say? : Psychosocial wellbeing
• Mental illness burdens in Ethiopian children are high (between 12% and 25%).
• Child laborers, young brides, and domestic workers are esp. vulnerable.
• Adolescents’ own voices and concerns are poorly explored, but:
o Both boys and girls are worried about academic performance.
o Both boys and girls are worried about high rates of unemployment.
o Sexual harassment is a source of anxiety for girls—because they are blamed.
o Menstruation is a source of anxiety for girls—due to stigma.

19. Psychosocial support options for adolescents are limited
Families are
key to
adolescent
wellbeing
Peers as a
source of
support as well
as risk
Harmful
Traditional
Practices - can
be a source of
stress and
triggers for
suicide
Psychosocial
support
services are
almost non
existent
“We discuss with friends things which we do not tell
our parents. We friends can understand each other
about some things better than with our parents so
we can chat and talk.” (FGD, girls, 16-19, Chiro).
“Mothers listen to children as compared
with the other family members.” (Body
Mapping, boys, 10-12, Chiro)
“Bad friends may advise me in wrong direction which
may adversely affect my education. There are bad
friends in this community who push their friends to
wrong direction.” (IDI, boy, 14 – 15, Wuqro) “The issue of Absuma is
very difficult. Even if she
loves somebody else,
she will be married
forcefully. Due to this,
there are females which
commit suicide.” (FGD
with fathers, Afar)

20. What does the existing evidence say? : Voice and agency
• Girls have lower self-efficacy than boys in terms of feeling in charge of their lives and
destinies.
• Nearly 95% of girls between the ages of 12 and 24 reported that they needed
permission before leaving the house.
• By age 15, girls also have significantly lower trust than boys in members of their
immediate community.
• Almost 30% of married girls aged 15-19 believe that women cannot refuse to have sex
with their husband if he has been sleeping with other women.
• 13% of married girls are not allowed to make any decisions about their own
healthcare, household purchases, or visiting family.
• 34% of married girls aged 15–19 reported in the 2016 EDHS that their husband helped
them with household chores—but most said it was “rare”.

21. Growing but still limited opportunities for Voice and Agency
Growing
space for
voice and
agency at
home
Different
degrees of
agency for girls
and boys
Participation in
religious life is
limited by age
and gender
Adolescents’
use of
technology is
changing
rapidly, esp. for
boys.
“ We never try to advise males. They are
beyond our control” (IDI mother, Wuqro)
“I will tell them when I am ready to get
married. I will tell them when and who I
am going to marry.” (IDI, girl, 15,
Semurobi).
“We girls…. Are often not allowed to go Church.
Boys are not forbidden going church.” (IDI girl,
10-12, Wuqro)
“They are watching
porno films through
their mobile phones.
These films are
leading the youth in
an unwanted
direction. They are
instigating rape,
abduction and group
fighting.” (School
Director, Wuqro).

22. 4. Policy and Practice Implications

23. Bodily integrity and freedom from violence
 Targets are CM, HTPs are important, but need
to understand underlying gender
discriminatory practices and norms and their
trajectory in specific contexts to tailor
intervention strategies.
 School based violence in its multiple forms
requires urgent attention, including
functioning reporting and redress systems
Since 2004 Penal Code provides no exemption to
criminal charges against abduction and rape in the
case of marriage.
Eliminate all HTPS including CM and FGM/C.
Eliminate all forms of violence against all women
and girls in public + private spheres
!
Bodily integrity
General finding:
Some changes in CM + FGM
practices but underlying
gender norms still sticky
Regional variation:
Rape by abduction growing
concern in Farta woreda;
marriage brokers emerging
concern in Chiro

24. Psychosocial wellbeing
Collect better data on
 adolescent psychosocial wellbeing and
mental health specially re esp. CM, HTPs.
 individual and family responses in order
to inform community and social work
responses.
Explore role of social workers in helping
adolescents at risk of psychosocial wellbeing
as social worker cadre is rolled out, and
broader linkages to the social protection
system, esp. PSNP
Promote mental health and well-being
!
Psychosocial wellbeing
General finding: Rural
adolescents have v limited
support networks outside family;
suicide ideation or escape
through migration commonly
mentioned in response to forced
marriage
Regional variation: urban
adolescents more actively
engaged in peer networks; girls
clubs important space in Farta

25. Voice and agency
Track adolescents’ engagement with
digital media over time + approaches
that encourage positive use
Consider embedding opportunities for
girls’ voice + agency including exposure
to positive role models and in
community BCC activities on HTPs
Ensure responsive, inclusive,
participatory and representative
decision-making at all levels
!
Voice and Agency
General finding: very limited
opportunities for girls to
exercise voice and agency,
including in religious institutions
Regional variation:
Technology key to urban
adolescents’ exercise of voice
and agency but requires more
adult guidance for safe and
appropriate use

26. Discussion/questions

27. www.gage.odi.org

28. Contact us
CONTACTS:
Ato Bekele Tefera
Qualitative Research Partner
Professor Tassew Woldehanna
Quantitative Research Partner
Elshaday Kifle PLA Lead
WEBSITE:
www.gage.odi.org
TWITTER:
@GAGE_programme
Ato Workneh Yadete
Research Uptake and Impact Coordinator
worknehyadete@gmail.com
Dr Alula Pankhurst
Independent Strategic Advisor
Dr . Nicola Jones
GAGE Director, n.jones@odi.org.uk