The Girl Child - CiteSeerX

The Girl ChildA Review of the Empirical Literature

Gretchen HeidemannKristin M. FergusonUniversity of Southern California

This article presents a critical synthesis of the empirical literature on the girl child. The often-cited issues faced by this population include the lack of access to education and health care, commercial sexual exploitation, and harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutila-tion and forced marriage. Despite frequent accounts cited in the literature, there has been no prior comprehensive review of issues encountered by the girl child or accompanying solutions. Adopting the systematic review method, the authors examine 16 empirical studies in relation to their geographic settings, definitions of the girl child, research methods, issues explored, and findings. Recommendations for future research are offered.

Keywords: empirical research; feminist theory; girl child; systematic literature review

There are an estimated 1 billion girls from birth to age 14 in the world today (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2008). Although sex ratios vary slightly across countries,

with an average of 100 female births to every 107 male births, girls essentially make up half the world’s child population (CIA, 2008). Despite their relative population parity with boys, girls worldwide experience disproportionate rates of illiteracy, HIV/AIDS, forced domestic labor, and low school enrollment (UNICEF, 2005, 2007, 2008; U.S. Department of State, 2004) and, in some regions, malnutrition, feticide, and infanticide (Rustagi, 2006; UNICEF, 2008).

The past two decades have seen the emergence of a new term to describe this population: the girl child. This term was introduced in the early 1980s by feminist scholars in response to a growing recognition of the ways in which girls face discrimination and oppression, as evidenced by such emerging and often increasing trends as forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and commercial sexual exploitation (Koenig, 2005; Sen & Salma, 1995; UNICEF, 2005; World Vision, 2001). Ward (1982), one of the earliest to use the term, used girl child to differentiate female victims of familial rape from previously nondescript chil-dren. As Ward stated,

I felt it necessary to make “child” gender-specific, so that its every use would bring home to the reader that it is girl-children who are the vast majority of victims. The gender-specific use of “child” also helps us perceive and understand that the ontological experience of being male or female starts at birth. (p. 91)

The term girl child seems to have emerged in the broader public discourse in the late 1980s, when UNICEF adopted it as a primary focus. Subsequently, the United Nations proclaimed 1990 “The Year of the Girl Child” and the 1990s “The Decade of the Girl Child” (Berman, Straatman, Hunt, Izumi, & MacQuarrie, 2002). At the UN Fourth World

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Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the plight of the girl child was a key topic area, resulting in a platform for action with nine strategic objectives, including the elimination of all forms of discrimination against the girl child, the eradication of violence against the girl child, and the promotion and protection of the rights of the girl child (for a full account of these strategic objectives, see United Nations, 1995). The Beijing document justified the need for a special action platform for girls by enumerating the significant cultural and institutional barriers that preclude girls from developing their full potential, including bar-riers to education, nutrition, decision making, health, economic self-sufficiency, and safety. It maintained that because girls are differentially affected by these barriers than are boys, special provisions must be made to guarantee equal access and equal rights for them (United Nations, 1995).

Since that time, considerable attention has been paid to this population in the literature. Researchers in both academic and nonacademic arenas have documented the plight of the girl child, proposed policy and programmatic solutions to the needs of the girl child, and evaluated new and existing programs for this population (Ghosh, 1991; Heyzer, 1996; Kabeberi-Macharia, 1998; Koenig, 2005). However, studies have frequently departed from disparate definitions of the target population and have relied on poor conceptual models that are based on little evidence. Also, to our knowledge, no attempt has yet been under-taken to synthesize the empirical literature on the girl child. The systematic review (SR) presented here is thus timely in attempting to fill this gap. Specifically, it synthesizes find-ings from the empirical literature on the girl child, identifies relevant trends in empirical studies on the girl child, and offers recommendations for future research based on the iden-tified trends.

Method

To identify the literature related to the girl child, we adopted the SR method, with a focus on three areas: the incidence with which the concept of girl child appeared in the empirical literature, the method that was used in examining the situation of the girl child, and the quality of the empirical research that explored the relevant outcomes related to the girl child (Larson, Pastro, Lyons, & Anthony, 1992). Consistent with the procedures of a comprehensive SR, we used four strategies to locate all studies related to the girl child in the following disciplines: social work, women’s or gender studies, anthropology, psychol-ogy, sociology, education, criminology, international development, public health, medicine, nursing, and law.

First, we searched a variety of bibliographic databases, including ProQuest, Social Sciences Citations Index, Expanded Academic ASAP, Education Resources Information Center, Google Scholar, Ovid, Public Affairs Information Service International, and LexisNexis. The selected bibliographic databases were searched without specifying the year of publication so we could gain a sense of when the term girl child emerged. Second, we performed a broader Internet search by entering the search term girl child into both the Google and Yahoo! browsers to identify the nonacademic literature related to the girl child. Recognizing that the term is used largely within the developing world, we added this sec-ond step to ensure that non-Western and nonacademic articles would be included in the search as well. Third, we used the snowball technique to identify additional publications that were cited in the bibliographies of the articles that we had previously identified. Finally, we identified several key pioneers whose names resurfaced in multiple publications—Shanti

166 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work



Ghosh, Helene Berman, Preet Rustagi, and Janet Kabeberi-Macharia—and performed an extensive literature search to identify their additional works.

The methods adopted to identify the body of literature on the girl child consisted of two selection criteria. First, a publication was included if it contained the term girl child or girl children in its title or abstract. Publications using only the term girl or girls were not con-sidered because the intent was to synthesize findings related to a specific target population for whom the label girl child has been used—albeit inconsistently—in the literature. Second, a publication was included if it reported the findings of an empirical investigation. Conceptual and theoretical publications were excluded because the aim was to synthesize empirical findings so as to make recommendations for future research. A total of 56 exclu-sively conceptual or theoretical publications emerged from the search but were excluded because they did not meet the criteria of empirical investigation.

Both academic and nonacademic publications were considered relevant for inclusion because all used research methods. The SR method produced 16 publications that complied with the above-listed criteria. Of the 16 publications, 6 were published in academic, peer-reviewed journals; 6 were from the nonprofit sector; and 4 were dissertations or theses. Table 1 presents a summary of the articles in this review.

Findings

This section presents a synthesis of the empirical literature on the girl child by highlight-ing trends and themes that are related to the geographic coverage of the publications, defi-nitions of the girl child, research methods that were used, issues that were explored, and findings that were obtained.

Geographic Coverage

The majority of empirical publications were concerned with girl children in developing regions, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Of the 16 empirical publications that were identified, 6 investigated matters related to girl children in India (Anandalakshmy, 1994; Ananthakrishnan & Nalini, 2002; Jawa, 2000; Maitra, 2002; Mohanty, 2003; Punia, Balda, & Punia, 2005). Four publications were concerned with girl children in Africa, spe-cifically Uganda (Agaba, 2007), Kenya (Wamahiu, Opondo, & Nyagah, 1992), Ghana (Agarwal et al., 1997), and Namibia and South Africa (Jewkes, Penn-Kekana, & Rose-Junius, 2005). One publication explored girl children who were soldiers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, specifically Angola, Columbia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka (Keairns, 2002); 1 explored missions of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to girl children in Latin America, specifically Honduras, Mexico, Bolivia, and Costa Rica (Segura-April, 2006); and 1 explored programs serving girl children in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Bloc (World Vision, 2001). Thus, 13 of the 16 publications were concerned with girl children in developing regions. Only one Western, developed nation was represented among the empirical publications; issues related to girl children in Canada were addressed in 3 studies (Berman et al., 2002; Berman, McKenna, Arnold, Taylor, & MacQuarrie, 2000; Jiwani, Janovifek, & Cameron, 2002).

It is interesting to note that the authors of one of the publications from Canada found it necessary to justify the use of the term girl child. Berman et al. (2000) reported that the research team initially raised concerns about the applicability of the term to the North

Heidemann, Ferguson / The Girl Child 167

(text continues on p. 178)



169168

Tabl

e 1

Rev

iew

of

Em

piri

cal L

iter

atur

e R

elat

ed t

o th

e G

irl C

hild

, 198

0 to

200

8

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

Aga

ba (

2007

)U

gand

aTo

exp

lore

the

rela

tions

hips

am

ong

pove

rty,

ge

nder

, gen

dere

d pe

rcep

tions

, and

po

wer

rel

atio

ns

and

thei

r im

pact

on

gir

ls’

educ

atio

n

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds: D

irec

t ob

serv

atio

n,

in-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s,

focu

s gr

oups

Purp

osiv

e5

indi

vidu

al

inte

rvie

ws

with

gi

rl d

ropo

uts;

8

key

info

rman

t in

terv

iew

s w

ith

teac

hers

, pr

obat

ion

offi

cers

, and

N

GO

sta

ff; 9

fo

cus

grou

ps

with

an

unsp

ecif

ied

tota

l nu

mbe

r of

pa

rtic

ipan

ts (

5 w

ith c

hild

ren

and

4 w

ith

pare

nts)

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

bas

ed

on th

emes

and

su

bthe

mes

re

late

d to

the

stud

y ob

ject

ives

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 3

mai

n th

emes

w

ith v

ario

us

subt

hem

es:

Pove

rty

(cha

lleng

es to

sc

hool

ing

in p

oor

fam

ilies

, har

dshi

ps

such

as

orph

anho

od

and

child

labo

r, an

d co

ping

str

ateg

ies)

Gen

dere

d pr

actic

es a

nd

pow

er r

elat

ions

(p

aren

ts’ p

erce

ptio

ns,

gend

er-s

peci

fic

prac

tices

, pow

er

rela

tions

at h

ome

and

scho

ol, s

truc

tura

l and

cu

ltura

l fac

tors

)Im

pact

of

inst

itutio

ns

(Uni

ted

Nat

ions

C

onve

ntio

n on

the

Rig

hts

of th

e C

hild

, U

gand

an g

over

nmen

t, N

GO

s)

Aga

rwal

et a

l. (1

997)

Gha

naTo

exp

lore

the

soci

al, e

cono

mic

, an

d tr

avel

ci

rcum

stan

ces

of

head

-loa

d ca

rrie

rs

(kay

ayoo

s)

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

Inte

rvie

ws

(uns

peci

fied

)

Uns

peci

fied

12 f

emal

e ka

yayo

os

from

rur

al,

nort

hern

Gha

na

who

pro

vide

d in

form

atio

n ab

out a

tota

l of

200

kaya

yoos

Uns

peci

fied

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 3

them

es:

Tech

nolo

gy c

onst

rain

tsSo

cial

org

aniz

atio

n an

d sa

ving

s be

havi

orB

usin

ess

educ

atio

n an

d sa

ving

s fa

cilit

ies

(con

tinu

ed)



169168

Ana

ndal

aksh

my

(199

4)In

dia

To g

ener

ate

data

on

the

situ

atio

n of

fe

mal

e ch

ildre

n an

d to

iden

tify

maj

or p

robl

ems

rela

ted

to th

eir

stat

us in

Ind

ia

Non

eM

ixed

met

hods

: Se

mis

truc

ture

d qu

estio

nnai

res

(“sc

hedu

les”

) w

ith b

oth

clos

ed-

and

open

-end

ed

ques

tions

(da

ta

colle

cted

via

se

para

te

inte

rvie

ws

with

da

ught

ers

and

mot

hers

)

Mul

tista

ge

stra

tifie

d ra

ndom

sa

mpl

ing,

fi

rst a

t the

di

stri

ct le

vel,

then

at t

he

war

d or

vi

llage

leve

l

600

hous

ehol

ds

(100

hou

seho

lds

in e

ach

of 4

vi

llage

s an

d 2

urba

n w

ards

of

vari

ous

leve

ls o

f de

velo

pmen

t, lit

erac

y, a

nd

soci

oeco

nom

ic

stat

us);

in e

ach

of th

e 60

0 fa

mili

es, a

qu

estio

nnai

re

was

com

plet

ed

for

1 gi

rl, h

er

mot

her,

and

the

hous

ehol

d as

a

who

le,

gene

ratin

g a

tota

l of

1,80

0 qu

estio

nnai

res

Qua

ntita

tive

data

la

rgel

y re

port

ed a

s fr

eque

ncie

s an

d pr

opor

tions

; di

ffer

ence

s no

t an

alyz

ed

stat

istic

ally

; op

en-e

nded

qu

estio

ns

anal

yzed

th

roug

h th

e de

velo

pmen

t of

a

“cla

ssif

icat

ion

syst

em”

(no

furt

her

elab

orat

ion)

Res

ults

of

both

qu

antit

ativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

data

an

alys

is a

re

pres

ente

d in

9

cate

gori

es:

Hou

seho

ld p

rofi

les

Gen

der

soci

aliz

atio

nE

duca

tion

Hea

lthM

enst

ruat

ion

Chi

ld la

bor

Cas

e st

udie

s an

d pr

ofile

sIn

terv

entio

n pr

ogra

ms

Are

a pr

ofile

s

Ana

ntha

kris

hnan

an

d N

alin

i (2

002)

Sout

h In

dia

To a

sses

s th

e so

cial

st

atus

of

scho

ol-

aged

gir

l ch

ildre

n in

a

rura

l vill

age

in

Indi

a

Gir

ls u

p to

age

20

(pe

r de

fini

tion

of

the

“Nat

iona

l W

orks

hop”

)

Mix

ed m

etho

ds:

Focu

s gr

oups

, in

-dep

th

inte

rvie

ws,

key

in

form

ant

inte

rvie

ws,

no

npar

ticip

ant

obse

rvat

ion,

ep

idem

iolo

gica

l m

etho

ds

(cen

sus

and

coho

rt s

tudy

)

Uns

peci

fied

Focu

s gr

oups

: 4

grou

ps w

ith a

to

tal o

f 36

pa

rtic

ipan

ts (

8 w

omen

and

8

men

age

d 25

to

45 a

nd 1

0 gi

rls

and

10 b

oys

aged

12

to 1

8)In

-dep

th

inte

rvie

ws:

10

adul

ts (

8 w

omen

Tex

t-ba

sed

com

pute

r so

ftw

are

prog

ram

use

d fo

r qu

alita

tive

anal

ysis

Res

ults

of

the

coho

rt s

tudy

qu

estio

nnai

re

and

cens

us

data

ana

lyze

d us

ing

vari

ous

Qua

litat

ive

data

are

pr

esen

ted

alon

g 6

them

es:

Gen

der

pref

eren

ce in

ha

ving

chi

ldre

nN

utri

tion

Hea

lth c

are

Edu

catio

nA

ctiv

ity p

atte

rns

Com

mun

ity a

ttitu

des

Res

ults

of

stat

istic

al

anal

yses

:

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs (con

tinu

ed)



a

nd 2

men

age

d

25 to

45)

Key

info

rman

t in

terv

iew

s: 2

gi

rls

(hig

h sc

hool

gr

adua

tes)

Coh

ort s

tudy

: 100

ra

ndom

ly

sele

cted

fam

ilies

w

ith c

hild

ren

in

the

age

grou

p of

in

tere

st (

5 to

20)

s

tatis

tical

m

etho

ds (

χ2 , pa

ired

and

un

pair

ed t

test

s, z

test

, A

NO

VA

, and

K

rusk

al-

Wal

lis)

Epi

sode

s of

illn

ess:

no

gend

er d

iffe

renc

esSc

hool

enr

ollm

ent a

nd

com

plet

ion:

boy

s si

gnif

ican

tly m

ore

likel

y to

be

enro

lled

in a

nd c

ompl

ete

high

sc

hool

than

gir

lsSc

hool

dro

pout

rat

e: n

o ge

nder

dif

fere

nces

Lei

sure

and

sle

ep: n

o ge

nder

dif

fere

nces

Wor

kloa

d: g

irls

age

d

10 to

15

have

a

sign

ific

antly

hig

her

wor

kloa

d th

an d

o bo

ysB

erm

an,

McK

enna

, A

rnol

d, T

aylo

r, an

d M

acQ

uarr

ie

(200

0)

Can

ada

(a)

To e

xplo

re th

e di

vers

e w

ays

in

whi

ch g

irls

and

yo

ung

wom

en

are

soci

aliz

ed to

ex

pect

vio

lenc

e in

thei

r liv

es(b

) To

exa

min

e ho

w

soci

al p

olic

ies,

le

gisl

atio

n, a

nd

inst

itutio

ns

alle

viat

e or

pe

rpet

uate

the

prob

lem

s fa

ced

by th

is

popu

latio

n

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds: F

ocus

gr

oups

Purp

osiv

e33

gir

ls o

f et

hnic

ally

and

ge

ogra

phic

ally

di

vers

e ba

ckgr

ound

s in

O

ntar

io (

aged

11

to 1

6)

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

(no

de

scri

ptio

n pr

ovid

ed o

ther

th

an th

at

Mor

gan’

s te

chni

ques

for

th

e an

alys

is o

f fo

cus

grou

p da

ta w

ere

used

)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 3

them

es:

Vio

lenc

e an

d ha

rass

men

tSa

fety

Mea

ning

of

fam

ily

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

171170



Ber

man

, St

raat

man

, H

unt,

Izum

i, an

d M

acQ

uarr

ie

(200

2)

Can

ada

(a)

To e

labo

rate

on

the

dive

rse

way

s in

whi

ch g

irls

an

d yo

ung

wom

en

enco

unte

r, ne

gotia

te, a

nd

begi

n to

acc

ept

or e

xpec

t vi

olen

ce in

thei

r liv

es a

nd th

e ro

les

of b

oys

or

youn

g m

en in

th

is p

roce

ss(b

) To

incr

ease

un

ders

tand

ing

of

the

inte

ract

ive

effe

cts

of s

exua

l ha

rass

men

t and

ev

eryd

ay

viol

ence

on

the

heal

th a

nd w

ell-

bein

g of

the

girl

ch

ild

Non

eM

ixed

met

hods

: Q

uest

ionn

aire

s,

in-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s,

focu

s gr

oups

, w

ritte

n an

d ph

otog

raph

ic

jour

nals

Uns

peci

fied

Focu

s gr

oups

: 104

gi

rls

and

63

boys

In-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s: 7

7 gi

rls

and

41

boys

Wri

tten

jour

nals

: 24

gir

ls a

nd 2

0 bo

ysPh

otog

raph

ic

jour

nals

: 37

girl

s an

d 20

boy

sQ

uest

ionn

aire

s:

252

boys

and

gi

rls

(All

part

icip

ants

w

ere

aged

8 to

18

and

of

mix

ed

ethn

ic

back

grou

nd a

nd

fam

ily

com

posi

tion)

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

(“

anal

yzed

for

co

mm

on

them

es a

nd

area

s of

di

verg

ence

”)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 6

them

es:

Und

erst

andi

ng o

f ha

rass

men

tT

he p

ublic

, pri

vate

, and

un

ackn

owle

dged

fa

ces

of h

aras

smen

tG

ende

r-ro

le

soci

aliz

atio

nT

he e

very

day

stru

ggle

to

sur

vive

The

pow

er o

f si

lenc

ePe

rcep

tions

of

heal

th

Jaw

a (2

000)

Agr

a, I

ndia

To e

xplo

re th

e de

man

d an

d su

pply

asp

ects

of

fem

ale

child

la

bor

(i.e

., ci

rcum

stan

ces

forc

ing

them

to

wor

k, f

acto

rs

Gir

l chi

ld

labo

rer,

defi

ned

as

“tho

se g

irls

be

twee

n 0–

14

year

s . .

. w

ho

sell

thei

r la

bor

eith

er in

cas

h

Mix

ed m

etho

ds:

In-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s,

“sch

edul

es”

(i.e

., qu

estio

nnai

res)

, di

rect

ob

serv

atio

n

Mul

tista

ge

stra

tifie

d ra

ndom

sa

mpl

ing

200

girl

chi

ld

labo

rers

in

mul

tiple

in

dust

ries

in

Agr

a

Qua

ntita

tive

data

pr

esen

ted

larg

ely

as

freq

uenc

ies

and

perc

enta

ges

stra

tifie

d by

in

dust

rial

Res

ults

of

quan

titat

ive

anal

yses

pre

sent

ed in

4

cate

gori

es:

Prof

ile (

age,

edu

catio

n,

fam

ily, t

radi

tion,

w

ork)

Dem

and

(wag

es,

expl

oita

tion,

vie

ws

of

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

171170



c

ontr

ibut

ing

to

thei

r su

pply

, w

orki

ng

cond

ition

s, w

age

stru

ctur

e, a

nd

empl

oym

ent

patte

rns)

and

to

obse

rve

the

leve

l of

exp

loita

tion

and

disc

rim

inat

ion

of

fem

ale

child

la

bore

rs in

Agr

a

or

kin

d or

en

gage

th

emse

lves

in

to s

ome

activ

ity w

hich

sa

ves

labo

r of

th

eir

pare

nts

whi

ch th

ey

can

in tu

rn

inve

st

som

ewhe

re

else

, so

as to

ea

rn a

liv

elih

ood”

se

ctor

; som

e st

atis

tical

co

mpa

riso

ns

are

mad

e vi

a χ2

No

spec

ific

atio

n fo

r qu

alita

tive

anal

yses

and

no

pre

sent

atio

n of

qua

litat

ive

data

fe

mal

e ch

ild la

bore

rs)

Supp

ly (

fact

ors

cons

titut

ing

supp

ly,

sour

ces

of s

uppl

y an

d m

otiv

atio

n,

mig

ratio

n)E

mpl

oym

ent p

atte

rns

(pat

tern

s, s

ecur

ity,

cond

ition

s)T

he a

utho

r al

so

pres

ents

law

s re

late

d to

chi

ld la

bor

in I

ndia

Jew

kes,

Pen

n-K

ekan

a, a

nd

Ros

e-Ju

nius

(2

005)

Nam

ibia

and

So

uth

Afr

ica

To e

xplo

re a

spec

ts

of th

e so

cioc

ultu

ral

cont

ext o

f ch

ild

rape

by

draw

ing

on f

indi

ngs

of

ethn

ogra

phic

re

sear

ch in

Sou

th

Afr

ica

and

Nam

ibia

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

Sem

istr

uctu

red

in-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s an

d sm

all-

grou

p di

scus

sion

s

Purp

osiv

eSo

uth

Afr

ica:

30

inte

rvie

wee

s (d

octo

rs, n

urse

s,

soci

al w

orke

rs,

polic

e, te

ache

rs,

serv

ice

prov

ider

s, a

nd

com

mun

ity

mem

bers

) an

d 9

teen

ager

s in

sm

all-

gro

up

disc

ussi

ons

Nam

ibia

: 47

inte

rvie

wee

s (s

exua

lly a

buse

d ch

ildre

n,

pare

nts,

chi

ld

prot

ectio

n

“Ana

lytic

in

duct

ion”

(no

de

scri

ptio

n or

de

fini

tion

of

the

met

hod

of

anal

ysis

was

pr

ovid

ed)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 6

them

es:

Sexu

ality

and

sex

ual

desi

rabi

lity

of

child

ren:

nor

mal

but

no

t to

be e

ncou

rage

d“R

espe

ct”

and

the

soci

al p

ositi

on o

f m

en a

nd c

hild

ren

Unc

ontr

olla

ble

desi

re

and

dang

erou

s m

enN

egle

cted

chi

ldre

n,

trun

cate

d ch

ildho

ods

How

com

mun

ities

and

fa

mili

es p

erce

ive

child

abu

sers

Sexu

ally

abu

sed

child

ren

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

173172



c

ontr

ibut

ing

to

thei

r su

pply

, w

orki

ng

cond

ition

s, w

age

stru

ctur

e, a

nd

empl

oym

ent

patte

rns)

and

to

obse

rve

the

leve

l of

exp

loita

tion

and

disc

rim

inat

ion

of

fem

ale

child

la

bore

rs in

Agr

a

or

kin

d or

en

gage

th

emse

lves

in

to s

ome

activ

ity w

hich

sa

ves

labo

r of

th

eir

pare

nts

whi

ch th

ey

can

in tu

rn

inve

st

som

ewhe

re

else

, so

as to

ea

rn a

liv

elih

ood”

se

ctor

; som

e st

atis

tical

co

mpa

riso

ns

are

mad

e vi

a χ2

No

spec

ific

atio

n fo

r qu

alita

tive

anal

yses

and

no

pre

sent

atio

n of

qua

litat

ive

data

fe

mal

e ch

ild la

bore

rs)

Supp

ly (

fact

ors

cons

titut

ing

supp

ly,

sour

ces

of s

uppl

y an

d m

otiv

atio

n,

mig

ratio

n)E

mpl

oym

ent p

atte

rns

(pat

tern

s, s

ecur

ity,

cond

ition

s)T

he a

utho

r al

so

pres

ents

law

s re

late

d to

chi

ld la

bor

in I

ndia

Jew

kes,

Pen

n-K

ekan

a, a

nd

Ros

e-Ju

nius

(2

005)

Nam

ibia

and

So

uth

Afr

ica

To e

xplo

re a

spec

ts

of th

e so

cioc

ultu

ral

cont

ext o

f ch

ild

rape

by

draw

ing

on f

indi

ngs

of

ethn

ogra

phic

re

sear

ch in

Sou

th

Afr

ica

and

Nam

ibia

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

Sem

istr

uctu

red

in-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s an

d sm

all-

grou

p di

scus

sion

s

Purp

osiv

eSo

uth

Afr

ica:

30

inte

rvie

wee

s (d

octo

rs, n

urse

s,

soci

al w

orke

rs,

polic

e, te

ache

rs,

serv

ice

prov

ider

s, a

nd

com

mun

ity

mem

bers

) an

d 9

teen

ager

s in

sm

all-

gro

up

disc

ussi

ons

Nam

ibia

: 47

inte

rvie

wee

s (s

exua

lly a

buse

d ch

ildre

n,

pare

nts,

chi

ld

prot

ectio

n

“Ana

lytic

in

duct

ion”

(no

de

scri

ptio

n or

de

fini

tion

of

the

met

hod

of

anal

ysis

was

pr

ovid

ed)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 6

them

es:

Sexu

ality

and

sex

ual

desi

rabi

lity

of

child

ren:

nor

mal

but

no

t to

be e

ncou

rage

d“R

espe

ct”

and

the

soci

al p

ositi

on o

f m

en a

nd c

hild

ren

Unc

ontr

olla

ble

desi

re

and

dang

erou

s m

enN

egle

cted

chi

ldre

n,

trun

cate

d ch

ildho

ods

How

com

mun

ities

and

fa

mili

es p

erce

ive

child

abu

sers

Sexu

ally

abu

sed

child

ren

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

wor

kers

, NG

O

staf

f, p

olic

e,

nurs

es, t

each

ers,

tr

aditi

onal

he

aler

s, c

hief

s, a

pr

iest

, and

co

mm

unity

m

embe

rs)

Jiw

ani,

Jano

vife

k, a

nd

Cam

eron

(2

002)

Can

ada

To e

xam

ine

the

juxt

apos

ition

of

Can

ada’

s ob

ligat

ions

as

defi

ned

by

inte

rnat

iona

l in

stru

men

ts w

ith

the

lived

rea

litie

s an

d im

pact

of

dom

estic

pol

icie

s on

the

lives

of

raci

aliz

ed

imm

igra

nt a

nd

refu

gee

girl

s

All

fem

ale

child

ren

Qua

litat

ive

met

hods

: In

-dep

th

inte

rvie

ws

and

focu

s gr

oups

Purp

osiv

e52

gir

ls a

nd y

oung

w

omen

age

d 13

to

22

of m

ixed

na

tiona

lity,

plu

s 10

ser

vice

pr

ovid

ers

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

(u

nspe

cifi

ed)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

as

“are

as o

f di

sjun

ctur

e be

twee

n po

licie

s an

d re

aliti

es”

alon

g 12

th

emes

:L

ack

of g

ende

r- a

nd

age-

spec

ific

dat

aPo

vert

yT

raff

icki

ng a

nd s

exua

l ex

ploi

tatio

n of

ch

ildre

nV

iole

nce

Rac

ism

Scho

ol-b

ased

vio

lenc

eIn

terc

ultu

ral v

iole

nce

Fitti

ng in

and

bel

ongi

ngM

edia

infl

uenc

e an

d lit

erac

ySe

rvic

esSc

hool

sup

port

The

ref

ugee

gir

l

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

173172



Kea

irns

(20

02)

Ang

ola,

C

olom

bia,

Ph

ilipp

ines

, an

d Sr

i L

anka

To id

entif

y th

e un

ique

fea

ture

s,

char

acte

rist

ics,

an

d ne

eds

of g

irl

child

sol

dier

s

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

In-d

epth

in

terv

iew

s

Con

veni

ence

sa

mpl

ing

23 f

orm

er g

irl

child

sol

dier

s (5

in

Ang

ola,

6 in

C

olum

bia,

6 in

th

e Ph

ilipp

ines

, an

d 6

in S

ri

Lan

ka)

who

w

ere

youn

ger

than

18

whe

n th

ey b

ecam

e so

ldie

rs a

nd w

ho

had

been

out

of

arm

ed c

onfl

ict

for

less

than

2

year

s

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

(d

escr

ibed

as

iden

tific

atio

n,

artic

ulat

ion,

sy

nthe

sis,

and

el

abor

atio

n of

co

mm

on

them

es)

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 3

them

es:

Bec

omin

g a

child

so

ldie

rT

he c

hild

sol

dier

ex

peri

ence

The

fut

ure

Cou

ntry

dis

tinct

ions

are

al

so p

rese

nted

Mai

tra

(200

2)B

enga

l, In

dia

To e

xplo

re h

ow th

e si

tuat

ion

of th

e gi

rl c

hild

can

be

impr

oved

th

roug

h a

colla

bora

tive

appr

oach

am

ong

the

gove

rnm

ent,

volu

ntar

y or

gani

zatio

ns,

and

girl

chi

ldre

n in

dev

elop

men

t pr

ojec

ts in

Wes

t B

enga

l, In

dia

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

Sem

istr

uctu

red

inte

rvie

ws,

fo

cus

grou

ps

Purp

osiv

e sa

mpl

ing

15 p

artic

ipan

ts (

8 gi

rls

aged

10

to

18 a

nd 7

NG

O

staf

f an

d go

vern

men

tal

offi

cial

s)

Uns

peci

fied

Dat

a ar

e pr

esen

ted

alon

g 3

them

es:

Dif

fere

nt o

rgan

izat

iona

l vi

ews

of

colla

bora

tion

Gov

ernm

enta

l and

fo

reig

n fu

ndin

g an

d fe

ar o

f co

-opt

atio

nW

here

gir

ls s

tand

in th

e co

llabo

ratio

n

(con

tinu

ed)

Tabl

e 1

(con

tinu

ed)

C

itatio

nC

ount

ry o

r R

egio

n

Purp

ose

Def

initi

on o

f G

irl C

hild

Res

earc

h M

etho

dSa

mpl

e M

etho

dSa

mpl

e Si

ze a

nd

Cha

ract

eris

tics

A

naly

sis

Fi

ndin

gs

175174



Moh

anty

(20

03)

Ben

gal,

Indi

aTo

inve

stig

ate

the

infl

uenc

es o

f

the

hom

e en

viro

nmen

t on

the

educ

atio

n of

th

e gi

rl c

hild

st

udyi

ng a

t pr

imar

y le

vel,

pare

nts’

atti

tude

s to

war

d ed

ucat

ing

the

girl

chi

ld,

and

the

prob

lem

s fa

ced

by th

e pa

rent

s in

ed

ucat

ing

the

girl

chi

ld

Non

eQ

ualit

ativ

e m

etho

ds:

In-d

epth

cas

e st

udy

Purp

osiv

e2

fam

ilies

in th

e C

hhot

ta B

husn

a vi

llage

of

Wes

t B

enga

l; bo

th

fam

ilies

had

at

leas

t one

gir

l ch

ild in

pri

mar

y sc

hool

, and

bot

h ha

d in

com

es

belo

w th

e po

vert

y lin

e

Qua

litat

ive

anal

ysis

(“t

he

data

wer

e sc

reen

ed,

cros

s-ch

ecke

d,

and

inte

grat

ed

befo

re

anal

yzin

g th

em

qual

itativ

ely”

)

2 ca

se s

tudi

es a

re

pres

ente

d th

at in

clud

e de

scri

ptio

ns o

f,T

he h

ome

envi

ronm

ent

Wor

k an

d as

sets

Pare

ntal

sup

port

for

gi

rls’

edu

catio

n—ta

king

an

inte

rest

in

stud

ies,

sen

ding

gir

ls

to s

choo

l reg

ular

ly,

supe

rvis

ing

hom

ewor

k, h

avin

g a

“pos

itive

atti

tude

” to

war

d gi

rls

cont

inui

ng th

eir

stud

ies

The

aut

hors

con

clud

ed

that

one

fam

ily w

as

supp

ortiv

e an

d th

e ot

her

was

no

nsup

port

ive

of

girl

s’ e

duca

tion

Puni

a, B

alda

, and

Pu

nia

(200

5)H

isar

, Ind

iaTo

eva

luat

e th

e ef

fect

iven

ess

of a

so

cial

co

mpe

tenc

e pr

ogra

m f

or

pres

choo

l-ag

ed

rura

l gir

ls

Non

eQ

uant

itativ

e m

etho

ds:

Prog

ram

ev

alua

tion

(p

re-

and

post

test

s)

Ran

dom

se

lect

ion

of

2 vi

llage

s in

H

isar

; one

se

rvin

g

as th

e in

terv

entio

n gr

oup

and

one

serv

ing

as th

e co

ntro

l gr

oup

120

girl

s ag

ed 4

to

6 (6

0 fr

om e

ach

of th

e 2

villa

ges)

(n

o sp

ecif

icat

ion

for

how

the

60

girl

s w

ere

iden

tifie

d in

the

2 vi

llage

s)

Pre-

and

po

stte

sts

of

inte

rper

sona

l pr

oble

m-

solv

ing

skill

s (u

sing

the

Soci

al

Prob

lem

-So

lvin

g Te

st

and

the

Wha

t H

appe

ns N

ext

Sign

ific

ant d

iffe

renc

es

foun

d be

twee

n th

e pr

e- a

nd p

ostte

sts

for

the

inte

rven

tion

grou

p bu

t not

for

the

cont

rol g

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175174



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port

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177176



American context, stating that the term was demeaning. Berman et al. argued, however, that “even in North American cultures where there are distinct terms for girls and boys, gender-based concerns are often obscured by the more common focus on children and youth” (p. 33). Agreeing with this point, the researchers settled on the use of the term girl child. The concerns of these authors may begin to hint at an explanation for the dearth of publica-tions from developed or Western regions: that the term has not been adopted in those cul-tures because it is perceived as inapplicable or degrading to Western girls. These issues are further explored in later sections.

Defining and Conceptualizing the Girl Child

Of the 16 empirical publications, 13 did not provide an explicit definition of the girl child. Rather, the reader was left to assume that the term refers to all female children, to the specific girls involved in the study, or to some heretofore undefined category of female children. Conversely, two publications defined the term yet used different definitions and inclusion criteria. One publication (Ananthakrishnan & Nalini, 2002) defined girl children as girls up to age 20. The second publication (Jiwani et al., 2002) defined girl children as “all female children” but did not specify an age range for what constitutes children. A third publication (Jawa, 2000) defined not girl children but, rather, girl child laborers as “those girls between 0–14 . . . who sell their labor either in cash or kind or engage themselves into some activity which saves labor of their parents which they can in turn invest some-where else, so as to earn livelihood” (p. 26).

On the bases of the definitions that were provided and the authors’ inferences in the other 13 publications, the conceptual criteria for the label girl child appear to be based on two constructs: gender and childhood. First, the child must be “female” or a “girl,” but these constructs are not well defined. It is thus unclear whether the constructs are based on bio-logical determinations of sex or social constructions of gender. Second, the female must be a child, although there is no consensus about what age range constitutes this developmental period (i.e., Is a 13-year-old betrothed female or a 16-year-old pregnant female a girl, an adolescent, or a woman?).

By considering the geographic locations from which the publications on girl children emanated, we gained a further understanding of how this target population is conceptual-ized. The studies reviewed here were concerned either with the plight of girl children in a specific geographic region or with the abstract “girl child,” regardless of where she exists. There is broad coverage of girl child issues from Asia, Africa, and Latin America yet a complete or near-complete lack from others regions, such as Europe, the United States, or Australia and New Zealand. Such geographic bias implies that only girls from developing regions of the world are considered to be girl children. Berman et al.’s (2000) need to justify their use of the term affirms this notion.

Finally, the ways in which the studies portrayed the girl child in relation to her life situ-ation and problems resulted in her being categorized as a particular type of female child. Specifically, she was presented as a victimized, traumatized, helpless child who sits at the intersection of various sociopolitical ills. She is forced into armed conflict (Keairns, 2002); she is prostituted, trafficked, and exploited (Jawa, 2000; World Vision, 2001); her body is raped and abused (Jewkes et al., 2005); she lacks equal opportunity and access to education, health care, and nutrition (Agaba, 2007; Anandalakshmy, 1994); and she is socialized to expect violence (Berman et al., 2000; Berman et al., 2002). Not only does the body of literature lack a clear definition of the girl child, but it also appears to have constructed a




deficits-based conceptualization of her—one that ignores and devalues individual experi-ences and strengths as well as developmental differences and renders her distinct from the “typical” female child.

Research Methods

Of the 16 publications reviewed here, 10 used exclusively qualitative methods, generally purposive or convenience sampling to generate a range of sample sizes (from 2 to more than 100; Agaba, 2007; Agarwal et al., 1997; Berman et al., 2000; Jewkes et al., 2005; Jiwani et al., 2002; Keairns, 2002; Maitra, 2002; Mohanty, 2003; Segura-April, 2006; Wamahiu et al., 1992). Despite the sampling breadth, there were various limitations with regard to sample selection and data analysis. Several authors failed to specify how they recruited participants, what selection criteria they used, or how they analyzed qualitative data. More than one study simply reported that “qualitative methods” or “analytic induc-tion” were used to analyze interview or focus group transcripts but provided no description of those methods.

An additional five studies used mixed-methods research, often a combination of struc-tured surveys (sometimes referred to in India as “schedules”) and in-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or direct observation (Anandalakshmy, 1994; Ananthakrishnan & Nalini, 2002; Berman et al., 2002; Jawa, 2000; World Vision, 2001). These studies were more rigorous, using statistical analyses and triangulation between qualitative and quantitative data as well as a more elaborate description of the sampling and analytic methods. Several of these mixed-methods studies reported only descriptive statistics and were not designed to meas-ure outcomes or to compare groups on a particular phenomenon. Only one study (Punia et al., 2005) used solely quantitative methods. It was designed as an evaluation of a social competence intervention for 120 girls and used pre- and posttests with treatment and con-trol groups.

The empirical literature thus seems to be moving from a description of the problems faced by girl children to a focus on how best to address the needs of this population. The literature reviewed herein provides a strong, if disjointed, foundation that documents and describes concerns about girl children. Grounded in feminist theories and other conceptual explanations, to date the empirical precedents suggest ways in which the concerns of the girl child can be addressed through programs, services, policies, and direct action. However, evidence of the effectiveness of such interventions remains largely outstanding in the literature.

Issues Explored and Findings Obtained

The 16 empirical publications explored a range of topics related to the girl child, which encompass two broad categories: problem areas that affect the girl child and services and interventions for the girl child.

Problems that affect the girl child. Of the 16 publications, 13 focused on one or more problem areas faced by the girl child, which can be categorized as education, violence, labor, health, and cultural beliefs and practices. Several studies were related to the educa-tion of the girl child. Agaba (2007) explored the ways in which poverty, gendered practices and perceptions, and power relations affect education for girls in Uganda and found that girls’ education is indeed hampered by such factors as poverty, the preference for boy





children, early marriage, pregnancy, excessive work for girl children, and orphanhood. Mohanty (2003) assessed the impact of the home environment, parental attitudes, and parental resources on girls’ education in Bengal, India. She found that the interrelated factors of poverty, ignorance, large families, negative parental attitudes, poor infrastructure in neighborhoods and schools, early marriage, and child labor contribute to deficits in girls’ education. Wamahiu et al. (1992) developed a profile of the girl child in Kenya, specifically exploring the socioeconomic and sociocultural opportunities and disparities between boys and girls as they relate to education. They reported that the Kenyan educational system is “highly wasteful,” squandering resources that could otherwise ensure the survival of the girl child in her educational endeavors. Taken together, the findings of these three studies suggest that poverty, gender biases, power imbalances, and the lack of economic and sociocultural opportunities negatively affect girls’ educational advancement, specifically in parts of Africa and in India.

Berman and her colleagues are among the many researchers who are concerned with violence in the lives of the girl child. One study (Berman et al., 2000) explored the ways in which girls in Canada are socialized to expect violence in their lives and how social policies and institutions alleviate or perpetuate the problems that they face. Another study (Berman et al., 2002) elaborated on the previous study by exploring the ways in which girls in Canada encounter, negotiate, and accept—or even expect—violence in their lives and the roles of boys or young men in that process. Both studies found that girls’ sense of confi-dence and sense of self are eroded by experiences of sexual harassment and other forms of sexualized violence. A third study from Canada, which explored the impact of domestic policies on the lives of immigrant and refugee girls in Canada, found that these girls expe-rience multiple forms of violence in schools and in their communities (Jiwani et al., 2002). Jewkes et al. (2005) explored a specific type of violence, that of child rape, and the socio-cultural context of child rape in Namibia and South Africa. They found that the dominant patriarchal ideology, coupled with pronounced age hierarchies, makes girls vulnerable to abuse through their inability to refuse sexual advances. Together, the findings of these stud-ies revealed that girls are frequent victims of violence in their relationships, communities, and societies and that social policies can help or hinder their protection, treatment, and recovery.

Several studies were concerned with various forms of girl child labor. Jawa (2000) explored girl child labor in India, particularly the ways in which exploitation and dis-crimination affect female child laborers. She found that girls are engaged in various productive activities under miserable and hazardous working conditions with long hours—circumstances that cut short their childhood and life span. Agarwal et al. (1997) studied the specific social, economic, and travel circumstances of female kayayoos, or head-carrying porters, in Ghana and discovered that these girl child workers are exposed to arduous labor, lack technology to advance their activities, and have little control over their earnings yet exhibit a high degree of social organization. Keairns (2002) explored the unique features, characteristics, and needs of girl child soldiers in Angola, Columbia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. She found that although some girls are abducted and forced into armed conflict, others are influenced to join and that factors, such as poverty, propaganda, and having sig-nificant others involved in the movement, contribute to girls’ vulnerability to joining armed conflicts. Collectively, these findings indicate that girls often lack agency in making employment decisions and instead are largely forced by adults into labor environments that are hazardous to their physical, cognitive, emotional, and moral development.




Although no studies exclusively examined the health outcomes of the girl child, several studies identified health as one of the relevant problem areas faced by the girl child. Anandalakshmy (1994) identified major problems related to the status of girls in India, including education, child labor, and health (specifically immunizations, nutrition, health treatment, menstruation, and environmental factors). Similarly, Ananthakrishnan and Nalini (2002) assessed the social status of the school-aged girl child in rural India and identified issues of health, nutrition, education, workload in the home, and leisure time as problematic for girls compared to boys. Finally, World Vision (2001) explored the situation of the girl child in relation to 12 “essential issues,” including HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and health care. It discovered that in many areas where World Vision works, families are unable to meet the needs of children adequately, that girls are disadvantaged when scarce resources are apportioned, and that girls do not receive adequate education regarding sexual health, family planning, hygiene, and nutrition. The findings of these studies highlight the inter-connectedness between the girl child’s social status and her physical well-being, specifi-cally the extent to which her health care needs are often neglected by families, communities, and governments.

Many studies examined some of the aforementioned problems within the context of social norms, cultural values and practices, and other system-level factors such as poverty, racism, and gender socialization. For instance, Berman et al. (2000) examined gender-role socialization and the ways in which girls are socialized to expect violence in their lives. Other studies explored the ways in which gendered practices, social position, and power relations affect girls’ education in Uganda (Agaba, 2007), fertility decisions in India (Anandalakshmy, 1994; Ananthakrishnan & Nalini, 2002), ability to protect their bodies from rape in Namibia and South Africa (Jewkes et al., 2005), and assimilation experiences as immigrants or refugees in Canada (Jiwani et al., 2002). Collectively, the findings of these studies provide an understanding of the cultural beliefs and practices that contribute to the educational, economic, safety, and health concerns faced by the girl child. They highlight the ways in which overarching structures, such as racism and gender socialization, traverse age groups, cultures, and geographic regions and render the girl child vulnerable.

Services and interventions for the girl child. Four publications examined services pro-vided to girl children. Maitra (2002) explored how the situation of the girl child can be improved through a collaborative approach among the government of India, voluntary organizations, and girl children themselves in development projects. Maitra described three NGOs in India that provide diverse services, ranging from the rescue of girls from the street and the provision of basic needs, such as housing and meals, to the provision of health care, education, economic development, and girls’ empowerment groups. On the basis of inter-views with girl children, Maitra proposed a feminist model for collaboration in which girls are active participants and partners with organizations in development projects.

Segura-April (2006) explored the missiological (i.e., Christian missionary) strategies used to “present the gospel” to girl children in Latin America and what theories and prac-tices most effectively present a “life-transforming gospel.” Using interviews and participant observation, she reported on the services being provided to girl children by five mission projects in Latin America. The services provided include education, health and nutrition, spiritual counseling, services targeted toward alleviating violence and exploitation, advo-cacy and consciousness raising, and research. A qualitative analysis explored the themes of vision, responses to the unique needs and contextual situation of the girl child, missiological




theories, ministry strategies, and presentation of the gospel among these five missions. On the basis of the results of her analysis, Segura-April proposed a gender- and age-sensitive mission model for girl children in the Latin American region.

World Vision’s (2001) report served the dual purpose of documenting the situation of the girl child in relation to 12 “essential issues” and evaluating the organization’s programs and services to this population. The organization operates 234 programs around the world for girl children that address their needs on the 12 essential issues. Those programs are too numer-ous to provide a full account of here. A few examples, however, include a program in India that helps prevent female infanticide by paying families to keep their daughters, a program in Cambodia to sensitize police about the sexual exploitation of girls, and trauma counseling programs for girls who are involved in armed conflict in several African nations. The study’s findings include numerous successes and areas for improvement, particularly the need for the organization to focus more on prevention and to promote the participation of girls.

Finally, Punia et al. (2005) evaluated a social competence intervention for preschool-aged girls in rural India. Although they detailed how social competence was measured and assessed, they provided no description of the intervention itself, other than that it was implemented for 2 months. Punia et al. reported a significant improvement in interper-sonal problem-solving skills for the treatment versus the control group after the elusive intervention.

Taken together, these studies highlight the types of services provided to the girl child in an attempt to address some of the often-cited areas of concern. The first two studies con-ceptualized “best-practice” services to girl children, specifically for collaborative develop-ment projects in India and faith-based missions to girl children in Latin America, whereas the third presented a cross-sectional view of the strengths and challenges of the services offered by World Vision to girl children throughout the world. However, this small body of literature failed to systematically evaluate the impact of specific interventions targeted to the girl child. Only the fourth offered a specific outcome—interpersonal problem-solving skills—that can be improved among girl children through a social competence intervention. Unfortunately, the intervention itself was not described and therefore cannot be replicated. As a result, there is a limited empirical foundation on which to develop, implement, repli-cate, or expand services to girl children.

Discussion and Implications for Research

Drawing from these findings, we offer several recommendations for future research related to the girl child. First, there is a need for a consistent definition of the population. Few of the articles in this review provided a definition of the girl child, leaving the reader to assume a definition based on such complex criteria as age, geographic location, and status with regard to the various areas of concern that were identified. This lack of a clear, consistent definition of the population makes the development of targeted interventions and their evaluation difficult, if not impossible. Future research should not only clearly specify all relevant sociodemographic characteristics of study participants but also provide a defini-tion of the target population—one that identifies an appropriate biological or developmen-tal age range, along with other relevant inclusion criteria. In addition, researchers should specify whether their use of the term girl child is all encompassing (i.e., inclusive of all girls everywhere) or whether it is used to refer to those who experience a certain set of circumstances or are from a specific region.




Furthermore, researchers and advocates must strive for a reconceptualization of the girl child that is based on strengths rather than deficits. The current conceptualization of the girl child largely ignores and devalues her skills and potential contributions. The girl child must be viewed as an active agent who is capable of contributing to the production of knowledge and the development of solutions. Researchers and advocates should also be cognizant of the ways in which the girl child is revictimized by how she is described in the literature. By highlighting her assets instead and ensuring that she is not portrayed as a helpless victim, researchers can empower the girl child to be a full participant in the research process. Toward these ends, researchers might consider using methods, such as participatory action research, that enable participants to identify their own strengths and areas of concern and to take action on the basis of their findings. Researchers should further consult girls in developing recommendations and new areas for future research. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers, along with advocacy and social service organizations and the girls themselves, should be working to advance the empirical literature on the specific needs of the girl child as well as on effective intervention and prevention programs.

Furthermore, there is a need for high-quality, rigorous research on the girl child using multiple methods, including replications and expansions of existing studies, as well as new research on solutions to the many areas of concern for the girl child. Studies that evaluate the effectiveness of targeted interventions for this population are desperately lacking. The literature has revealed that services are being provided across the globe. Organizations, such as World Vision, as well as community-based organizations are working to rehabilitate former girl child soldiers, to prevent forced gender mutilation and treat its victims, to free girls from the sex slave trade, and to empower girls through higher education. Yet limited data exist on the effectiveness of such programs, making replication and expansion diffi-cult. Researchers should consider working with these NGOs to evaluate and report the effectiveness of their interventions. When conducting studies and reporting findings, researchers should describe their sampling and analytic methods to enable evaluation and replication. Such rigorous research is vital for identifying evidence-based practices that can be expanded and replicated for girl children around the world to address the myriad prob-lems that they face.

Finally, appropriate outcome measures in the areas of education, health, violence, and child labor and their contextual variables, such as cultural attitudes and practices, need to be identified. While determining the areas that are most in need of future research, research-ers must also carefully consider the outcomes that they aim to achieve as a result of inter-ventions with this population. The lack of carefully identified and defined outcome measures has resulted in a disjointed body of literature and has made it difficult to design appropriate interventions. Experts in the fields of social work, psychology, medicine, anthropology, gender studies, sociology, public health, and education as well as practition-ers with expertise in implementing programs for girl children should partner to identify and define the appropriate outcome measures and to track outcomes for this population.

Conclusion

Although the challenges faced by the girl child appear extensive, the extant empirical literature provides a good starting point from which to understand her needs and to develop and evaluate interventions to address such issues as low educational achievement, forced marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, malnutrition, and early pregnancy. Girl children




throughout the world are in need of carefully planned interventions on these issues. The literature reviewed herein describes several model interventions. From them, we can derive some key components. First, the interventions are locally specific and based on the needs of the girl child as directly observed in the community. Second, they provide all-encompassing services, which range from basic needs to education and empowerment. Third, they are grounded in a theoretical framework that guides their mission and philoso-phy (e.g., feminist theory, theology, or social justice practices). The time is ripe to evaluate the additional programs and services that already exist. Whether because of the lack of resources or the lack of awareness of the benefits of research, few service organizations have undertaken the task of evaluating their interventions. However, such data are vital to identify and advance evidence-based practices for this population. By documenting the needs of girl children around the globe, evaluating existing interventions, replicating effective practices, and integrating girl children more fully into the research process, researchers and practitioners can minimize the challenges that are faced by this vulnerable population.

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Gretchen Heidemann, MSW, is a doctoral student at the School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411; e-mail: [email protected].

Kristin M. Ferguson, PhD, is an assistant professor at the School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411; e-mail: [email protected].



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