Conflict-affected Countries: Adolescent Girls

Baroness Sheehan Excerpts

Tuesday 8th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

My Lords, I start by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, for the very knowledgeable way in which she introduced this important debate. I want to acknowledge the impressive contributions from noble Lords from across the Chamber, which have reminded us of the great challenges that adolescent girls face.

Man-made conflict is the source of so much of the gratuitous violence that we see in the world today, much of it directed towards women and children. It is therefore welcome that the cross-Whitehall working group on women, peace and security is supported by the Stabilisation Unit, a cross-government unit providing expertise to build stability, prevent conflict and meet security challenges internationally. The Government’s national action plan of December 2018 tells us that women are essential participants in conflict prevention and peacebuilding and that their participation leads to peace agreements that are measurably more durable. Given all that, why is it that the Stabilisation Unit’s page on the Government’s website shows no evidence of work that supports women as peacebuilders or of any projects shaped by that evidence? I hope it is an oversight, but I wonder whether the Minister could look into it.

In the same national action plan, Conflict, Stability and Security Fund projects are mentioned liberally, yet the CSSF has repeatedly come in for criticism, not least from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which awarded it an overall amber/red score in its report last year. Can the Minister assure me that aid spending through the CSSF now takes a more relevant and evidence-based approach to addressing conflict, instability and insecurity, as recommended by ICAI? I am interested too in hearing his response to the suggestion of the Secretary of State for Defence that the MoD is a suitable vehicle for becoming involved in preventing sexual violence in conflict zones.

Muriel Spark’s great quote from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie:

“Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life”,


tells us of the importance of girls attending school, particularly secondary school. But, as we have heard today, much conspires to keep them away: the burden of family responsibility, household chores, issues of period hygiene, FGM complications and problems relating to early marriage, forced marriage, pregnancies and resultant issues such as fistula and faecal incontinence, to mention but some. Following the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, I should add abortion to that list.

We have already heard the UN statistic from South Sudan, where an adolescent girl is more likely to die in childbirth than complete her education. That is chilling, and it is likely to apply to other conflict-affected countries. Yet we know that for every year a girl spends in school, the family’s income will go up by 10%. That is a huge return. Investment in education must be led by an evidence base recognisable to communities in developing countries. But the ODI said in its report of 13 June last year, How to Deliver the G7’s Ambitious Commitments to Gender Equality and Girls’ Education, that that does not always happen. Will the Minister assure me that programmes are being designed from the outset to accommodate evidence that speaks to what works to support adolescent girls to reach their potential? I add my voice to that of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester when she asked for that information earlier.

I end with what I call the curse of short-termism. We have heard much about the challenges faced by adolescent girls and entrenched social practices. However, I have found—I am sure that many noble Lords will agree—that all too often we hear of successful projects that end with no plan for a follow-up. That short-termism is short-sighted. I share the concerns of my noble friend Lady Featherstone when she talked about funding for the Ethiopian Spice Girls group that was pulled in the face of vociferous attacks from the Daily Mail. Programmes such as the Yegna project could bring prolonged benefits.

I also want to bring to noble Lords’ attention another example of a DfID-funded project in Kenya, which used football as a hook to recruit 4,500 young people—crucially, men and boys—into a programme to reduce violence against women and girls. Itad’s evaluation found that the programme would have benefited from further DfID investment, which, however, was not forthcoming. I hope that the Minister will challenge assertions that such programmes are a waste of money because they highlight the sustained, long-term engagement necessary to shift social norms and reduce violence against women and girls.