Girls are imagining a world where they never feel scared
When 15-year-old Solange moved from the Peruvian countryside to the city of Lima to further her education, she got involved in Plan International’s Safer Cities for Girls program and became an active agent of change.
Although Solange lived with her relatives when she moved to the city, she found life in Lima much harder than she expected, and she often feared for her safety.
Solange is not alone. A 2018 report from Plan International found that girls in cities around the world often fear for their safety or face violence. Plan International USA’s The State of Gender Equality for U.S. Adolescents found that even 76% of girls in the U.S. feel unsafe at least once in a while.
But girls like Solange are working to change that reality — and programs like Safer Cities for Girls are helping. Here’s Solange’s story, in her own words.
“I missed my family when I first moved to Lima, but I came here to get a better education. I lived seven blocks away from my school. I tried to walk there, sometimes with friends, but when my bag was too heavy I had to take a taxi. We were always warned not to travel alone, but sometimes there is just no other option.
“Using [taxis] to get to school by yourself can be scary because sometimes they’ll take you down streets you’ve never used before to chat you up. I always put up a front and didn’t talk much to protect myself.
“The way taxi drivers talk to schoolgirls is normal to many of my friends. That’s what’s probably the scariest, because some of my friends think the drivers are just showing them some interest, but no, they actually want more. In fact, at school we were told that nine girls got pregnant last year. Everyone was surprised but I thought it was going to be more. Nine is pretty low.
“Between buses and taxis, I prefer taxis. Buses are always busy and I feel like it is worse on there. If you’re felt up and shout out, no one owns up to it and everyone pretends like nothing has happened — so I just don’t take buses.
“Walking around the city isn’t that safe either. Sexual harassment definitely happens on the street, pretty much on every corner with annoying whistling or uncomfortable words. I also had to put up with racist remarks because of the way I spoke and looked.
“It took me a while to learn to brush them off but they used to hurt a lot. And you know … it’s not just old men, its guys of all sorts of ages who harass girls, even boys who are younger. I always ignored them and focused on walking.
People can try to put me down, but I won’t let them get to me. I want to do so many things and I have many dreams too. – Solange, 15
“There are things I can do to make life easier that I’ve learned through Plan International’s Safer Cities for Girls program.
“It starts with small things like chatting to boys in our classes. We shouldn’t be afraid to call them out if their attitudes are sexist. If we chat with them respectfully and encourage them to see our perspective, they will understand better. We can also ask teachers to address these issues and tell everyone about how it affects our self-esteem.
“If I could talk to the government, I would just be honest and tell them that the situation we’re living in is dangerous. The authorities need to start putting themselves in our shoes to understand how harassment and violence can affect our own self-esteem. I don’t think they realize that. You always hear stories in the news about girls or young women who have been raped who end up committing suicide because no one helped.
“They need to enforce laws to protect girls, and in places like my community we need better security. We can’t continue putting up with gender inequality, it affects everyone.
“My school really backs this, it would be so nice if it could happen in all schools. I would even take it to the police stations. Just imagine a world where everyone is safe all the time and you never feel scared you might get hurt.”