Plan International USAās 2022 Annual Review highlights how evidence, accountability and girlsā leadership shaped our work in a complex global landscape.
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- Blog
More than 339 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, more than the population of the United States. Itās also 65 million more people than 2022, a 24% increase.
Climate shocks, economic turmoil, armed conflict and the long-term effects of the pandemic are ruining lives, especially those of girls and young women.
We're working with girls to change the story
More than 85 years ago, Plan International was born during the turbulence of Spainās civil war when our humanitarian founders stepped into the mass violence to protect children.
Today, weāre still fighting on the front lines responding to the unique needs of girls in crisis ā because in the chaos of emergencies, we know that girls are put in even more vulnerable positions, and their experiences are too often overlooked.
Here, youāll get a look at some of the top crises threatening our world in 2023 through the eyes of girls and women. And, youāll find your opportunities for humanitarian action with Plan.
The Ukraine conflict
- Nearly 8 million people have become refugees.
- More than 6.5 million people have fled their homes to other areas of Ukraine.
- An estimated 17.7 million people need humanitarian assistance.
- 7,000 people have died, and 972 children have been killed or injured.
- An average four preschools a day have been damaged or destroyed.
A 7-year-old refugee girl named Anna was a singer in the childrenās choir at the Odessa Ukraine opera house. But after witnessing death and explosions while fleeing from her home, she has stopped using her voice altogether. āShe only talks in her sleep,ā her mother says.
One year after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, girls and their families are still facing a humanitarian crisis each day. Almost 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, making this Europeās largest refugee wave since WWII.
Attacks on energy infrastructure have left over six million people without electricity ā temperatures are currently dropping to as low as -20 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, and families are unprotected from harsh winter conditions. And with global inflation and lack of employment opportunities, refugee families are struggling to make ends meet.
Many refugee families are now single female-headed households. Many husbands and fathers stayed behind in Ukraine to fight. Now, mothers are facing difficulty adjusting and managing the emotional well-being of their children ā let alone themselves.
And, periods donāt stop during an emergency. Menstrual health products for refugees are difficult to access, putting girlsā and womenās physical and mental health at even greater risk.
Children and their families are living through unimaginable hardships, struggling to access critical health and education services. And the risk of violence against girls and women doesnāt end once they flee ā away from their home and their support networks, theyāre at high risk of exploitation.
What you can do
Girls from Ukraine need continued humanitarian aid to support their mental well-being and education. With your support, weāre focused on working alongside local partners in Moldova, Poland and Romania first, as well as working inside Ukraine with local partners, to provide protection from violence, abuse and neglect; uninterrupted, safe, inclusive and quality education; and psychosocial support, like art therapy. And, we are among the few organizations supporting girlsā menstrual health, providing thousands with period products and health kits.
Global hunger
828 million people around the world need immediate food aid.
70% of the worldās hungry are girls and women.
People across 79 countries are experiencing hunger.
One person is estimated to be dying of hunger every four seconds.
Every minute, a child is being pushed into deadly malnutrition.
The world is in the grip of the worst hunger crisis in modern history. Globally, conflict is the biggest driver of hunger ā itās responsible for 65% of people facing food insecurity. Violence is destroying livelihoods and forcing families to flee their homes, and children are facing serious hunger as they seek refuge.
Inflation and economic shocks have impacted access to food for millions of people. Steep rises in food prices are creating immense strain on household budgets, with the poorest families hardest hit, and left to make devastating decisions for their daughters.
Plan staff visited a community in Kenya, where they met a 14-year-old girl. āSheās the newest bride in the village,ā her mother says. āSheās just been married two months ago. Most of our livestock have died with the drought. Her father decided to marry her off in exchange for camels to sustain the rest of the family.ā
Countries across Africa are especially affected by hunger because of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine supply around 40% of Africaās wheat, but the war has halted exports, leaving countries like Kenya at risk of famine.
And climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, like drought, hurricanes, cyclones and floods, which are destroying countriesā crops and livestock. Right now in East Africa, the worst drought in 40 years is leaving parents without the resources (like livestock) they need to feed their families, and millions of children are facing severe malnutrition.
After four failed rainy seasons over the last four years, Somalia is bracing for famine ā the most severe level of hunger ā in 2023. We spoke with Plan International Somaliaās Head of Mission, Sadia Allin, to understand what this means for girls and their families.
āI put my children to bed and boil water in the night so that they will fall asleep thinking there will be food. But today, I donāt have enough water to boil. We did not eat last night. We did not eat today. And I donāt think we will have anything to eat tomorrow.ā
A mother of nine in Somalia tells Sadia
In Somali culture, whenever there is a food shortage, girls are the last members of the family to eat and often miss meals to feed others. āI cook, eat last and if there is not enough food, I donāt eat,ā 13-year-old Faisa from Somalia tells us. āI have to wait until the next meal if I am lucky.ā
What you can do
Your gift of just $33 can feed four children in Kenya with a monthās worth of food. By donating, youāll support Planās response to the hunger crisis in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Somalia and South Sudan.
With your help, weāre providing lifesaving relief to girls and their families, including food and water kits, school meals and treatment for malnutrition. And, weāre working to keep girls protected from increased risk of child marriage, gender-based violence and exploitation.
Violence and insecurity in Haiti
Half of the population needs some form of humanitarian aid, and the number is expected to grow this year.
111,582 people have been forced to flee their homes, mostly driven by urban violence.
Hunger has reached catastrophic levels for the first time ever in Haiti, according to the U.N.
Food prices inflated by 30% throughout 2022.
A cholera outbreak is worsening every day, with children ages 1-4 most affected.
Since the assassination of Haitiās President Jovenel MoĆÆse in 2021, political instability has led to gangs taking control of most of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Violence in surrounding neighborhoods has made it nearly impossible for children and families to leave their homes to get food and water, or to make it safely to school or work. Armed groups have also seized the main fuel import terminal, blocking flows of diesel, the economyās lifeline. And, gangs are using sexual violence to terrorize girls and women, and intimidate local communities.
āOur main concern is focused on women and girls. Not only are we challenged with getting enough funds to provide food and other crucial elements, with the current crisis in the country it is almost impossible to move around. The fuel shortages and daily violence are affecting how and where we can work, and urgent supplies are not getting where they should be. In the end it is the women and girls who pay the price.ā
Anaƫlle Canez, Plan Haiti program specialist
Nearly 5 million Haitians are now facing starvation. Basic food items such as rice, flour, sugar and vegetable oil increased in price by more than 63% in September 2022 and 88% in October 2022, due to import inflations. Itās expected increases will continue in 2023.
Meanwhile, Haiti is facing its first cholera outbreak in more than three years. Communities are still grappling with the damage from the 2021 earthquake, which destroyed critical clean water and sanitation infrastructure, making these types of disease outbreaks more likely to spread. Children who are malnourished from a lack of food are much more likely to catch cholera, and are three times more likely to die if they contract it.
The countryās healthcare system has also been badly impacted, with some hospitals forced to close or cut the number of patients they can admit due to the lack of electricity or fuel to power generators. Healthcare workers canāt get to work, and hospitals are struggling to procure drugs and medical supplies for sick children.
āChildren are dying of diseases that are preventable. Our local hospital is not functioning well. The other day, a friend had to go there and there was not even light. An orphaned child was walking down the corridors without having been treated by the doctors.ā
Stephanie, a young woman in Haiti
What you can do
Plan International launched an emergency response to the hunger crisis in Haiti in July 2022 in the countryās southeastern region. Cash transfers were distributed to more than 2,400 families, helping them buy food and other necessities ā but thereās so much more to do.
During 2023, we are continuing to support families in need with the delivery of cash to 719 families in the northeast region of the country as well. And, weāre holding workshops on protection, nutrition and hygiene in response to the recent cholera outbreak.
Other crises to watch closely this year ā¦
- Unrest in Afghanistan: Decades-long conflict and economic collapse have put more than 28 million people in need of humanitarian response. Almost the entire population is living in poverty. And, the Taliban government banned education for girls ā currently, grade six is the highest level of education achievable for girls.
- Displacement in Venezuela: More than 7 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, because of conflict and lack of access to basics like food and water. Of those who remain in the country, 90% live in poverty. Children who have migrated need support, and more children and families migrating are expected in 2023.
- Civil war in South Sudan: The country has been hit hard by drought and hunger, and the civil war that ended five years ago is still causing widespread conflict and violence. More people in South Sudan will face hunger this year than ever before, and since violence against humanitarian workers is among the highest in the world, itās difficult to reach girls and their families in need.
- Climate shocks around the world: Climate-related disasters like floods and hurricanes are beyond human control. But as the earth warms each year, we know how to prepare for what could come in 2023, so that we can be there for girls even before disaster strikes.
- Blog
Clement has noticed an unsettling trend when he takes attendance at the primary school where he works in South Sudan.
āIāve found some gaps,ā he explains. āGirls especially are not turning up to school. I call their names out, asking āWhere is this or that girl?ā But theyāre not in the classroom.ā
He visited one of his studentsā homes to investigate ā a girl who had stopped showing up entirely.
āWhen I arrived at their home, I found the girl alone,ā he says. āHer parents were not there, and when I talked to her she said to me, āMy parents told me to stay at home to look after the children, fetch water and to look for some food for the children while they are out looking for food.āā
Itās the result of an ongoing food security crisis in South Sudan, caused by a perfect storm of conflict, climate change and rising food prices due to the war in Ukraine.
Clement teaches science, math and English at a primary school in the Lakes State of South Sudan.
“Girls will be more at risk”
āLast year, people were in a community crisis,ā Clement says. āThere was a lot of fighting that prevented the people from farming. Then, the rain not coming this year was a big problem because we survive on rainfall. When there is rain, we plant our seeds.ā
The complicated situation has a pretty simple outcome: People are starving.
āAlthough it is clear that both boys and girls are affected by this situation, girls will be more at risk,ā Clement explains. āOur parents here think that it should be the girl who stays at home and takes care of the children for hours or even a few days. This is so that the mother can go far distances looking for food.ā
Plan staff has seen this dynamic play out across a variety of different countries and cultures over more than 85 years in communities like Clementās. In crises like this, girls end up bearing the brunt of the problem, because of cultural beliefs about who should do what. Many families often see the value in sending their boys to school, but prefer to keep girls at home to do housework or help to find food. Maybe itās not their first choice, but desperate times force parents to make desperate decisions.
Clement challenges himself and his students to reach for the stars. āI always tell myself, āClement, there is nothing you canāt do,āā he says. āThat is what I teach to the children, although lately my aim is to keep the children in school during the food crisis.ā
āNow, there is no lunch at home and no lunch at schoolā
Clement and his students were protected from the hunger crisis at first, thanks to a program that provided school lunches to both students and staff. But as the crisis stretched on, funding for the program ran out.
āGirls being absent from school isnāt something that happens normally in our community,ā he says. āIt is only because this year thereās no food, no school feeding program, and less food distributions to the vulnerable community.ā
Usually, students at Clementās school stay until 3 p.m. But because of the lack of food, classes this term finished at 12 p.m. sharp so that the children could return home for lunch.
āIn the mind of a child is that they know that theyāll be in school for a time and then theyāll have something to eat,ā Clement says. āAnd, in the mind of the parents is that their children will have their lunch at school, so they get busy looking for what to eat in the evening. But this year, the afternoon lessons were not carried out because there were no school meals.ā
Now, the school hasnāt provided lunch since April 2022.
āThe thing that we most feared has happened,ā Clement says. āNow there is no lunch at home and no lunch at school.ā
Before, when Clement noticed one of his female students wasnāt coming to class, he would call the parents to school and tell them about the importance of girlsā education. Now, heās turned his sights to getting the school lunch program back.
āThatās why I call myself an education activist and why I think that school lunch is important,ā he says. āIt contributed to maintaining the school enrollment, it controlled the drop-out rate of children, lessons could be taught according to the timetable, and girls in our community were able to attend school.ā
- Blog
Rida, age 18, is a member of Plan Internationalās Youth For Education in Emergencies panel, also known as Youth4EiE. Young leaders like her from around the world are working together to put education in emergencies on the global agenda.
From Planās 85+ years of experience, we know that the right to education is most at-risk during emergencies, but it is also the exact time when girls need it most. So, panel leaders like Rida combine their skills, networks and expertise to help raise awareness of the challenges children face in accessing education in emergencies.
Here, in honor of International Day of Education, Rida reflects on the panelās accomplishments last year, in her own words.
This story is part of Planās blog series called āIn her own words,ā where youāll read incredibly powerful stories directly from
the experts with whom we work: the girls and women themselves.
Hi! Iām Rida, and Iām a part of Plan Internationalās Youth for Education in Emergencies panel, alongside different young people from all around the world. We work together and separately in our individual countries to advance advocacy and support for education in emergencies, and different topics that come underneath this issue, such as girlsā education.
I first got involved with Plan International through Plan USAās Youth Leadership Academy, where I learned more about global issues and how young people can step in to help their communities. This panel really helped me put into practice what I learned at the YLA, and helped all of us establish a worldwide community to advance work around education and similar issues.
Letās look back on a year of Y4EiE, recapping our year as one global youth panel working on education in emergencies ā¦
January 2022
The Y4EiE Global Youth Panel Project formed, and our website launched! We are organized by Plan International U.K. and funded by Education Cannot Wait, which is funded by the United Nations. Check out our profiles here!
February-March 2022
Victoria, another YLA alum, and I went to the office of the U.K. Mission to the United Nations in New York to introduce our panel, as well as our goals and top-level global advocacy messaging, to Helen Grant and Yasmine Sherif, two world leaders in education in emergencies. It was cool to talk directly and express our ideas with leaders themselves!
Rida (second from left) and Victoria (second from right) pose with Yasmine Sherif (CEO of Education Cannot Wait) and Helen Grant (the U.K. Prime Ministerās Special Envoy for Girlsā Education).
April-May 2022Ā
An event organized by the panel was held in Malawi to raise awareness for issues that children and young people are facing in the Dzaleka refugee camp and the surrounding villages. This meeting involved the government, UNHCR and other implementing partners. Damien, a panel member from Malawi, presented on issues in education. And Angela, another panel member from Malawi, was the emcee for the event.
After being selected as Indonesia’s representatives in the Youth4EiE, Yoris and Indy were facilitated by Plan Indonesia to organize a number of advocacy activities at the national and global levels. Yoris and Indy developed their EiE national advocacy strategy ā the output of this whole process ā and disseminated it through the “Sharing Achievements and Challenges of Education in Emergencies in Indonesia” webinar, on Instagram live with Plan Indonesia and also presented to Youth4EiE.
Yoris and Indy organized a webinar to share the achievements and challenges of education in emergencies in Indonesia.
June 2022Ā
Damien and Angela developed their national advocacy strategy plan to support education in emergencies in Malawi by visiting four districts (Nsanje, Chikhwawa, Mulanje and Phalombe) that are affected by weather crises and education challenges each year.
Damien and Angela, panel members in Malawi, visit a school in need of support for childrenās education in crisis.
Wenddy, panel member from Ecuador, was selected to attend a pre-meeting for the Transforming Education Summit held in Paris at the UNESCO headquarters, to help build support and structure around the key goals to be discussed in September 2022 in New York at the summit with world leaders.
Wenddy (middle), a panel member from Ecuador, stands with other attendees at the Pre-Transforming Education Summit in Paris, including Yasmin Yasmine Sherif (right), CEO of Education Cannot Wait.
August 2022
Wenddy and another panel member from Ecuador, Nataly, presented their ideas for a campaign on education in emergencies on Planās social media. This was important for Wenddy and Nataly because they were able to demonstrate, in a larger way, the challenges that young people face when trying to access education in crisis situations.
Damien and Angela also attended the fourth Southern Africa Regional Students and Youth Consortium on sexual reproductive health, which was held in Lilongwe. This was a regional conference that brought together young people to discuss issues that affect their lives, and commitments they wanted leaders to address.
Yoris took part in the Southeast Asia Regional Youth Consultation for the Transforming Education Summit. In addition, he spoke at an event called the āInternational Youth Talk: Promoting Youth Voices on the G20.ā And, together with Indy, he organized a webinar called āThe Spirit of Independence: Realizes Gender Responsive Education in Emergency Situations” to celebrate International Humanitarian Day.
September 2022
September marks our most monumental month as a team! Most of the panel (members from the U.S., U.K., Lebanon, Indonesia, Ecuador and Zimbabwe) traveled to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly Transforming Education Summit!
Tabeth and Michelle, panel members from Zimbabwe, attended a pre-consultation meeting to talk about how education in emergencies affects young people.
Tabeth and Michelle, panel members from Zimbabwe, were consulted about protecting girls and young peopleās right to education in crisis settings.
Michelle spoke at the āUnlock the Future of Learningā event and gave her pitch on digitalization in marginalized areas.
Michelle speaking at the āUnlock the Future of Learningā event, using her voice to promote community-led development!
Nataly from Ecuador also presented at the āUnlock the Future of Learningā event to discuss the barriers girls and women face in emergencies, especially comprehensive sexuality education in countries like Ecuador.
Nataly (right) sits on stage at the Unlock the Future event and prepares to present.
Tia, a panel member from Lebanon, attended an international development event in Canada, where she met the honorable Harjit Sajjan, Canadaās minister of international development. They talked about their shared belief that all children deserve quality access to education.
Tia and Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of International Development of Canada.
Panel members also spent a day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., speaking to different key people and events to show youth support for the Keeping Girls in School Act. This revolutionary bill would direct foreign aid money to preventing and addressing the challenges and barriers girls face when trying to access school and more around the world.
Tia and Victoria Ā spoke at an event where they discussed their experiences with education, and why the Keeping Girls in School Act is important.
Meanwhile, Nataly and I spent our time on Capitol Hill talking to specific legislative directors about the Keeping Girls in School Act and how important it is that funding goes toward protecting girls and their ability to attend school. I talked about our panelās work and our specific advocacy goals as an international group, as well as how these goals tie into the Keeping Girls in School Act, while Nataly talked about her specific experiences in Ecuador and her work with the panel and other organizations.
Nataly and I on Capitol Hill, supporting the Keeping Girls in School Act.
Yoris attended the Global Feminist Coalition for Gender Transformative Education event, organized by United Nations Girlsā Education Initiative. He and his team presented research results and, together with the coalition, discussed important aspects of gender- transformative education to be conveyed to world leaders and education stakeholders.
October 2022Ā
Nataly and Wenddy participated in International Day of the Girl (Oct. 11) activities in Ecuador with other young people to celebrate the importance of girls and girlsā education. Nataly and Wenddy led an Ambassadors for Education project in Ecuador, and they presented a manifesto for quality education to their community leader, who signed a commitment to support workshops on emergency education for schools in that area.
Nataly and Wenddy working with local leaders and other young people to support education programs on International Day of the Girl.
November 2022
Wenddy presented the manifesto that she and Nataly worked on for quality education in the provincial government of ManabĆ in Ecuador. This manifesto contains stories of young people and education in Ecuador, and has a direct connection with the central government of Ecuador.
Wenddy presenting her manifesto at the provincial government of Manabi in Ecuador.
Damien spoke at the International Youth Day Commemoration event in the Dzaleka refugee settlement. The theme of this event was āIntergenerational solidarity: Creating a world of ages.ā He talked about young people fleeing their homelands during crises and the lack of attention paid to the quality of education that young people receive during these crises.
Damien speaking at the Dzaleka refugee settlement in Malawi.
In the U.K., Yoris and Sarah spoke to the Board of Trustees at the Plan International U.K.ās office about the work of the Y4EiE panel.
And in Indonesia, Yoris together with Plan Indonesia PIA Lembata facilitated media advocacy training for young people in five villages and two districts.
Yoris poses with young people who participated in an advocacy training.
December 2022
An event called ā16 Days of Activismā was hosted by the Youth Advisory Panel in Malawi to raise awareness on gender-based violence. This event included a panel discussion, where young people discussed ways they are trying to end gender-based violence in their respective areas. The village chief who attended this event also talked about the laws in the region that are helping to end gender-based violence.
Yoris took part in a number of capacity-building activities, including joining Lembata Youth to take part in resilient school training organized by Plan Indonesia, and joining the Indonesia Education in Emergencies Youth Ambassador initiated by Plan Indonesia, UNICEF Indonesia and partners.
Yoris draws a blueprint at a capacity building activity in Indonesia.
And thatās a wrap! The Y4EiE panel has accomplished so much more as well, from publications to youth organizing and more! Weāre also preparing to support those traveling to Geneva, Switzerland in February 2023 for the Education Cannot Wait Financing Conference. We hope to continue our work supporting education in emergencies so that no young person is left behind.
- News & press
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC, January 20, 2023 ā Plan International, through a sub-agreement with Mercy Corps, will partner with the U.S. Agency for International Developmentās Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women activity in Jordan.
The project will elevate Jordanian voices and support progress in economic, social and political spaces for women. By using USAIDās Gender and Social Inclusion Framework and Planās gender transformative approach, the project will generate momentum to advance gender equality, strengthen civil society organizations and support activities that promote womenās rights, leadership, and participation in political and public life.
āBy listening to women in Jordan and supporting the efforts they are already making to increase their agency, the Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women activity will customize trainings that are unique to their needs,ā said Mustafa Kudrati, CEO and president of Plan International USA. āWe will be building on the success of the Jordan National Commission on Women to advance gender equality.ā
Plan will be responsible for supporting civil society organizations to advocate for and support womenās rights and changing social norms by facilitating development and on-going adaptation of social and behavior change strategies. In addition, they will support women, youth and marginalized groups to lead community and household initiatives to practice norm changes around gender.
āThrough an in-depth gender analysis and action plan, we will be able to customize our global expertise in gender to advance the position of women in Jordan,ā said Hamida Jahamah, country director, Plan International Jordan. āBy identifying gender champions and community projects to support these efforts, the impact of this project will be felt for years to come.ā
Mercy Corps will be leading a coalition consisting of Plan, Al Jidara, Solidarity in Global Institution and Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development to execute Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women activity. The USAID project will last for five years, ending in 2027.
For more information or interviews, please contact:
Maria Holsopple
Director, Corporate Communications
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 540.383.3628
About Plan International USA
Powered by supporters, Plan International USA partners with adolescent girls, young women and children around the world to overcome oppression and gender inequality, providing the support and resources that are unique to their needs and the needs of their communities, ensuring they achieve their full potential with dignity, opportunity and safety. Founded in 1937, Plan is an independent development and humanitarian organization that is active in more than 80 countries.
For more information, and to learn about our commitment to safeguarding, please visit www.PlanUSA.org.
- Blog
Because of the global hunger crisis, 45 countries are on the brink of famine, and Somaliaās situation is especially severe. We spoke with Plan International Somaliaās Head of Mission, Sadia Allin, to understand the realities for girls and their families.
- Blog
Vidya, age 19, is the director of education atĀ Encode Justice: a coalition of youth activists and change-makers fighting for human rights, accountability and justice under artificial intelligence. On International Day of the Girl, she led a discussion at a Plan-led virtual forum calledĀ Girls vs. the Machine: The Algorithms are Sexist, which explored how the internetās algorithms and artificial intelligence are perpetuating cultural gendered stereotypes and misrepresenting girls in society.
Here, Vidya dives into her work with Encode Justice, her experience with Plan onĀ International Day of the GirlĀ and why youth activism in the tech space is so vital for our future.Ā
This story is part of a blog series called āIn her own words,ā where youāll read incredibly powerful stories directly fromĀ the experts with whom we work: the girls and women themselves.Ā
Q: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us about your work! To start, can you please share a bit about who you are and how you got interested in youth activism around technology?
A:Ā My name is Vidya. Iām a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Iām studying computer science here. Throughout high school, I was pretty interested in technology. I knew I always wanted to be involved in the tech space ā¦ both my parents are software engineers, so I was pretty exposed to it growing up. But I think it was really my junior year when I heard more about the ethical side of this space, which is when Encode Justice had slowly started ā¦ The founder, Sneha Revanur, reached out to me because I do a lot of work with equity and diversity in tech.
Q: What do you do as part of Encode Justice?
A:Ā I sort of cultivated a whole education sector [at Encode Justice], where we created a workshop curriculum for high school students. We used to go around to different high schools in the country, educating students about the implications of artificial intelligence, talking about what AI is, how it has a potential bias and how itās impacting each of us in our everyday lives.
Especially during the pandemic, we saw technology in basically every field. So, having students talk to other students definitely made it help them understand it a lot better, and they valued the information that we talked about.
I learned a lot in this process of creating this curriculum and talking to other students ā¦ weāre not really exposed to the biases [in AI] and how we can be impacted by this ā¦ they talked about facial recognition technology ā a lot of them had been profiled themselves. And so, listening to their stories and talking about how theyāve felt discriminated against or see that their social media algorithms are acting a certain way, and actually hearing their testimonials was really impactful.
All of our workshop curriculums center around different topics. I try to focus on AI and its intersections, such as healthcare and policy ā¦ if weāre talking about policy, I usually focus on facial recognition technology. So then I would talk about how in criminal court cases or in our criminal history, thereās a lot of bias within how people have been targeted in the past.
Q: Can you give an example of how technology can discriminate based on human bias?
A:Ā Minority groups, people of color and women have been discriminated against in our criminal data. And so, when we put that into facial recognition technologies and itās trying to profile people for criminal activity, itās obviously more biased because of like that ā¦ the topic becomes a lot more serious and more relevant when we put it in that context.
Q: How did you get involved with Plan?
A:Ā Plan reached out to Encode Justice right before International Day of the Girl. I was really interested because I actually runĀ GirlCon, an international conference focused on tech and womenās empowerment ā¦ this machine algorithm bias and diversification of the tech field was something Iām really interested in. So, I thought it would be cool to work with Plan to for their event.
I really liked the tone of the whole [Plan virtual forum] and sort of the message that we brought out at the end. This topic can be really serious and really scary ā¦ I thought that was really interesting on how we felt empowered after that to take charge and make a change.
We canāt stop artificial intelligence, or we canāt stop the development of it. We always talk about how it can sound like weāre trying to stop the development of technology ā weāre really not ā¦ We just want people to be more conscious of what theyāre doing. You know, if itās harming people, then thereās no use in that. So thatās sort of what I wanted to take away from that panel is [for people to know] itās up to us to be conscious of that.
Q: Have you experienced gender inequality in your own life? How?Ā
A:Ā Especially as a [computer science] student right now, I can see that throughout my progression of high school and now in college there is that gender gap ā¦ I definitely feel outnumbered and I think thereās an unspoken double standard. Like, I go into a meeting or I go into any of these tech clubs and you feel like thereās something to prove or something to show as a girl ā you feel like you have to prove something extra. And I think forums like [Planās International Day of the Girl event] are definitely helpful in talking about that, and helping girls know that theyāre not the only one thatās facing that kind of thing.
Q:Ā Why do you think itās important for young people to get involved with activism and technology?
A:Ā We are the people that will eventually take over these companies and will eventually start running these things. So, I think itās really, really important that initiatives like this exist. I think for us, we feel like weāre qualified [to take the lead] because we are facing these problems every day ā weāre surrounded by the algorithms we grew up with it, which makes our voice really important to listen to.
- Blog
By Kate Ezzes, John Lundine and Nono Sumarsono
The fishing industry in Southeast Asia is an important sector in local and national economies, and as a source of employment for workers, particularly those with low levels of formal education. Nowhere is this more the case than in the archipelago nations of Indonesia and the Philippines. The fishing industry in the Philippines represents an estimated 1.2% of GDP, a figure which may underestimate its actual contribution as smaller-scale, domestic fishing operations are typically in the informal economy. Fishing employs hundreds of thousands of people in each country and supports millions.
The fishing industries in both countries are diverse, including vessels that fish in domestic and international waters. While not limited to these two countries, this diversity allows for labor abuses to often go undetected, includes forced labor and trafficking in persons. Fishers, almost exclusively men, regularly suffer abuse and debt enslavement when working on vessels, often perpetuated by employers. This has significant impacts for the well-being of fishers, their families and their communities.
The fishing industryās impact on women
Plan Internationalās research under the U.S. Department of Laborās Safeguarding Against and Addressing Fishers Exploitation at Sea (SAFE Seas) project has demonstrated the prevalence of abusive labor practices and dependence on debt. A total of 25% of women respondents in a SAFE Seas gender study in two fishing communities in Indonesia indicated that their husbands/partners had suffered labor abuses. This study also showed that fishers and their wives/partners did not understand their rights, and that local systems and structures did not systemically or comprehensively support fishers.
Fisher families also report a heavy dependency on loans and indebtedness of households, with half of Indonesian women respondents reporting challenges in repaying debts. These debts are commonly used for householdsā basic needs and managed by women whose husbands/partners are at sea. Most of these women continue to rely on community or family support in cases of exploitation as they lack awareness on how to report grievances or seek compensation. SAFE Seas research shows similar patterns in the Philippines, including worker abuse and situations of debt enslavement. Continuous dependence on debt, oftentimes from employers, is twice as common among Filipino families who have been victims of FL/TIP.
Despite these egregious and evident labor rights violations, there has traditionally been a strong reluctance on behalf of fishers and their wives/partners to report violations. This is in large part due to their economic dependence on working as laborers on fishing vessels, a lack of well-functioning grievance reporting mechanisms and their sense of powerlessness. Together, these factors have a significant economic and emotional toll on fisher families and communities.
A young woman works in the fishing industry.
The role women play in ending FL/TIP
The SAFE Seas project has been addressing labor issues for the past five years in Indonesia and the Philippines. SAFE Seasā approach includes actions at the national and local levels to improve enforcement by authorities to combat and reduce FL/TIP and to raise awareness of fishersā rights and their access to grievance mechanisms. SAFE Seas has been one of the first efforts to systematically address FL/TIP issues and has increasingly empowered women as key actors to reduce FL/TIP in the fishing industry.
SAFE Seas specifically works to increase awareness of labor rights among fishers, wives/partners and other key stakeholders, and to improve access to reporting and remediation and community-based services. Approaches include collaborating with local governments to establish and support fisher centers in Indonesia, and working with Barangays and community protection mechanisms in the Philippines in coordination with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, which is a national-level entity. These centers and mechanisms serve both fishers and wives/partners.
One specific way in which women increasingly participate is in reporting abuse through formal mechanisms. These allow for receiving and referring labor complaints in-person or through text and phone hotlines. Hundreds of workers and women have obtained information through the fisher centers and many have logged complaints. To date, 81 formal reports of grievances have been made involving 212 fishers. All are either under investigation by the Indonesian Government or have closed after action was taken. Women have made approximately 25% of these formal complaints.
SAFE Seas also engages women in labor rights as cadres. By late 2022, more women than men were participating in this role. The main activities include understanding the Seafarerās Employment Agreements, which regulate fishersā work on vessels; coordinating with local-level governments in both countries; and developing action plans to reduce risks of exploitation of fishers at sea. In addition, women are working with other wives/partners of fishers, particularly those with less formal education and fewer resources, to disseminate information about fishersā rights and available services. Women cadres have also been instrumental in supporting the establishment and functioning of two local-level early detection systems, which work in ports with a high prevalence of FL/TIP.
āBefore I got to know the Fishing Vessel Crew Protection Cadres, I didnāt understand what it was like to work at sea [or] what rights my husband had working on a boat,ā says Min Muhenkelambung, a fisherās wife from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. āBut after getting to know the cadres, I know better what rights my husband has and what work should be done as a fishing worker.ā
Next steps
Engaging women in the fight against FL/TIP can accelerate progress in meaningful and important ways. However, there is more to do. While SAFE Seas has made progress in disseminating information about labor rights and FL/TIP, there is a need to increase awareness of the grievance mechanisms and to strengthen them, particularly in the Philippines. Future work in this area should continue to support womenās agency and participation more broadly, and support diversifying fisher household livelihoods to reduce reliance on debt from employers. In addition, social welfare programs should be expanded and specifically target the most vulnerable fisher families.
