Challenge issued to the status quo

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. It has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and is now active in more than 70 countries.

In her three years as president and CEO, Caroline Riseboro has been leading the development of a comprehensive five-year strategy to ignite a movement in Canada that unleashes the multiplying power of girls to end inequality for all children.

As part of that, Plan has issued a call to all Canadians to ‘Defy Normal’ and believe in the power and potential of every child — to take a stand anywhere children are oppressed, exploited or left behind, and anywhere girls aren’t equally valued.

The ‘Normal’ in their slogan refers to children being denied their rights, girls denied equality, and society turning a blind eye.

Plan’s goal with this initiative is to work with children, young people, supporters and partners to tackle the root causes of inequality. A key part of that is driving change in practice and policy at all levels of government. The crisis is indisputable. According to UNICEF, every two seconds a girl under 18 is forced into marriage, and each year 15 million girls are married by their 18th birthday. Of the world’s 1.1 billion girls, 22 million are already married. Hundreds of millions more are at risk, and the number will only grow as populations increase.

Of the 1.4 billion people still living in extreme poverty globally, the majority are girls and women, according to the World Bank. The Food and Agriculture of Organization of the United Nations also reports that in developing countries, girls are two times as likely to suffer from malnutrition.

UNESCO states that an estimated 263 million children and youth around the world are currently out of school. Of these, an estimated 130 million are girls, with the highest proportion in the 15-to-17 age range.

Riseboro is optimistic that change can happen for these vulnerable populations. “Even though we have been fighting the good fight for many years, it can be hard when faced with the statistics. What keeps me going is that change is possible. We have seen laws changed on child marriage. In Canada we have seen the first gender balanced cabinet. As long as that kind of change is possible, we are able to keep our fortitude.”

PLAN’S INITIATIVE TACKLES ROOT CAUSES OF INEQUALITY