As in many places around the world, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a complicated issue in Peru. In a 2013 report, 61.3% of Peruvian women aged 20-24 reported giving birth between the ages of 15 and 18. Lack of awareness about sexual and reproductive health is a key factor shaping this scenario, as well as communication barriers between teenagers and their parents and teachers. WGLG Peru has been working to break this cycle by ensuring that communities with low access to information about SRH don’t slip through the cracks.

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to Peru, Koen meets Josi, a youth activist and reproductive rights advocate from the Amazon. Koen recalls, “Josi proved to me that it isn’t necessary to be outgoing in order to be passionate. You just have to believe strongly in what you are talking about, and then the words will come by themselves.”

Josi, Michelle, Ghazal, Latifa, and Ayesha live thousands of miles apart, but the five young women are connected by a single  mission: improving the lives of other girls in their communities. In Women and Girls Lead Global’s new film made by Koen Suidgeest, Girl Connected, we meet young women from Peru, Kenya, Jordan, Bangladesh and […]

Women and Girls Lead believes that true stories about girls struggling to overcome adversity are transformative; they connect girls to each other across the world and inspire change. The Overseas Press Club of America – the country’s oldest and largest association of journalists engaged in international news –  recently honored one of these inspiring stories […]

Girl Connected captures complex and inspiring stories of girls in five countries taking on the enormous challenge of tackling issues like child marriage, gender-based violence, reproductive health rights, and the many forms of discrimination girls face all over the world – all while balancing their lives as teenage girls. The film launched globally on our […]

As a community activist working to create sexual and reproductive health awareness, “Girl Connected” Josi is invested in empowering girls. She reminds us that the struggle against gender-based violence “is still on! It’s not over when the 16 days of activism against gender violence are over.”

Every year, Women and Girls Lead Global sets out in search of more great films featuring the inspiring stories of women and girls around the world fighting for change – fighting for equality. Those films make their way into rural classrooms, intimate living rooms, bustling town squares, and vibrant community centers through the work of […]

In Perú, 61.3% of women aged 20-24 reported giving birth between the ages of 15 and 18. This figure is worrying not just because early pregnancy is associated with limited life opportunities for adolescent girls, but because complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading cause of death for girls between 15-19 years old […]

WGLG-Peru’s effort to start a conversation about reproductive and sexual health with young people is reaching them where they are – on Facebook.

As the world gears up to renew its commitment to gender equity by celebrating International Women’s Day, WGLG continues its efforts to change the stories we are told about women.