The Girls� Report (1998)

What Do Adolescent Girls Need
(from Researchers) for Healthy Development?

Researchers who:

• Design studies to learn about girls' strengths, resilience, and the conditions that support their well-being, rather than simply focusing on risks and negative behaviors.
• Understand and present girls as multifaceted individuals who live in diverse social contexts, and have a wide range of needs, perspectives, and experiences.
• Promote more nuanced, layered understandings of the ways that gender interacts with race, ethnicity, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, culture, and disability in shaping girls' identities and social experiences.
• Situate studies of girls' issues in critical analyses of the problematic social practices, inequities, and dominant cultural assumptions that contextualize girls' lives.
• Present data in ways that show the intersections of age, gender, race, social class, and sexuality, rather than offering separate analyses for each category (i.e., youth in general, race comparisons, gender comparisons, etc.).
• Expand research categories to move beyond such practices as characterizing race as only "white," "African-American, and "Hispanic/Latino;" oversimplifying notions of "sexual activity" as only heterosexual intercourse; and using narrow concepts of "achievement" as only quantifiable performance on standardized tests.
• Collaborate with advocates and activists in developing research agendas that focus on girls' concerns, and collect data in ways that tap the perspectives of diverse groups of girls and adults.
• Incorporate girls' narratives into research studies, and involve girls in the design, implementation, analysis, and presentation of research so that they can learn new skills, help shape research agendas, and think critically about their own and others' experiences.
• Resist one-dimensional portrayals of girls as either passive victims or independent heroes, and instead look at the multiple ways that girls both resist and incorporate problematic society messages.
• Expand research on "women's issues" (such as rape, battering, harassment, and pregnancy) to incorporate the experiences of adolescent girls.

What Do Adolescent Girls Need
(from Adult Mentors) for Healthy Development?

Adult Mentors who:

• Understand and are committed to the communities in which girls live.
• Assist girls in recognizing and confronting the impacts of harmful attitudes and behaviors.
• Challenge problematic images of girls and women in the media and school curricula.
• Serve as positive role models-women who are strong, competent, and actively involved in social issues, and men who are supportive and respectful of women and girls.
• Help girls to explore their strengths, develop their skills, achieve in school, and envision a wide range of options for healthy and productive futures.
• Provide a safe context for girls to raise questions, grapple with confusion, voice their concerns, and develop strategies to deal with their concerns.

What Do Adolescent Girls Need
(from Educators and Schools) for Healthy Development?

Educators and Schools That:

• Promote gender equity through classroom and school practices, model respect for girls and for people of all cultures, and offer students positive images and balanced information through innovative curricular materials.
• Encourage girls to explore a wide range of subjects and potential careers, especially those in which girls and women are traditionally under- represented.
• Support and respect girls' efforts to balance school, social, and family challenges.
• Offer girls more leadership opportunities and vehicles for active exploration of their interests and talents.
• Help students to probe issues of gender, race, class, culture, sexuality, and disability, and challenge attitudes and behaviors that stereotype or discriminate.
• Encourage girls to participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities, including athletic activities, in an atmosphere of respect for girls and women.
• Formulate and enforce publicly stated policies against sexual harassment and discriminatory practices, and protect the rights of students who file harassment claims.
• Offer comprehensive sexuality-education programs that promote discussions of sexual health, provide students with clear, meaningful information and resources, and demonstrate respect for students' diverse sexual orientations.
• Give teachers, counselors, and other school staff the time and space to work together to enhance their effectiveness, and encourage educators to pursue ongoing professional development activities that help them to better meet the needs of diverse student bodies.
• Demonstrate respect for students' cultures and native languages, and work collaboratively with families and communities to understand and support the needs of all students.

What Do Adolescent Girls Need
(from Parents and other Family Members) for Healthy Development?

Parents and Other Family Members Who:

• Serve as positive role models by showing respect for girls and women, and expressing confidence in girls' aspirations.
• Embrace all aspects of girls' identities- including their sexuality, their perspectives, and their priorities-and provide a respectful context where girls can raise questions and voice their concerns.
• Encourage girls to do well in school by discussing their studies with them, exploring potential areas of interest, supporting their achievements, and becoming involved with girls' schools.
• Encourage girls to explore their strengths and develop their talents in all fields, especially those not traditionally thought of as "female."
• Advocate for equal programs, facilities, equipment, and publicity for girls and boys in school- and community-based athletic programs, and support the involvement of girls who have traditionally not seen themselves as athletes.
• Help girls to respect their bodies and discourage the development of eating disorders by rebutting negative cultural messages about body image, and encouraging healthy behaviors.
• Provide access to non-judgmental information and resources to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other STDS. Offer guidance and support to help girls make healthy decisions about a range of types of sexual activity.
• From a young age, foster girls' sense of entitlement to respectful treatment, and teach them that they can speak out against behaviors of others that hurt them.
• Support girls� involvement in community groups and extra-curricular activities, help them to develop leadership skills, and encourage them to take action to promote constructive social change.
• Raise boys in ways that foster their respect for girls and women.

Source: The Girls Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female. Published in 1998 by the National Council for Research on Women