Evidence

By adulthood, gender inequalities in health and wellbeing are apparent. Yet, the timing and nature of gender inequalities during childhood and adolescence are less clear. This study describes the emergence of gender inequalities in health and wellbeing across the first two decades of an individual’s life.  The framework studies child and adolescent health and wellbeing indicators as defined in the SDGs. The focus is on 40 low-income and middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific. This study found marked gender inequalities consistently emerging in early adolescence. In most of the 40 countries studied, adolescent girls face considerable disadvantage in relation to sexual and reproductive health, with high rates of child marriage, fertility and intimate partner violence.  These findings call for a focus on gender policy and programming in later childhood and early adolescence before gender inequalities become embedded. It is a useful resource for policy makers. Click here to read the report.