By Winnie Adhiambo | Finance and Administration Officer
On 26th and 27th November, 2025, we supported four young woman to attend the HERIZON Forum 2025 hosted by the Adolescent Girls and Young Women Rights Network held in solidarity with the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls. It convened stakeholders, advocates, educators, and 100 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to amplify grassroots voices, bridge the gap between policy and lived realities, and co-create solutions advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), education, economic empowerment, and gender equality.
Centering AGYW as agents of change, the forum strengthened confidence and skills for informed health and rights decisions, promoted peer learning and collective action, and enabled direct engagement with decision makers, resulting in increased agency to demand SRHR and protection from violence against women and girls (VAWG), a documented Youth Manifesto and Communique for policy engagement, strengthened cross generational feminist solidarity, increased visibility of the AGYWR network, the launch of the AGYWR Network strategic plan. Discussions emphasized the power pathway linking comprehensive sexuality education, contraception access, and safe abortion information to improved SRHR outcomes highlighted the growing threat of gender based violence in physical and digital spaces, including technology facilitated abuse such as cyberbullying, online stalking, impersonation, and AI generated non-consensual images and underscored education as a foundation for delaying early marriage, challenging harmful gender norms, and enhancing girls’ ability to assert their rights.
The forum further identified economic empowerment, skills development, and financial literacy as critical to reducing GBV and improving SRHR by strengthening independence, decision-making power, and resilience, while addressing school related gender-based violence through gender responsive teaching, safe reporting mechanisms, supportive policies, and secure infrastructure to improve retention and learning outcomes. Recognizing the profound mental health impacts of GBV and digital violence, the forum called for survivor centered mental health support and coordinated action across education systems, communities, policies, and digital spaces, reaffirming that investing in girls’ education, safety, economic opportunities, and digital protection is essential to gender justice, sustainable development, and a more equitable future for women and girls.
By Winnie Adhiambo | Finance and Administration Officer
By Winnie Adhiambo | Finance and Administration Officer
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