How do you feel when you are running on your favorite trail, playing ball with your team or surfing big waves with your friends? You feel free. 1 in 3 girls and women worldwide experience gender-based violence - rape, abuse, harassment, early pregnancy, forced marriage. They deserve to feel free, just like you do.
There are more than 513 million girls ages 10-19 live in, or come from, less developed countries. They are facing the life-changing realities of early marriage, premature pregnancy, and other forms of gender-based violence. Half of all sexual assaults happen to girls under 15 years old. Girls and young women need leadership skills, social support, access to key services and opportunities to build real and metaphorical muscles to deal with the challenges they face.
When girls participate in sport, they challenge the core of gender violence - inequity, power and cultural practices and beliefs. Sport lends girls an opportunity build key skills and competencies, such as self esteem and resiliency, that are vital to dealing with threats of violence, accessing services and recovery. Furthermore, it is an effective hook to gain the attention of the community and create structural change on attitudes, about violence and more broadly about gender roles.
Women Win supports the playing field that empowers girls through sport and play. We strengthen organizations ability to run quality programming, through direct grants, open source tools and a suite of services. We measure impact on changes in girls behavior, attitudes and knowledge related to violence, sexual health and reproductive rights and economic empowerment. Additionally, we evaluate the impact on their communities and the organizations that serve them.
