Covid-19 Pandemic Plunges Girls Into Severe Emotional Distress

 Almost all girls in the world (95%) are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, at least psychologically. This is what teenage girls and young women reveal in part 2 of the global survey by the NGO Plan International Stopping Lives: The Voices of Girls and Young Women on the Impact of Covid- 19. Whether they are from India, the United States, Ecuador, Egypt, Mozambique or France, the pandemic is disrupting their entire lives, starting with their education. A dramatic finding that does not prevent them from keeping hope for the future.

“ I know it's been a horrible year for my mental health. It only got worse, ”says Clara, a 16-year-old American high school student. Beyond the figures in the first part of the report (September 2020), Plan International is focusing in this second study on the voice of girls. 

The NGO listened extensively to the voices of 71 adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24, from 14 countries. 

The study reveals that the pandemic affects all aspects of their lives: education, their health and that of those around them, their family income and uncertainty about their future.

Yet the girls show great resilience and remain determined to pursue their ambitions.