African Centre for Disaster Studies - NWU

G.I.R.R.L. Project

The general portrayal of children, young people and women in disasters is one where they exist only as helpless victims. However, adolescent girls as a distinct sub-group have been able to take on a leading role as agents of change within the context of disaster risk reduction (DRR). A Participatory Action Research (PAR) study, known as the G.I.R.R.L. Project was designed to increase knowledge for empowerment, to encourage leadership development and to improve the resilience of marginalized, black, South African adolescent girls while helping to integrate them into DRR initiatives. The research findings support the notion that young people, especially adolescent girls, when empowered, can defy socially-derived roles as victims through their contributions to participatory DRR-related activities. Recommendations derive from the need to involve and integrate persons with the same demographics into further strategic capacity building programme to maximize impact and ultimately help reshape DRR, with their unique perspectives and contributions.