Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, KNOW YOUR BODY.
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
It is designed to give teenage girls practical knowledge about puberty, menstruation, reproductive health, consent, bodily autonomy, boundaries, sexual violence, grooming, digital safety and how to seek help when something goes wrong.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
X handle : @prettyaholicc
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I am an opinionated young woman, I hate oppression especially against women. It started out as questioning every norm I have being conditioned to accept, the more I asked questions the more I realized how deep our issue ran as women. As a nursing student, it pains my heart to see teenage girls come in for antenatal care during my clinical postings. 90% of the time, they confirm that an adult got them pregnant when asked which is basically rape. A lot of these girls are uninformed and ignorant, they carry that shame even though it isn’t theirs to carry. They don’t know what consent it, they’re do not fully grasp the scope of sexual harassment or rape, they don’t know where to report in case of these occurrences. I eventually started to speak on my X handle last year about issues affecting women, much later, I realized that teenage girls are in dire need of attention and education as they’re the most vulnerable group. They deserve the right to information to enable them make informed decisions about their sexual lives.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Young adolescents may know basic things about puberty or “stranger danger,” but may not understand pressure, coercion, grooming, power differences, inappropriate behavior from trusted adults, digital exploitation or what to do when someone violates their boundaries. There is also a lot of shame surrounding menstruation, sexuality and young people’s bodies. This can make it difficult for adolescents to ask questions or seek help. This matters to me because I believe information can give young people options. If a young person understands what is happening to their body, recognizes when something is unsafe and knows where to seek help, they are in a better position to make informed decisions and protect themselves. Another problem is the gap between available support and actual access. Many healthcare, GBV, protection and other support services already exist, but young people may not know they exist, what they can help with, or how to access them. I want to bridge that knowledge gap so that existing support systems are not only available, but actually accessible to the young people who need them.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
I want to create an accessible education programme delivered through schools and youth/community spaces. The programme will use age-appropriate sessions, discussions, scenarios and practical resources covering: - Puberty and menstrual health - Reproductive health - Bodily autonomy - Consent and withdrawing consent - Pressure, coercion and manipulation -Age and power dynamics - Grooming and sexual violence - Digital safety - Healthy relationships and boundaries -Gender expectations and body shame - When to seek medical help -How and where to report abuse -Identifying trusted adults and support services The program teaches them how to recognize situations, understand their options and know where to go for help.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Aside the individual online campaign i put out, this project will be directed to a specific community and services will be delivered physically. If the project works, I want adolescents to leave with more than information. I want them to be able to: -understand their bodies better; - recognize unhealthy or unsafe behavior - understand consent and personal boundaries - identify coercion and grooming -know that they have the right to say no; -know when they need medical attention; -know where they can seek help - feel more comfortable asking questions about their health and safety - make more informed decisions about themselves and their relationships I hope the project contributes to a culture where young people are less afraid to speak, more informed about their rights and better connected to support systems. I know it would work because information provided guides them to make the right decisions when any of their boundaries is violated, also evaluation would be conducted after teaching to help me detect where my team and I are lacking.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
The project is not trying to replace existing sexual/reproductive health or GBV services. The difference is in how information is connected to action. A young person may already receive information about menstruation in one setting, sexual violence in another and reproductive health somewhere else. This project brings body knowledge, rights, safety and help-seeking together in one age-appropriate programme. It also focuses on practical situations rather than only definitions. For example, instead of simply defining consent, we can discuss what consent looks like when someone is being pressured, when there is a significant age/power difference, when someone changes their mind, or when someone is afraid of the consequences of saying no. The project will also include boys, because preventing sexual violence and building healthier relationships cannot be treated as a responsibility placed only on girls. This initiative is focused on helping young adolescents make the right decisions by equipping them with accurate and appropriate information, also introducing them to appropriate agencies to reach out to for help.
How many people are on your team?
3
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
-I lead the project and coordinate activities. -Team members help with research and reviewing educational materials. I’m still building my team, it currently consists of my friends and I. I would love to bring in teachers, health care professionals, GBV service providers later on.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
1. I’ll implement the program in a small number of schools/community settings and collect feedback. 2. I’ll use simple pre- and post-program assessments to determine whether knowledge and confidence around body autonomy, consent, safety and help-seeking have improved. 3. I’ll use feedback from adolescents, teachers and facilitators to improve the content. I’ll build school partnerships by working with schools to incorporate selected sessions into existing health education, civic education, guidance/counseling or related programs rather than creating an entirely separate burden for teachers. 5. I’ll develop a curriculum/resource package by creating age-specific teaching materials that schools can continue using. 7. After demonstrating that the pilot works, I’ll expand to additional schools and communities and build partnerships with healthcare and protection services.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I don’t want the project to depend on people simply being told to volunteer. I want people to see why their involvement matters. For adolescents, I would make participation interactive and give them opportunities to ask questions, discuss real-life scenarios and contribute to how the programme is designed. For schools, I would show that the program supports issues they are already dealing with , menstrual health, student wellbeing, safeguarding, relationships and personal safety, rather than presenting it as an entirely new responsibility. For young people who want to become involved beyond attending sessions, I hope to create a peer educator/Youth Ambassador pathway, where interested adolescents can receive additional training and help spread accurate information among their peers. For professionals and organizations, I would build partnerships around specific needs: healthcare, counselling, safeguarding, GBV response and referral services. The long-term goal is to create a community around the project where young people are not just recipients of information but participants in making their environments safer and more informed.
