The Girl Generation was established to support the UK Government’s goal of a world without female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030.
During the initial phase of FCDO investment and global efforts to eliminate FGM, The Girl Generation Phase 1 (2014-2018) operated worldwide and in 10 of the most affected countries where the most change was achievable. Phase 1 emphasized uniting and empowering the movement, promoting effective communication on FGM through stories that demonstrate change is possible, and increasing awareness of FGM in global platforms.
Phase 2 (2021-2026) of The Girl Generation’s support for the Africa-led movement to end FGM has built on the foundations laid in phase 1, focusing on gathering evidence of what strategies work or do not work to reduce or eliminate FGM in affected communities.
Jo Hemmings, Deputy Director for Design and Innovation at Options Consultancy Services, has been part of The Girl Generation since its inception. In this reflection, she discusses her thoughts about the programme, and what she hopes the wider movement will carry forward.
1. What has been your role since the inception of The Girl Generation?
I provide technical support for the programme, from Options’ London office. I’ve worked across a range of areas: monitoring, evaluation, adaptive programming and learning; supporting the annual planning and reporting cycle; reviewing and editing our global goods; helping to design the small grants mechanism; and supporting our relationship with FCDO.
I’ve helped the programme grapple with challenges like funding cuts in the first year ((when we had to rapidly re-design our whole approach) and respond to new opportunities like preparing proposals for additional grant funding.
2. Looking back, how would you describe the journey of The Girl Generation from its first phase to the current Africa-Led Movement programme?
The first phase of The Girl Generation focused on promoting more effective, positive social change communications for ending FGM (mainly by training youth and staff of community-based organizations.We worked across ten countries, setting up and supporting youth networks, and running a small grants programme for community-based organisations.
There was no direct work at community level at that time. We had a strong focus on ‘Do No Harm’ and promoting positive stories of change: this was at a time when the prevailing approach to end FGM communications was to share ‘horror stories’ about the harm it caused, depict pictures of pools of blood and razor blades, and use highly stigmatizing messaging. We thought this was likely to harm survivors and result in defensiveness and reluctance to engage with the topic.
I can see significant continuity and development from that phase into the current phase. In phase 1, we demonstrated the importance of funding community-level work, and FCDO included a significant investment in small grants in this phase.
We have continued to build positive, safe, and transformative approaches to ending FGM by centering survivors and building a central role for girls themselves in all our interventions, recognizing that any successful social movement is led by those most affected.
Through our multiple partners across four countries, we’ve developed and tested interventions across many different contexts and produced learning and resources that can support other organisations to implement similar initiatives themselves.
These include school clubs, Survivors Leadership Training, FGM training for health professionals, community dialogues of varying types, and tools to help measure whether change is happening.
3. What shifts or milestones stand out most in how TGG-ALM has supported the movement to end FGM over the years?
The addition of community-level interventions in phase 2 means that TGG-ALM is now working directly at all levels, we’ve been able to support change at individual and household levels in communities, through community-level structures like schools, to county or district-level structures (both government and civil society), up to national level, and at regional and international levels.
We’ve been able to make links across those levels to reinforce positive change: girls’ council members have visited national bodies to make the case for change; survivor-activists have participated in high-level global events to share their experiences and call for investments; and we’ve linked community initiatives to duty bearers within local governments so that they can continue to support them beyond the life of the programme.
The emphasis we now place on centering survivors and girls within the movement to end FGM is also a big shift. Although it sounds like such an obvious thing to do, for many years, the movement to end FGM has rarely involved girls and young people meaningfully (perhaps we thought it was too sensitive or challenging?). But we have found ways to do this responsibly and safely, and the results have been incredibly positive. We see girls and boys actively challenging FGM within their own spheres of influence, as well as hopefully contributing to a new cohort of girls and boys who are determined not to continue FGM for their own daughters.
4. As someone deeply involved in programme design and learning, what do you think has been TGG-ALM’s most significant contribution to the wider movement to end FGM?
It’s hard to choose one thing, but I think the fact that we boldly and unapologetically position FGM first and foremost as a form of violence is a very powerful contribution. I’ve seen how this message, particularly when communicated by survivors, has made people really sit up and think, and re-appraise how they view FGM.
For many decades, it’s been commonplace to inadvertently minimize the harm of FGM by describing it as a cultural practice or a social norm. We argue that above all, it’s violence, it’s child abuse. And once people can name it for what it is, we begin to see what is really required to end it: transformation of gender norms that underpin violence against women and girls, psychosocial and medical support for survivors, education from a young age, community mobilization across all ages and genders, engagement with government protection, prevention and response services, and a rights-based approach.
5. From your Technical & Insights perspective, what are you most proud of in terms of evidence, learning, or innovation?
I’m really proud of the way that we’ve evolved as a consortium: from grappling with what learning and adaptive programming even means in practice (we understood the theory, butputting it into action required a massive shift in mindsets, skills and ways of working), to becoming real experts in this.
Gathering data and feedback from communities, reflecting honestly on what is and isn’t working, and rapidly planning and enacting changes and adaptations, and then completing the cycle by reflecting on whether those adaptations are having the desired effect, is something we are now much more confident in.
In terms of innovations, I’m really proud of how teams across four countries have developed tools and approaches for working with schoolchildren in a safe and meaningful way on FGM, but also on violence against women and girls, building their confidence, and other important topics. We now have a range of manuals and curricula that will help these approaches be scaled in numerous contexts.
6. As TGG-ALM enters its final year, what do you hope will be carried forward by partners, networks, and donors?
I really hope that we can find donors who are willing to support our grantee partners in the future: they have delivered so many exciting and impactful projects. I am confident that our work on reframing the language and survivors’ leadership will be carried forward, there are so many ambassadors and advocates for these approaches now; the genie is out of the box.
7. To end on a lighter note, what is one funny or heartwarming moment you’ve experienced while working with The Girl Generation team?
I have found our annual work planning weeks in Kenya to be extremely heartwarming: it’s always so motivating and energizing to bring the teams together to work hard, share learning, develop friendships, and if we’re lucky, spot a hippo in Lake Naivasha. I treasure these relationships and hope that even after the programme ends, my path will cross with many of my colleagues again.
