Adolescent girls in Lebanon: the state of the evidence

Abstract

This situation analysis synthesises what is known about the capabilities of adolescent girls living in Lebanon. Where possible, it uses disaggregation in order to better focus on the unique vulnerabilities and opportunities facing Lebanese, Palestine refugee, and Syrian refugee girls. First briefly explaining the Lebanese context—including Lebanon’s sectarian divisions and its extremely large refugee population—the analysis then turns to each of GAGE’s capability domains: education, physical health and nutrition, bodily integrity, psychosocial well-being, voice and agency, and economic empowerment. Drawing on both academic and grey literature, it summarises what is known about each, identifies trends and patterns across time and between populations of girls, and highlights the gaps where GAGE is poised to contribute to the evidence base. Overall, the situation analysis concludes that outside of education, we know little about the capabilities of girls living in Lebanon. Indeed, gender is all but invisible amid the country’s sectarian divisions – and research that is framed around the nexus of gender and age is nearly absent. Due to needs assessments completed by NGOs, we know relatively more about some of the threats facing Syrian girls, such as child marriage. Palestine refugee girls have been almost completely ignored. This report is an output of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme