Promundo Institute

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Why a manual for working with young women? This manual, part of an initiative called the M Program, was developed to help educators engage young women and adolescents in discussions about how rigid ideas about what it means to be a man and a woman affect women's options and choices, in your life, health and sexuality. Here, you will find activities that draw on the needs and experiences of young women to promote critical reflections on gender inequities and sexual and reproductive rights and to encourage their autonomy in relationships with family members, in the workplace and with their intimate partners.

Although much has been done to encourage female empowerment, much of the work is focused mainly on the experiences of adult women, which are not adequate to understand young women and adolescents, their decisions, interests and conditions for well-being (Greene, 2004). It is in our youth that we begin our first relationships that are significant for future experiences. This is the ideal time to promote reflections and changes that lead to more equitable relationships between men and women.

The age referred to as “young women and adolescents” in this manual ranges from 15 to 24 years old, which corresponds to the age definition of “youth” established by the World Health Organization (WHO), while the Child and Adolescent Statute ( ECA) limits “adolescence” to 18 years of age. We admit that this age range is very broad, and we do not recommend working with young people aged between 15 and 24 necessarily in the same groups.

The activities are aimed at groups of young women and adolescents, although they can also be used with younger or older women, or even mixed groups, with some adaptations. Group activities including men and women can be valuable spaces for practicing respect and understanding between both, although we recognize that it is important to maintain exclusive spaces
for women.

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Before starting to work with young women, it is important that the facilitator reads the entire manual to understand how it is organized and what it contains. As described in more detail below, the manual is organized into ten subsections, each containing activities lasting from 45 minutes to 2 hours. These activities can be developed in different environments, including schools, clubs and community organizations, and are more productive when carried out in small groups, with 10 to 20 participants. It is recommended that the facilitator, first of all, works with the group to establish and follow basic rules, aiming to guarantee privacy and respect for all participants.

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