Sexual and gender-based violence: Baseline findings

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) is a program for girls ages 10-19 in rural and urban Zambia that aims to find the best ways to improve their social, health, and economic resources. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a pervasive global health problem. Women and girls are most at risk, and consequences include physical injury, psychological trauma, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The AGEP program involves over 10,000 girls participating in weekly girls’ group meetings, receiving health vouchers and opening savings accounts. Over 5,000 girls, unmarried at baseline, are enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial and are being followed over four years—including the two years of the program and two years after. This brief describes the characteristics of these girls at baseline