Hear Her Voice

As part of the participatory research project, young women aged 18-24 are empowered and trained using a mobile app to become Market Research Society (MRS)-qualified researchers and Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGAs). Because the majority of Girl Effect's face-to-face research work is on pause due to COVID-19, the TEGAs have turned the cameras on themselves to create weekly digital diaries. Girl Effect's girl-operated digital research tool (the TEGA app) allows girls to collect close-to-real-time insights into the lives of their peers. Co-created with girls, TEGA technology can operate in places with poor network connection. It has translation capabilities, data encryption, and a number of in-built safety features to ensure the safety and data protection of all participants. Through the app, TEGAs conduct a range of different research methods:

• Formative research: TEGAs conduct interviews, revealing candid information to help understand issues or inform programme and product design;
• Concept and creative testing: TEGAs capture reactions and feedback insights into the design process, which allows for programmes to be adapted in real time; and
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E): TEGAs collect qualitative and quantitative data, putting them in a position to regularly provide insights to improve the quality of programmes.

This approach is designed to unlock the open and honest conversations that might otherwise be lost or not included when collecting data in traditional ways, enabling the complexities of a girl's life to be viewed in real time through her peers. The data gathered through this process are shared on the Hear Her Voice website, which is updated on a regular basis with video clips, articles, and films, telling the human stories behind the headlines during this pandemic. Themes include: livelihoods, money, and skills; education and learning; information, myths, and stigma; mobile and technologies; health; and COVID-19 country responses.

One set of insights from the TEGAs on all 3 continents relates to the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) during this time. TEGAs reported that access to a mobile phone and data had become essential to them during lockdown for participating in online education, beating isolation, and gathering information about COVID-19. However, many TEGAs also reported they were spending too much time on social media, struggling with online learning, and finding it hard to assess the accuracy of information spreading on COVID-19 via social media or WhatsApp groups. In India, for example, girls face financial and logistical barriers to accessing data. Many girls do not have their own device; sharing a phone can be stigmatised by parents.

The insights are being used to design interventions to meet girls short- and long-term needs. For example, based on the India findings about girls' desire for reliable information, Girl Effect created youth-friendly COVID-19 content for their youth brand Chhaa Jaa, which reaches millions of Indian girls through its social media channels. Specifically, Hear Her Voice data showed that girls in India were struggling to access sanitary pads because of limited mobility during lockdown. As a result, Chhaa Jaa focused on digitally connecting girls to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services such as helplines, apps, and online doc consultation services, including trialling home delivery of contraception and sanitary pads. Girl Effect also ran a campaign during Menstrual Hygiene Week in May 2020 to encourage girls to talk openly about menstruation.

According to Girl Effect, safeguarding girls' online privacy is a challenge during strict lockdowns, when supportive services are not available and women and girls face additional risks. Risk assessments and service mapping helped pinpoint what services could support TEGAs if they needed assistance. Girl Effect used their recruitment app, a tool developed to gather informed consent, digitally and remotely, that works by using audio files in local languages to explain how data will be used. The TEGAs then respond to multiple-choice questions to ensure full comprehension. The TEGAs also consented to each individual video on the microsite and all the footage in the films, and pseudonyms are used on the site. Finally, Girl Effect carried out briefings via WhatsApp and checked in to make sure the TEGAs are happy, healthy, and keen to keep contributing at regular intervals.

Girls, Health, Technology

Beyond the threat of the coronavirus itself, girls and women face a heightened risk of gender-based violence, economic stress, and a lack of access to education, health care, and SRH services. There is a risk that hard-won gains for girls could slip backwards as a result of the pandemic. Yet, according to Girl Effect, despite immense coverage of COVID-19, there is a lack of data and understanding about girls' experiences under lockdown. Rarely do we hear about girls' lives from the perspective of girls themselves. Without the inclusion of girls' perspectives, solutions to support them during this crisis - both short and longer term - won't be as effective as they could be.