Adolescent Girl-Friendly Spaces Learning Brief: Effectively Creating Safe and Supportive Spaces for Palestinian Girls in the West Bank

In partnership with Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD), SCI oPt established eight adolescent girl-friendly spaces in the most vulnerable areas of the Northern Governorates of the West Bank. These spaces were integrated within existing community-based structures and developed through a participatory approach, incorporating insights from male and female caregivers, counselors, stakeholders, and adolescents. To ensure safety and accessibility, gender-sensitive consultations were conducted with women, men, girls, and boys, alongside a comprehensive safety audit and assessment with targeted girls to identify risks and effective mitigation strategies.

The model has proven to be highly successful, with girls who accessed the spaces reporting significant improvements in their psychosocial well-being, confidence, and awareness of protection risks. They also expressed a strong sense of ownership over the spaces, emphasizing the importance of peer-to-peer networks, accessible services, and having a safe environment where they can engage freely. Moreover, the experience highlighted that such spaces are not only effective in stable settings but also serve as critical support systems during emergencies, providing girls with a sense of stability, protection, and access to essential services.

This learning brief not only showcases the effectiveness of this model but also provides key recommendations to further enhance and sustain these spaces, ensuring their long-term impact on adolescent girls’ empowerment and protection