Safe Online, Safe Offline: AVAS’s Awareness Workshop to Build a Safer Future for Girls in Barishal
A girl’s right to grow up safely does not stop at the school gate or the doors of her home. It extends to the phone in her hand, the information she finds online and the freedom to ask questions about her body without fear or shame. Yet, for many adolescent girls, access to reliable sexual and reproductive health information and protection from online abuse remain closely connected challenges.
An awareness session held on 13 October 2026 at Government Children’s Home (South) in Barishal brought these issues together. Organised by the Association of Voluntary Actions for Society (AVAS) under the Youth Share-Net project, the initiative, organised by RedOrange with support from AmplifyChange, addressed sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), cyberbullying and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). A menstrual health, hygiene and sanitation corner was also established to encourage learning and experience sharing.
The timing offered an opportunity to reflect on the International Day of the Girl, observed annually on 11 October. But a single awareness session also raises a larger question: How can information translate into lasting protection?
This need is supported by wider evidence. According to UNICEF’s Child Marriage in Bangladesh data, around 51% of women aged 20 to 24 were married before their 18th birthday, highlighting the continuing challenges facing girls’ autonomy and wellbeing. Meanwhile, a 2025 study using nationally representative Bangladeshi adolescent data found that girls who experienced cyberbullying had substantially higher rates of major depressive disorder. These findings underline the importance of treating digital safety and mental health as part of adolescent wellbeing, not as separate concerns.
Menstrual health education is equally important. When girls can discuss menstruation openly, they are better placed to challenge misinformation and recognise their health needs. The same principle applies to consent, bodily autonomy, healthy relationships and online privacy.
The real measure of success will not be whether girls attend a session but whether they feel safer asking questions, reporting abuse and making informed decisions afterwards.
Every girl deserves more than advice to stay safe. She deserves an environment that makes safety, dignity and informed choice possible, both online and offline.