AGREE
Acknowledge Girls Right to End Exploitation
AGREE is a charity (No. 1205364) that brings together experts from many fields. They are all committed to stopping the exploitation of girls across the world. This exploitation takes many forms:
• Child / Forced Marriage
• Domestic Slavery • Prostitution
• Sexual Abuse • Trafficking
• Drug Mules • County Lines
Many, if not all, are interlinked.
One purpose of AGREE is to deepen our understanding of these issues through research and discussion and develop effective strategies to counter them. Another purpose is to lend support to families where girls have been exploited and develop rehabilitation programs for girls who have escaped such abuse.
Why AGREE?
AGREE STANDS FOR:
Acknowledge Girls Right to End Exploitation
Unfortunately, not everyone acknowledges that girls should not be exploited. The reasons can be many. Financial benefit to the exploiter is probably the underlying cause in almost every case. It may be covered over by claims that it has cultural or religious origins, but money lies at the root of the problem.
What We Do
Education:
AGREE will provide face-to-face or on-line seminars to:
1) Police forces
2) Social services
3) NHS Trusts
4) Schools
5) Churches, Synagogues, Masjids, Temples & Gurdwaras
Research:
AGREE brings together experts from across the world in on-line groups to discuss specific topics so as to define the nature of the problem and develop programs to bring about change.
The trustees will consider specific proposals for innovative research projects from outside organisations, with a published track record.
Support:
AGREE will support families and girls who have been affected through practical guidance with linkage to appropriate bodies. This will depend upon the country in which they live, but will include reference to a sympathetic legal practice and could include financial support.
Our Origin
AGREE was set-up with the intention of achieving change. Girls have been exploited throughout history. In the 21st Century this should stop. During the last 100 years the rights of women to vote, own property, run companies and countries have been accepted throughout the world.
However, there has been limited success in preventing or even reducing sexual and physical exploitation of girls and women, especially from poorer communities. AGREE looks to achieve change through education, lobbying and legal action. When first conceived, comments were raised as to whether a small, but dedicated, group of people could achieve such lofty ambitions. The answer lay in the saying: “Great oaks from little acorns grow”
Who is a “girl”?
The definition of girl varies from country to country.
AGREE is following the UN definition as being someone under 18 years of age.
The debate around age is an on-going one, but most workers in this field acknowledge that maturity requires a combination of both physical and mental status as well as an ability and capacity to understand the life-long consequences of some decisions. This age has been of particular importance in deciding when someone can decide to marry.
It was only in 2023 that England and Wales adopted this as the age at which either a man or a woman can legally marry. In some countries the age for marriage is 16 and in others even younger.