The Voice of America won a 2020 Clarion Award for its online reporting project, Worth of a Girl, about the practice of child marriage, which has entangled one in five women globally in lives of limited education and opportunities.
The Association for Women in Communications, the sponsor of the Clarion Awards, gave top honors to Worth of a Girl in its Online Journalism - Special Feature category. The project followed the experiences of girls and women married as children living in Africa, North and South America, Asia and Europe. Reported in 12 languages in web articles, on social media, and in a television documentary, VOA journalists explored the root causes of child marriage across cultural, religious and national boundaries, detailing the monetary valuation placed on young women. Girls who marry before they are 18 are often denied education, frequently become pregnant as adolescents, and can face systemic abuse.
“Journalists across multiple VOA language services came together for this months-long project to create this compelling content,” said Dr. Elez Biberaj, Acting VOA Director. “The stories featured the global child marriage practice that often contributes to a cycle of poverty and gender inequality,” continued Biberaj. “We’re very gratified that the AWC recognized our “Worth of a Girl” reporting project with this significant honor.”
Earlier this year, the Worth of a Girl documentary won a 2020 New York Festivals Silver Medal and was nominated for a 2020 Webby “People’s Choice” Award in recognition of VOA’s storytelling around an important global problem.
AWC, which champions the advancement of women across all communications disciplines, established the Clarion Awards in 1972, choosing winners in more than 100 categories each year.
