Hearing the voices of girls in residential care in Pakistan: Exploring perceived influences on mental health and wellbeing

Children across the globe face multiple and intersecting challenges, which impact their mental health and wellbeing. Some groups are more profoundly affected because of marginalization and vulnerability, including those who reside in countries of low resources and who are living in care. This paper focuses on care experienced girls in Pakistan, and their views on structural and systemic factors that shape their mental health and wellbeing. Drawing upon data from three focus groups, we used reflexive thematic analysis to report three core findings of (1) limitations of mental health awareness, (2) gender discrimination and harassment and (3) limited opportunities and hopes for the future. Positioning these findings with a children’s and women’s rights framework, we make recommendations for supporting the futures of care experienced girls in Pakistan and Majority World countries.