CYP Now - The invisibility of girls and young women affected by serious violence and exploitation needs to end

In public, media and political dialogue, serious violence is often solely framed around knife crime and street violence between predominantly young men. This framing excludes affected girls and young women and leaves thousands of them seriously impacted by violence and criminal or sexual exploitation, and that risk is growing.

Geethika Jayatilaka is chief executive of Redthread. Picture: Redthread

As the Commission on Young Lives publishes its report ‘Keeping Girls and Young Women Safe’ they specifically highlight these risks. We welcome their urgent call for action to “recognise the threats and risks facing girls and break the conspiracy of silence that has left too many vulnerable young women without the access to support that can protect them from exploitation, harm and encourage them to meet their aspirations.”

At Redthread we know that for many girls and young women, serious violence is more likely to happen at home or someone else’s home. It is distinct from the street violence more commonly associated with knife crime. While we have seen an increase of young women being harmed in these communities or public spaces, the numbers are still low in comparison to young men.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included