Charities urge more help in tackling pressures facing girls

Girlguiding and YoungMinds said that young people they spoke to for the Girls' Wellbeing Explored: Understanding Pressures and Resilience report showed that girls and young women are facing a range of academic, social, emotional and sexual pressures including doing well at school and looking "right".

??They also warned that girls and young women "normalise" and "play down" everyday sexism, harassment and inequality and they are not getting the help they need to address issues or the negative impact these have on their wellbeing. ??

"Girls' wellbeing is suffering as a result of the overwhelming pressures they face in today's society, and many of these issues should not be pressures in their lives at all," the report states.??

"From listening to girls it is clear that action is needed to help reverse the decline in their wellbeing and prevent low wellbeing in the future.??

"The pressure girls face related to gender inequality and stereotypes must be dealt with at the source - not by future generations of girls in their everyday lives."

??The report added that building girls' resilience to everyday pressures can help promote positive mental wellbeing and that peer support is "crucial", with the focus group highlighting sports, music, drama, arts, and peer support as "positive resilience strategies".????

"Having safe spaces in which to talk, peer support and pursuing hobbies and interests are all crucial to improving girls' wellbeing," the report adds.

??"This research highlights girls' need for more support at school and suggests more should be done so that teachers and other staff are able to identify issues and offer appropriate support."

??The qualitative research of 120 girls and young women aged seven to 18 follows Girlguiding's Girls' Attitudes survey last year, which revealed that 62 per cent of girls aged 11 to 21 know someone their age who has experienced a mental health problem and 47 per cent of young women aged 17 to 21 have personally needed help with their mental health.?

?The charities have called on the government to demand that schools be required to address high levels of sexual harassment through effective and clear school policies, support for reporting and clear sanctions.

??Making personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education statutory would also ensure all girls are taught about gender equality and body confidence, the report adds.