- United Kingdom
Girlguiding has been tracking girls’ and young women’s views through our Girls’ Attitudes Survey for over a decade, building a clear picture of what it’s like growing up as a girl in the UK today. It shows that they face a specific combination of pressures and experiences – many borne out of underlying gender inequalities – that can affect their mental health and wellbeing and ability to fulfil their potential as equal, active citizens.
In May 2020, Girlguiding surveyed almost 7,000 girls and young women aged 4 to 18 across the UK to find out how the coronavirus crisis and lockdown is affecting them, the majority were Girlguiding members. The findings show that girls are facing specific challenges as a result of the pandemic, which like for most people, has radically changed their day to day life and created uncertainties for their future.
Many girls, especially younger girls, report feeling happy at home and enjoying at least some of their time in lockdown doing fun activities and continuing to learn in new ways. This is despite boredom being the most prevalent feeling expressed across all ages. But there is cause for concern as a picture of distress also emerges, particularly for those aged 15 to 18. There are signs of girls feeling sad from a very young age with a third (33%) of girls aged 4 to 10 saying they feel sad most of the time. A third (34%) of girls aged 11 to 14 say they feel lonely most of the time. Young women aged 15 to 18 particularly report feeling worried, stressed and overwhelmed. The factors most affecting them are uncertainty about school and education (76%).
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