Almost one-in-five young women activists fear for safety while working

Almost one in five young women activists have feared for their safety while working, according to new research by girls’ rights NGO Plan International.

The global study involved hundreds of young women activists from 26 countries, including Ireland, between the age of 15 and 24.

It explores how girls face a multitude of challenges in campaigning for change, and face risks ranging from hostility from community members to oppressive policing and online abuse.

“From taking action on the climate crisis to stopping child marriage, girl activists are changing their communities – and the world around them – for the better. Injustice is driving girls to act,” said Paul O’Brien, Plan International Ireland chief executive.

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“At the same time, our research has found that as a girl or young woman, campaigning for change is often tough and unrelenting. In a world where gender discrimination remains widespread, young women activists are all too often ignored, or worse, harassed, or ostracised.”

The survey results of 840 girl and young women activists, working on a variety of issues, has been published in advance of International Day of the Girl on October 11th.

It found gender equality to be the single most important issue for girl activists, while 60 per cent named gender equality or gender-based violence as a priority issue.

One in 10 (9 per cent) have faced threats of physical violence, while 15 per cent have experienced online harassment and abuse.

The single biggest barrier to girls’ activism is a shortage of funding, named by more than half (54 per cent) of girls surveyed as the main factor holding their campaigning back.

Despite this, the report, Turning the World Around: Girl and young women activists leading the fight for equality, found nearly all girl activists (95 per cent) say campaigning has had a positive impact on their lives, making them feel proud, empowered, and capable.

Plan International is supporting young women activists in calling on governments, donors, and civil society to play their part in supporting them.

In particular they are seeking increased funding and greater supports for girls and young women to engage meaningfully in all areas of public life.

Oileán Carter Stritch (23) is one such worker. When the climate crisis began to weigh on her, the politics graduate turned her frustration into action by helping her friend, Mary, to run Change Clothes Crumlin, a community-based charity where locals can swap clothes, saving money and reducing their carbon footprint.

“We’ve experienced how climate anxiety can affect your mental health,” she said. “It can be hard to engage in when it makes you feel like that. So, what we wanted to do was kind of two-fold in that we tackle the problem while providing something new for the community.”