A University of Ulster survey that found a quarter of women interviewed had experienced child abuse or domestic violence in the home has prompted calls for action.
The report, Still Waiting: the stories behind the statistics of young women growing up in Northern Ireland, was based on interviews with women aged 16-25 and was carried out by YouthAction Northern Ireland.
Services for young women inadequate: YouthAction Northern Ireland. Image: Frank Miller.
It found evidence young women continued to be affected by discrimination and stereotypical ideas about gender roles and challenged the notion that family and home were safe places for young women.
Furthermore, professionals who had been informed about abuse or violence made little or no effective responses to the young women, raising serious questions about the support which is given to the most vulnerable of them, the report claimed.
It also said young women carried out the bulk of household and caring work in the home and expected that to continue thorough adulthood - irrespective of their career and work situations.
Pressure to conform to the "ideal" body image also had a very stressful and negative impact on self-esteem of young women, and this was reinforced by celebrity culture and media representations of women, the report said.
Moreover, the study found that for young women politics was seen as irrelevant, with few believing that politicians made any difference to their lives.
Dr Ann Marie Gray, co-author of the report, said despite more than three decades of equality legislation the overall picture was pessimistic.
She said: "The research painted a painful picture of the reality of young women's lives in Northern Ireland. The issues raised cannot be ignored any longer by policy makers, politicians and service providers."