Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2

Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Girls' happiness hits an all-time low - Girlguiding survey

36 replies

IwantToRetire · 13/09/2023 19:12

Girlguiding's Girls' Attitudes Survey reveals girls' happiness levels have significantly declined over the past 15 years

New Girlguiding research reveals girls’ happiness levels have significantly declined over the past 15 years, with only 17% of girls aged 7-21 stating they feel very happy, compared to 40% in 2009
89% of girls and young women aged 7-21 feel generally worried or anxious
Girlguiding is calling on the UK government to take urgent action to revert the decline in girls’ happiness and address the sexual harassment, online harms and appearance pressures they face.

Girls’ happiness levels have reached an all-time low according to Girlguiding. The charity’s 15th annual Girls’ Attitudes Survey, supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, reveals a steady decline in girls’ happiness year on year and an increase in stress and anxiety since 2009.
For 15 years, Girlguiding has released its annual Girls’ Attitudes Survey documenting how girls feel about their everyday lives, the pressures they face and the issues they care about. This year's findings reveal there are areas in girls' lives that are worse than when the survey began in 2009, and they're less happy.
The number of girls who describe themselves as very happy has decreased significantly (40% in 2009 down to 17% in 2023), with the steepest decline in girls aged 7-10 (57% in 2009 compared to 28% in 2023).
The survey also revealed that 89% of girls aged 7-21 feel worried or anxious, compared to 78% in 2016, with girls’ worries ranging from appearance pressures, online harms to being sexually harassed.
Full press release and link to report https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/about-us/press-releases/girls-attitudes-survey-2023/

OP posts:

Thanks

Share

Report

Hellsbellsandspidersankles · 13/09/2023 19:15

Girls worries about being sexually harassed could be partly assuaged by keeping Guides single sex and making it the safe space it used to be.
The irony…

Thanks

arethereanyleftatall · 13/09/2023 19:22

Oh the irony.

Thanks

Shabog · 13/09/2023 19:23

Uh, they're probably worried about having to share a tent with 6ft3 Billy in a hello kitty nighty.

Thanks

Rightsraptor · 13/09/2023 19:33

Girl Guiding don't even know what a girl is, ffs.

Thanks

Toseland · 13/09/2023 19:36

Oh really, what a surprise. They've also got no sports, no sporting achievements. A whole load of stupid, painful and unrealistic beauty expectations. A future of dating men who watch porn, men in their toilets and changing rooms and a leader of the opposition looking to be elected when he can't respect women enough to fucking name them. And that's not all. It's looking bleak.

Thanks

Redshoeblueshoe · 13/09/2023 19:39

FFS what did they really expect ?

Thanks

Superfood · 13/09/2023 19:40

They've got a fucking cheek.

Thanks

TheSpikySpinosaurus · 13/09/2023 20:00

Shabog · 13/09/2023 19:23

Uh, they're probably worried about having to share a tent with 6ft3 Billy in a hello kitty nighty.

This!

Thanks

NDWifeandMan · 13/09/2023 20:06

PP have raised a lot of good points and there's little reason to be 'happy' but if you think it about there's a general air of unhappiness and negativity.
Kids these days are supposed to 'informed' about the world at a young age, 'educated' and 'made aware' of a whole host of different things. Of course they should keep themselves safe but we impose so many grown up things on them!

I read a lot as a child of course, but largely maintained my belief in a happy, cuddly world until I was in my mid-to-late teens. But then again there was no internet for them to absorb all the rubbish out there.

Thanks

IwantToRetire · 13/09/2023 20:11

Over two-thirds of girls (67%) say they sometimes feel ashamed of the way they look because they're not like girls and women they see in the media and online. 39% aged 11-21 state that seeing images online where people are edited to look perfect, makes them feel bad about they look and feel.
.

Almost all girls in the UK have experienced some form of threatening or upsetting behaviour online (81% of girls aged 11-21 compared to 65% in 2018). 83% of girls aged 13-21 reported seeing upsetting content, such as self-harm or suicide, and 73% have received unwanted sexual images.

Worryingly, girls as young as 7 are also experiencing harms online. 44% said strangers have messaged them or sent friend requests while playing games online and 30% have been contacted by someone they don’t know online, compared to 16% in 2016.
.

More than two in five girls (44%) revealed boys at their school have made comments about girls and women that have made them feel scared for their safety.
.

Interestingly, girls’ aspirations have changed over the last 15 years. When thinking about what they’d like to achieve by the age of 30, girls aged 7-21 place the greatest value on owning (their) own house (52%), over having a partner or being married (48%) or having a worthwhile job (42%).

In 2009 for over half (60%) of girls having a partner or being married was their top priority. The desire to have children by the age of 30 has also dropped significantly from 47% in 2009 to 33% in 2023).
.

Interesting that even quite young girls see their future as something they are in charge of, and decreasing interest in being married with a partner.

OP posts:

Thanks

IwantToRetire · 13/09/2023 20:19

I read a lot as a child of course, but largely maintained my belief in a happy, cuddly world until I was in my mid-to-late teens. But then again there was no internet for them to absorb all the rubbish out there.

I think this plays a large part of it, and in fact a recent report talked about how depressed boys were. The difference is too often if is more likely that girls and young women are subject to what others say or do to them.

Additionally I think the political narrative of the "generation divide" adds to the feeling of a hostile environment. Not that I think young people should think like the older generations, and in fact every generation thinks the one before them are boring, out of date, etc., but the media is intent on spreading the narrative that somehow society (esp. boomers) are conspiring against them. Not only is that not true, it actual helps politicians off the hook as it stops people discussing political failures that have led to a housing shortage etc., and instead spreads this gloom that young people are forever trapped as being the "unlucky" generation. (Compared to those conscripted in WWI, survived through the depression only to live long enough to be expected to join up again for WWII.

OP posts:

Thanks

ArabeIIaScott · 13/09/2023 20:57

'address the sexual harassment, online harms and appearance pressures they face'

Absolutely.

Imagine if girls were placed in the care of someone like this, and told this was someone they were supposed to look up to.

Girls' happiness hits an all-time low - Girlguiding survey

Thanks

ResisterRex · 13/09/2023 20:58

...but that would never happen, Arabella...

Thanks

ArabeIIaScott · 13/09/2023 20:59

I see Monica is still with the Scouts.

https://notts-scouts.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/

'Inclusion advisor'.

Meet the team - Notts Scouts

https://notts-scouts.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team

Thanks

BabyStopCryin · 13/09/2023 21:30

They really are very dumb… let kids be kids - ditch the whole gender nonsense and let the girls go on hikes and camping, learn crafts and new skills, play games and have fun. With NO boys.

Thanks

Wrongsideofpennines · 13/09/2023 22:14

Just wanted to point out a couple of things.

Girlguiding have surveyed girls both inside and outside of guiding.

And Girlguiding and Scouts are 2 completely separate organisations.

Thanks

ArabeIIaScott · 13/09/2023 22:27

Nobody who dressed up in a dominatrix outfit with a riding crop and posted the picture on public social media should be advising any children's organisation on anything. There was a big fuss he was in the Guides - it's just as poor safeguarding to have him in the Scouts. The pictures of him with guns were also demonstrating an absolute shocking lack of judgement and boundaries.

Thanks

TheCheerfulNihilist · 13/09/2023 22:44

"Girls' happiness hits an all-time low"

No shit?! FFS.

Thanks

User478 · 13/09/2023 23:11

The Girls Attitudes Survey is such a small scale study that it's barely useful. They send online questionnaires to 2,614 (401 fewer than last year) I'm not sure why it's so well respected publicised.

The good childhood report has 44,000 respondents.

Thanks

IwantToRetire · 13/09/2023 23:36

I'm not sure why it's so well respected publicised.

I think it is partly lazy journalism. A press release with a few sensational quotes, and feeds into this media theme that children today and the unluckiest generation.

The good childhood report has 44,000 respondents

Do you have a link to that?

OP posts:

Thanks

IwantToRetire · 13/09/2023 23:39

What's interesting is that they dont appear to have asked any questions about "identity".

Maybe that didn't dare because it might turn out that young girls (and probably yound men) are being made really depressed being surrounded by all the propoganda and then finding their parents are so concerned to be kind that they cant get a straight answer out of them.

OP posts:

Thanks

Eggybrains · 18/09/2023 20:11

ArabeIIaScott · 13/09/2023 20:59

I see Monica is still with the Scouts.

https://notts-scouts.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/

'Inclusion advisor'.

Girlguiding also concluded their investigation that she’d done nothing wrong. Glimmer posted about it. She just chose to leave

Thanks

Datun · 18/09/2023 20:16

ArabeIIaScott · 13/09/2023 20:57

'address the sexual harassment, online harms and appearance pressures they face'

Absolutely.

Imagine if girls were placed in the care of someone like this, and told this was someone they were supposed to look up to.

And were forbidden from identifying males as males.

Men commit 99% of all sex offences. Paraphilias are virtually exclusive to men only.

But girl guides have taught girls that they cannot identify this cohort otherwise they will be bigoted.

Thanks

Froodwithatowel · 18/09/2023 20:44

Gosh say the Guides. The girls are really miserable and it's all to do with the devaluing and destruction of girlhood as anything other than resource units for males. Which we've been vigorously enabling. And plan to do absolutely fuck all about.

Thanks

Piffpaffpoff · 18/09/2023 20:48

As an aside, I noticed on my LinkedIn today that the Guides are looking for a Senior PR Officer. The last sentence of the job ad says they are looking for a candidate with experience in "crisis and reputational risk management." Anyone fancy it?

Thanks

Flip

1 2

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.