In world where men stare at seven-yearolds, girls are fighting back

Citizen Girl project is designed to empower five- to 18-year-olds to play a part in democracy, writes Denise Spence

This year was a momentous one for girls and young women in Scotland. We marked 100 years since the first women gained the right to vote in the UK and celebrated the impact of girls and young women during Scotland’s Year of Young People. Here in Scotland and across the world we’ve seen young women making their voices heard, taking action in their communities and even standing for office themselves in record numbers.

There’s been much to celebrate. But we know there’s still a long way to go before every girl can feel safe and happy in her everyday life and can look forward to a truly equal future.

As the chief executive for Scotland’s leading charity for girls and young women, I’m in a privileged position to see the impact girls can make when they are empowered to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. In recent years, Girlguiding Scotland members have been campaigning for change on some of the most pressing social issues of today.

They’ve collected 8,000 pairs of shoes and socks and distributed these, along with hand-written messages of good will, to refugees fleeing conflict. They’ve spoken out at the Scottish Parliament, highlighting the unacceptable levels of sexual harassment and misogyny that girls face in their communities, online and at school. And they’ve taken a stand against period poverty, gathering vital supplies for people in need and helping secure free products at schools, colleges and universities in Scotland.

It’s clear when girls are empowered they can be an unstoppable force in their communities and beyond. But we know that girls continue to face barriers in their everyday lives and as they look ahead to their future. New research by Girlguiding Scotland has cast a stark light on the everyday inequalities girls continue to face. Seventyseven per cent of girls aged 12 to 25 told us that they were treated differently because they are female, with 28 per cent saying this happens often or always. And, worryingly, nearly one in two girls told us they felt they’d have more freedom to go out and about by themselves if they were a boy.

Girls told us this inequality affects their lives in all sorts of ways; from the seven-year-old who told us that she had to wear dresses, be on her best behaviour and not climb trees to the 15-year-old who told us about the pressure to look like the Kardashians on social media and the pressure to look perfect all the time.

Girls as young as seven told us that men stared at them and that boys thought they were soft or couldn’t do the same things as them.

Older girls told us about everyday experiences of harassment and abuse and that fear that, even in 2018, being a woman could hold them back in their careers.

I was particularly concerned to read, as we celebrated the 100thyear anniversary of the first women gaining the right to vote, that only 14 per cent of girls aged seven to 25 said they would consider standing to become an MSP, MP or councillor. And 57 per cent said politicians had little or no understanding of the issues affecting their lives. Nearly 70 per cent said they thought political parties should make sure half of their candidates are female while eight out of ten said they thought this would encourage more girls and young women to get involved in politics.

Girlguiding Scotland wanted to seize the opportunity this momen-