Booze-fuelled violence becomes a worrying norm for young women

“You just need to watch your back at all times. That’s just the way it is.”

The words of a woman included in a new study examining the prevalence of violence in the lives of young females are deeply chilling.

The report – released by Youthlink Scotland – paints a disturbing picture of booze-fuelled aggravation, often recorded and posted on social media for the “enjoyment” of others.

Repeatedly viewing such footage leads to desensitisation, the study found.

Of course that, in turn, reinforces the troubling notion that such behaviour represents normality – something one meekly accepts at best and replicates at worst.

There has been a lot of talk in recent times about the responsibility of social media platforms to monitor the content being posted by users.

Many politicians have spoken of the need to better regulate the “wild west” of the online sphere.

But all the warm rhetoric in the world doesn’t seem to be making any meaningful difference.

And so what next?

Everybody has a role to play

Tim Frew, the chief executive of Youthlink Scotland, insists the new research “highlights the urgent need to listen to these young women”.

Only by better understanding their experiences can we hope to start the search for effective solutions, he states.

Certainly a collective burying of heads in sand will do nothing to tackle what is clearly a growing threat to the safety and security of our young people.

If misogyny, excessive alcohol consumption and violence have indeed been normalised we must examine strategies to combat such appalling, wayward beliefs.

We also need to speak a language young people understand – and ensure they are both represented and included.

And so positive messages must be spread – in the home, in schools, at sports clubs and societies. Everybody has a role to play. An alternative narrative – a place where people respect one another and interact with kindness – could also be reflected on socialmedia.

If young women are indeed being exposed to graphic content online on a daily basis, ways must be found to provide a better balance.

No solutions, however, will work in isolation.

Youth groups, young people and their representatives, politicians, law makers, social media influencers – all must be encouraged to come together to create a better, more stable, environment for young women.

After all, surely we can all agree that society should be a place where each individual is cherished and nurtured rather than derided and abused.

Only then will such reports become a thing of the past.