Young Women's Movement calls for urgent action to protect rights
The report explores a wide range of findings about how young women understand, access and advocate for their human rights in Scotland – from the right to education to the right to live a life free from violence.
Overall, young women across Scotland are very concerned about a regression in their human rights, expressing fear and anxiety as changes in society, culture and politics make their rights feel more precarious than ever.
Many young women raised specific concerns about the feminist backlash we are currently experiencing, and the rise of far-right politics at home and globally.
Many young women described frequently not feeling safe in public and online, and the actions they take to protect themselves from the daily threat of violence.
The rise of misogyny, particularly online, and the radicalisation of young men in digital spaces, were identified as significant barriers to young women's human rights.
One young woman said: 'Women experience sexual and gender-based violence at catastrophic rates, and it has extremely harmful effects on our physical and mental health and wellbeing, safety in our own homes, ability to access healthcare, and ability to achieve justice.'
This year marks thirty years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action where 189 governments from around the world unanimously adopted a ground-breaking agenda for gender equality and the human rights of all women and girls.
Time alone does not drive progress. As our report shows, young women and girls across Scotland are struggling to have their human rights realised due to poor access to justice, the rise of misogyny, precarious employment opportunities, the prevalence of gender stereotypes in schools and in the workplace, and the persistence of gender-based violence, among many other rights-based issues.
We are still waiting for young women and girls' human rights in Scotland to be fully articulated, protected and fulfilled.
Against this challenging backdrop, the views of young women in this report give cause for some much-needed optimism.
The vast majority of those surveyed identify as feminists, and most believe in the power of collective voice and action to challenge anti-rights actors and increase their confidence and assertiveness in human rights discourse.
Dr Rebecca Mason, is the Research & Policy Lead at The Young Women's Movement
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