Status of Young Women in Scotland 2024-25 is the seventh report in our flagship research series.
This report explores young women’s human rights in Scotland – how we understand, access and advocate for our rights. This covers topics such as access to healthcare, justice, equality between young women and young men, threats to our human rights and how young women participate in politics and the barriers to doing so.
2025 marks ten years since the publication of the first Status of Young Women in Scotland research. The first report intended to fill a glaring gap in research, policy influencing and reporting in Scotland – a holistic, evidence-based and intersectional picture of what it was like to be a young woman in Scotland.
The first report in 2015 centred around what gender equality meant to young women, their ‘gender lightbulb moment’ – when they first realised they were experiencing life differently because of their gender. In doing so it covered a broad brush of environments and explored the ways in which young women were experiencing gender inequality in their everyday lives in Scotland. Ten years on, this report returns to many of these issues by exploring young women’s feelings about their human rights in Scotland in a markedly different world and context.
*Content warning: this section includes reference to gender-based violence, including sexual assault and abuse.
1 in 2young women do not trust politicians to represent them and advocate for their human rights
58%of young women feel they have no say in decisions about how Scotland is run
1 in 4young women feel they haven’t had the same access to employment and educational opportunities as young men
Young women are very anxious about a regression in their human rights, expressing fear and anxiety as changes in society, culture and politics make women’s human rights feel more precarious than ever. Specific concerns were raised about the rise of far-right politics at home and globally, increasing populism, as well as increasing misogyny and the radicalisation of young men online as barriers to young women exercising their human rights.
1 in 3 young women feel that they have not been taught what they need to know about their human rights, and 8 in 10 want to develop their knowledge about their human rights. Many called for greater rights awareness to empower self-advocacy.
1 in 4 young women do not trust service providers or public authorities in Scotland to uphold their human rights. Many young women described a deep mistrust of the criminal justice system, particularly the police, in the handling of domestic abuse allegations, rape and sexual assault, and violence against women and girls.
Safety is one of young women’s top concerns when it comes to their rights, alongside access to adequate healthcare and the right to fair and equal pay.
It’s a scary time to be a young woman with the rise in misogyny, violence and intolerance.
Anonymous survey respondent
1. Campaign to increase knowledge on young women’s human rights
2. Help to improve access to public services for young women
3. Work with schools to tackle gender expectations and stereotyping
4. Work with political parties to create pathways for young women to participate in politics
5. Work with human rights organisations to work towards a Scotland where young women’s human rights are articulated, protected and fulfilled
6. Deliver prevention-based work to support the elimination of violence against women and girls online
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
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Prioritise the incorporation of international human rights treatises by reintroducing the Human Rights (Scotland) Bill, ensuring young women can realise the full range of their human rights in Scotland.
Intensify efforts to combat misogyny and negative gender stereotypes in schools and educational settings to tackle discrimination against young women and girls.
Work with the UK Government to ensure the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill will address and remove the persistent barriers that hold young women back at work.
Action the recommendation from the National Advisory Council for Women and Girls (NACWG) by integrating intersectional gender budget analysis into the Scottish Budget process, and to give this a statutory footing.
Improve access to justice for young women and girls by reforming the legal aid system and specifically considering the availability of legal aid for victim/survivors of gender-based violence.
Modernise abortion law in Scotland to ensure safe, accessible, and stigma-free reproductive healthcare for all.
Reform the criminal law to address rising levels of misogynistic harassment and abuse against young women and girls by introducing the proposed Misogyny (Scotland) Bill.
Work with the UK Government and international partners to improve online safeguarding mechanisms for young women and girls on public platforms and strengthen accountability mechanisms and procedures to report a complaint or cybercrime.
Develop more credible and accessible information and guidance for young women and girls regarding what to do andwho to contact if they feel threatened or unsafe or if they are victims of gender-based violence, both online and offline.
Meaningfully engage and listen to the voices of young women and girls, involve them in decision-making processes and create policies that address their specific needs and concerns.
Invest in the youth work sector to ensure there are sufficient resources and experienced staff and volunteers available to support young women and girls in their communities.
Promote greater awareness about economic, social and cultural rights, especially the right to education and employment at all stages of a woman’s life. This could be achieved by integrating financialliteracy and entrepreneurship into school and college curricula.
Establish a Young Women’s Economic Advisory Council to advise Scottish Parliament and Government on young women’s inclusion, access to and participation in gender budgeting, entrepreneurial opportunities, STEM and closing the gender pay gap.
Ensure the trauma-based practice provisions in the proposed Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill take cognisance of young women’s experiences within the criminal justice system.
Work with Police Scotland to ensure greater institutional knowledge of the dangers of gender-based violence, particularly the impact of stalking and harassment, coercive control, economic abuse and intimate-image abuse and the specific impact these crimes have on young women and girls.
