Across the world, young women’s human rights are facing unprecedented growing threats, from higher levels of discrimination to weaker legal protections, and less funding for programmes and organisations that support them.  The Status of Young Women in Scotland 2024-25: Gender Justice and Young Women’s Human Rights report shines a light on young women’s feelings around their human rights and can be done to help them realise the full extent of their human rights in Scotland today.

This research engaged with around 600 young women and girls aged 16-30 from across Scotland, with representation from very Scottish local authority and from all of the target age groups. 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.

The report recommends that changes are needed to improve young women’s practical enjoyment of their human rights in Scotland. So many young women we engaged with had a story about being dismissed, ignored, or exposed to everyday sexism and misogyny that hinders their ability to exercise their human rights. We ask the Scottish Government to commit to introducing the proposed Human Rights Bill to protect young women’s human rights, and reform the criminal law to address rising levels of misogynistic harassment and abuse against young women and girls by introducing the proposed Misogyny Bill, among many other recommendations.

Young women want a better understanding of their own human rights, and how they might access high-quality, evidence-based information when they feel their human rights may have been breached, violated, or ignored. They want to know how to access their human rights in everyday life and safely advocate for their rights in public and online spaces.

Young women need a place to go with their problems, and to know that action can be taken when their human rights are breached or violated. They want to confidently name and claim their human rights and be empowered and encouraged to participate in decision-making and the development of policy and practice that affects them and their rights.   Only by ensuring the human rights of young women and girls – in all their diversity – will we achieve equality, justice and protection for all in Scotland. At The Young Women’s Movement, we promise to work hard to push for a future where all young women and girls, everywhere, realise their human rights and thrive.