Uniting Isolated Voices | 2021
Research overview:
This report centers the lived experience of 1214 girls and further highlights how the reported pre-pandemic barriers to safety and healthy relationships were further dismantled, amplifying the severity of effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for girls. It also provides a girl-centered and -led call-to-action guide in which three categories of allies – educators and service providers, policy and advocacy organizations, and funders – can take action.
Key findings:
The COVID-19 pandemic eviscerated an already fragile ecosystem of support for girls. It did not create new inequities, it dramatically worsened existing ones.
The negative impacts of COVID-19 on girls and gender expansive youth
Girls and gender expansive youth’s safety and sense of wellbeing were compromised, and it is the most underserved girls who say they are bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s outcomes. Some key data points included:
66% of girls reported experiencing greater stress and anxiety during COVID-19 and shelter in place
44% of respondents reported having more caregiving responsibilities that impacted their schooling and education;
32% reported lacking financial stability; and
30% reported being unable to get the learning support they need to be successful at school
COVID-19 exposes the role of multiplying factors impacting girls and gender expansive youth
Girls are defining mental health for themselves
Recommendations:
Redefine Schools as Ecosystems for Girls’ Wellness.
Center Girls and Gender-Expansive Youth in COVID-19 recovery and reform efforts
Provide Dedicated Funding to Gender and Race Equity Programs and Initiatives
