The mental health crisis among children and young people has become a growing societal concern, with girls and young women experiencing a particularly sharp rise in poor mental health over the past decade. Despite this trend, their specific needs remain underrepresented in public debate and policy, while overstretched youth and voluntary services struggle to meet rising demand. As a result, many girls and young women facing mental health challenges are left without adequate or timely support.
Recent research highlights that mental health outcomes for girls are deteriorating faster than for boys, with signs of inequality emerging early in adolescence. By age 14, the gender gap begins to appear, and in later teenage years and early adulthood, young women are significantly more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. This is compounded by rising school absences, increasing numbers not in education or employment, exposure to harmful online content, and persistent gender-based violence and social pressures that negatively affect self-esteem and wellbeing.
At the same time, mental health services are struggling to keep pace with demand, leading to gaps in access and inconsistent care. Many girls and young women report poor experiences within existing systems, where fragmented services across health, education, and community sectors often fail to address complex, gender-specific drivers of distress. This lack of coordinated support means many fall through service gaps or do not receive appropriate care at all.
Community and voluntary organisations have stepped in to fill some of these gaps, but they face funding and capacity constraints that limit their reach. The report emphasizes that philanthropy can play a critical role in strengthening this ecosystem by supporting trauma-informed, age-specific, and gender-responsive services that are co-designed with young women themselves. Peer support models are also highlighted as particularly effective in creating safe, relatable spaces for sharing experiences and building resilience.
The findings call for stronger collaboration across sectors, long-term and flexible funding, and greater investment in evidence-building to identify what works. It also stresses the importance of supporting small and grassroots organisations, which are often central to delivering trusted local services. Ultimately, the report argues that lasting improvement requires system-wide change, including embedding gender-responsive approaches into national policies and mainstream mental health provision. It concludes that addressing the mental health needs of girls and young women is both urgent and achievable, but will require coordinated, sustained, and strategic action across funders, policymakers, and service providers.
