Chapter 2: Enabling children, girls and women to live their lives to the fullest

'The Young Women's Outreach Project was established in 1992 and is based on Gladstone Terrace in central Gateshead. We recognise that society is fundamentally unequal for young women; our service was set up to address the unmet needs of young women and young mothers. Existing underlying health, social and economic inequalities disproportionately impact young women and are a significant barrier to them fulfilling their potential to live a good life.' 

'We support young women aged 11 to 19 years through single or complex issues occurring in their lives. Most young women are referred to us by schools, Children & Young People Services, Midwives and Social Services. However, anyone can refer to the Young Women's Project, even young women themselves. Over a year, we have contact with approximately 250 young women. Attendance at the Young Women's Project is voluntary, embedding our values of personal choice and control.'

When asked about inequalities women who access the project face, Liz explained:

'Young women and young mothers who attend the Young Women's Outreach Project are experiencing health, social and economic inequalities which are having a hugely detrimental impact on their mental health, their hopes for the future and the opportunities available to them.

austerity measures since 2010 has led to huge service cuts and has resulted in massive closures of local services for young people. Where services can be offered, there are often waiting lists of months, if not years.

A report by the End Child Poverty Coalition in 2020 shows that the percentage of children and young people living in poverty in the North East of England has risen from 26% in 2014-2015 to 36.9% in 2019-2020, the highest rise in the UK. The North East of England also had the highest unemployment rate in the United Kingdom in the first three months of 2022, standing at 5.4%.'

'On top of these inequalities, local and national lockdowns from the Covid-19 pandemic have led to young women being isolated from their friends, peers and trusted adults. They have lived with a lack of socialisation and fun, have lost many opportunities, including formal education, and had increased caring responsibilities. Many young women we meet are incredibly stressed and anxious over missing so much face-to-face schooling; they feel they are behind in their studies and somehow believe this is their fault. This is putting a huge strain on their mental health; they feel lonely and unsure of whom they can turn to, which is leading them to crisis point.' 

We asked Liz how the work at The Young Women's Outreach Project strives to tackle these inequalities:

'Our working methods are person-centred, trauma-informed and individually tailored, focussing on strengths, potential and aspiration. We listen to young women and provide practical and emotional support through small group work and one-to-one and specialist service provisions. Our work is mainly delivered from our building, a home-from-home, a safe space for young women to share openly without judgement.'

'Our highly skilled, specialist Youth Workers see each young woman as a unique individual with incredible potential. All our group sessions will be focused on building knowledge, skills and capabilities, reinforcing coping mechanisms and resilient behaviours, which leads to individual growth in self-worth and confidence. Young women then start to make positive choices and move forward with their lives with the confidence and belief that they can do great things. Many re-engage with formal education and training, which is particularly important for this age group, not only for their futures but also to reduce the risks of them experiencing further exploitation and harm.'

Finally, in regard to what more needs to be done in this area to address these inequalities, Liz states:

'As an organisation, we are receiving a higher number of referrals than ever before, particularly for young women who need support with their mental health. To address this, we have successfully applied for funding from the Pilgrim Trust for two Mental Health Support Workers. We have also started a new Early Intervention programme called Rise Up, funded by the Kavli Trust. We believe that young women across Gateshead and the surrounding areas need access to more services, particularly specialist and open-access youth work provision, mental health support and counselling. Waiting lists need to be brought down and support in place for young women while they are on waiting lists.' 

'There are also a huge number of young people across Gateshead who are now Electively Home Educated which increases isolation, risk of exploitation, and is adding to their already high stress levels regarding formal education. We believe that providing safe, accessible, alternative education, including courses such as construction, engineering and sports programmes that are led by women, would go a long way to addressing inequalities experienced by young women.'

'We also believe that more work needs to be done with young men and boys around healthy relationships, coercive control and sexualisation of young women. Without this, young women will continue to feel that it is their responsibility and they are at fault if they become a victim of men's behaviour. '

'Finally, we believe that families need better financial stability and employment opportunities. The cost of living crisis is impacting on all generations; children and young people are going to school cold, hungry and worried about their parents and family members which is having a detrimental impact on their ability to concentrate, their friendships and their hopes for a better future'.

Chapter 3: Create fair employment and work for all