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Youth

Three quarters (77%) of women are not comfortable expressing political opinions online because of fears they will be targeted by harmful online behaviours such as misogyny, trolling, threats and harassment, according to new research published today (Wednesday 20 March) at AI UK, the UK's national showcase of data science and AI hosted by The Alan Turing Institute.

The survey found that while men and women reported seeing harmful content online almost equally overall, women reported being directly targeted by misogyny, cyberstalking, cyberflashing, eating disorder content, and image based sexual abuse to a significantly greater extent than men.  

Women are also significantly more fearful of experiencing every type of harm that they were asked about.

The research also found that women were 96% more likely than men to say they had been left feeling sad or low as a result of an online experience, and 47% more likely than men to say they had been left with physical symptoms such as insomnia or headaches.  

The research also looked at the use of safety tools and across all seven tools surveyed, including disabling location sharing, making accounts private and limiting who can engage with posts, women consistently report using these tools to a greater extent than men. This could suggest that women feel the need to do more to protect themselves from online harms.

Click here to read the full article published by The Alan Turing Institute on 20 March 2024. 

Image source: The Alan Turing Institute

After an invigorating three-day assembly, the CSW68 Youth Forum, held on 15–17 March 2024, closed with renewed commitments and actionable insights. Aligned with this year’s Commission on the Status of Women priority theme, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”, the Forum stood as a beacon for young voices ready to echo through the halls of global decision-making.

Meaningful engagement and diverse voices

The Youth Forum brought together a vibrant mosaic of more than 400 young leaders from across the globe, ranging from activists to experts with a rich diversity of experiences, including adolescents, young people with disabilities, indigenous youth, LGBTIQ+ youth, and more, adding depth to the dialogue on poverty eradication and galvanizing efforts to push forward for gender equality.

“It is high time that we stop thinking about you as the leaders of tomorrow and start working with you as the leaders of today”, said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

Read here the full article published by UN Women on 20 March 2024.

Image source: UN Women

Youth leaders from around the world have come together to discuss their vision for ending poverty and advancing gender equality at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the UN Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March. In this landmark election year, when 2.6 billion people are expected to cast their votes, young people – as voters, community members, and leaders – hold the power to demand higher investment in gender equality in countries, regions, and globally. 

Here are the voices from some young women leaders attending CSW68 and the annual Youth Forum, reflecting on their priorities, challenges, and hopes.

Read here the full article published by UN Women on 18 March 2024.

Image source: UN Women

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations that promotes democratic elections has called for more youth participation and representation in Zimbabwe’s electoral and governance processes, citing the low number of young lawmakers in the country’s parliament.

In a statement highlighting the crucial importance of youth involvement in electoral affairs as enshrined in the constitution, ZESN said that despite constitutional provisions and global mandates advocating for youth empowerment, youth are still underrepresented in key electoral, governance, policy and legislative affairs.

The National Youth Day, which falls on February 21, was proclaimed and introduced by the Zimbabwe government in 2017 to recognize youth and celebrate their contributions to the development of Zimbabwe as well as for the young people to emulate the leadership values of the country’s liberation heroes.

Click here to read the full article published by 263 Chat on 21 February 2024.

Image source: 263 Chat

For decades, we’ve seen a so-called gender gap in American politics. On average, men lean more conservative than women on a host of economic and social issues. As a result, marginally more men have tended to vote Republican and marginally more women have tended to vote Democrat. 

Among younger Americans today, it seems that this erstwhile gap is quickly becoming a chasm. 

More young men are skewing rightward, and further rightward compared to the rest of the electorate than was true for older generations. Meanwhile, more young women are skewing leftward, and much further to the left compared to the rest of the electorate than ever before. 

Men are not from Mars and women are not from Venus, but the deepening gender divide reflects the fact that partisan Republicans and partisan Democrats do increasingly inhabit what might as well be different planets. This polarization, and its correlation with sex, is constitutive of three problems in our politics that are creating even deeper crises in our broader culture.  

Click here to read the full article published by The Hill on 15 February 2024.

Image source: The Hill

Good morning.

Youth culture has long been associated with liberal or progressive thinking, protest and resistance. But the idea that the young are a homogenous group of lefty radicals has been challenged in a new study from King’s College London that suggests there is “an emerging gender divide” between young men and women.

The research is based on a representative survey of 3,716 people over the age of 16 and has revealed some stark differences on gender issues like the impact of feminism, terms like “toxic masculinity” and has even found that, in some cases, young men are no more supportive of gender equality than men in their 50s and 60s.

This report is part of a wider trend suggesting that gen Z (those born roughly between 1997 and 2012) are not necessarily as left leaning as many may assume. A survey conducted last year by Change Research found that young women in the US lean more politically left than young men, with 41% of women identifying as progressive in comparison to 24% of men.

Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 2 February 2023.

Image source: The Guardian

Three quarters (77%) of women are not comfortable expressing political opinions online because of fears they will be targeted by harmful online behaviours such as misogyny, trolling, threats and harassment, according to new research published today (Wednesday 20 March) at AI UK, the UK's national showcase of data science and AI hosted by The Alan Turing Institute.

The survey found that while men and women reported seeing harmful content online almost equally overall, women reported being directly targeted by misogyny, cyberstalking, cyberflashing, eating disorder content, and image based sexual abuse to a significantly greater extent than men.  

Women are also significantly more fearful of experiencing every type of harm that they were asked about.

The research also found that women were 96% more likely than men to say they had been left feeling sad or low as a result of an online experience, and 47% more likely than men to say they had been left with physical symptoms such as insomnia or headaches.  

The research also looked at the use of safety tools and across all seven tools surveyed, including disabling location sharing, making accounts private and limiting who can engage with posts, women consistently report using these tools to a greater extent than men. This could suggest that women feel the need to do more to protect themselves from online harms.

Click here to read the full article published by The Alan Turing Institute on 20 March 2024. 

Image source: The Alan Turing Institute

Young people form a large share of the global population, but they make up only a small proportion of members of parliament around the world. This disparity is greatest among younger cohorts: while half of people worldwide are under age 30, and 18% of people are between the ages of 20 and 29, this report finds that only 2.8% of parliamentarians are aged 30 or under. The exclusion of youth from these spaces is not only unjust, but also has important policy implications. By virtue of their age, younger generations will live the longest with the consequences of legislation passed today. If young people’s voices are not heard, these laws are not likely to reflect their political priorities and perspectives, making it less likely that attention will be paid to issues like education, unemployment and climate change.

Click here to read the full report published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 19 October 2023.

This year’s State of the World’s Girls report is focused on girls’ and young women’s political participation.

It explores their attitudes towards, and experiences of, political and civic participation and institutions, across many different backgrounds.

The report is based on a large-scale survey of almost 29,000 girls and young women aged 15-24 from 29 countries spanning all regions, income levels and civic contexts. Additionally, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 94 girls and young women across 18 countries.

Click here to access the report.

Plan International Australia, in collaboration with YouGov, conducted a poll with a representative online sample of 1,034 Australian young women aged between 18 and 24 to gauge their views on the culture and diversity of representation in Australian politics. Around 26% of respondents identified as being from a Culturally and Linguistically diverse (CALD) background, around 24% identified as LGBTQI+ and around 14% identified as having a disability. The theoretical margin of error on a sample of this size is ±3.05 percentage points. Due to rounding, totals for results may not add to 100.

Click here to access the report.

Young people care – about our planet, our future and our political systems. In the last decade, young people have initiated social movements, tackling issues that impact their own lives and those of communities around the globe. They have done so with hope and optimism about the future, at a time when we face extreme challenges. In a world where global conflict, climate change and socio-economic issues are becoming ever more acute, we need young people’s fresh perspectives to guide political decision-making.

This report aims to outline how and why young people engage in political decision- making, and the challenges that sometimes prevent them from doing so. It puts forward policy and legislation recommendations for advancing the needs and rights of young people, ensuring their voices are meaningfully heard in public life and decision- making. The research from The Body Shop International and the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth supports the Be Seen Be Heard campaign. Launching in 2022, this global campaign aims to increase young people’s participation in political arenas and help make their voices heard across all spheres of public life.

The objective of the campaign is to seek to inspire a change in legislation or policy, or support initiatives, to promote youth participation in political life in all 75+ countries where The Body Shop operates.

Click here to access the report.

Driven by the shared belief that all young voices should be heard, Raise Our Voice Australia has proudly partnered with The Body Shop Australia to ask young women and gender diverse Australians about their political engagement.

With just under 500 responses, this research captured their reflections on media reporting and politics, and the impact this has on their political actions.

Click here to access the report.