Scottish women and girls to give their experiences of gender-based bullying and harassment

Young women and girls across Scotland are being asked about their experiences of gender-based bullying and harassment as part of a new initiative launched by the Young Women Lead Committee.

The committee, part of a programme run by YWCA Scotland, has launched a consultation through social media, online survey and focus groups as part of efforts to gather evidence on the extent of harassment and gender-based violence in the Scottish education system.

The committee will take evidence from self-identifying young women and girls, as well as teachers, about their experiences and then present the findings to MSPs at the end of May.

Patrycja Kupiec, director of YWCA Scotland: “Young Women Lead is an innovative leadership programme for young self-identifying women and we at The Young Women’s Movement are extremely proud of it.

“In 2015, we conducted ground breaking annual research into the status of young women in Scotland (SYWS) and found we need to ‘encourage the tiniest acts of pulling people up, on individual and structural levels’ and ‘encourage young women to put themselves forward for political and representation roles’.

“This programme is a direct response to those 175 young women aged 16-30 calling for support and opportunities to become leaders and challenge discrimination.

“It is beyond inspiring and a real privilege to see the participants take up space at the Scottish Parliament and speak up about the issues they face because of gender inequality.

“Their investigation into VAWG and sexual harassment in Scottish schools is both timely and much needed, and I’m confident their recommendations will bring about a real change.

“Seeing this group of amazing kickass diverse women coming together as one, supporting each other, and driving this project forward makes me really excited and positive about the future.

“Earlier this year, we’ve celebrated 100 years of some women in the UK getting the vote, and I know that our suffragette sisters would have been as proud of Young Women Lead as I am.”

The Young Women Lead programme aims to promote the role of women in Scottish politics.