The State of Girls Rights in the UK 2024

The report, which includes a ranking of local authorities and a survey of nearly 3,000 girls and young women, highlights how UK girls feel uncertain about their futures and let down by the lack of progress on gender equality that society has promised them.

Young women sitting talking

While Plan International UK welcomes the new Government’s manifesto pledge to tackle violence against women and girls in the UK, it is calling for bold action to urgently remove the biggest barriers they face and restore girls’ trust. Tackling inequality and ending discrimination must be at the heart of the new Government’s action, along with sustainable long-term funding for local government.

To discover where growing up as a girl has the most challenges, the State of Girls’ Rights in the UK 2024 report ranks how local authority areas perform against a variety of indicators. The evidence shows that no matter where girls live, they are being let down by a lack of progress on gender equality.

Alongside the Local Authority ranking, the report surveyed 2,963 UK girls and young women aged 12-21 – the highest number in the report’s eight-year history – to identify their most pressing concerns. Key themes included wanting more comprehensive relationships, sex & health education, feeling a lack of safety in public, having little trust in politicians and institutions, and feeling unprepared by education.

Of the girls surveyed: