Trigger warning: Gender-based violence
Landmark research published by the Young Women's Alliance has highlighted a comprehensive - and harrowing - picture of gender-based violence in Australia. The research, unveiled yesterday, is the output of a two-year long, nationally representative research project.
If they aren't on our radar already - the Young Women's Alliance (YWA) is a not-for-profit research and advocacy group based here in Australia, focused on advocating for young women aged 18-28.
YWA founder and CEO Rizina Yadav says that the difference in the perception of gender equality in the public 'sphere' versus the on-the-ground reality, surprised her the most while undertaking the research based on surveying 3,300 young people across the country.
"Around 97% of young women interviewed noted, completely unprompted, that while there is a narrative of linear progress or significant progress, their lives are very much hampered by their gender," Rizina says.
She was also taken aback by how gender intersected with disadvantage in every life area.
"Our survey, which compared young women and men’s life experiences and outcomes in 10 core areas - education, health, career, financial security, family/friends, sex, relationships, Australian society, political agency, policy preferences - found gender-based disadvantages in each," Rizina tells Missing Perspectives. "Gender constrains young women’s lives in every area and over time this accumulates and snowballs to create significant, life-long disadvantages. This is surprising and significant as systematic research on young Australian women across life areas hasn’t been completed."
The new report also brings to light the clear disparities in the quality of sex and consent education received by young women and men across the country. Rizina says that while both genders, on average, don’t rate sex and consent education highly, "men rated both as more ‘accurate, detailed, and helpful.’ Specifically, on a scale of 0-10, men rated sex education 5.71, while women rated it 4.43; men rated consent education 6.07, while women rated it 4.42."
She says that this disparity between men and women has two implications: "First, sex and consent education are poor. Second, the disparity is concerning; young women are at a disadvantage and are unequipped to have healthy, safe sexual encounters."
Disturbingly, the report highlighted the pronounced vulnerability of young women in Australia, revealing that 90% of young women view sexual assault as ‘inevitable’, and almost 22% of young women reporting ‘negative’ experiences in relationships.
In YWA's view, one thing is clear: intervention at key life points is critical in tackling the root causes of these issues, with YWA calling for resources to be urgently allocated to support young women across Australia in these key policy areas. YWA is also advocating for the introduction of Designing Your Life courses, which will help young people "develop constructive identities, rather than using GBV to feel purposeful and powerful."
Rizina says that “State and federal governments aim to eliminate gender-based violence within a generation. This is a worthy, ambitious goal. To achieve it, we need to focus on young people. The government needs to deploy interventions at key points in young people’s lives. Importantly, we need young people to be a part of the decisions that impact them.”
Responding to the report's findings, Chanel Contos, Founder of Teach Us Consent, said in a statement: “This is important research that shows there is a disconnect between the perceptions and experiences of intimate relationships and consent between young women and men. The inclusion of youth experiences and recommendations in policy is crucial for the success of them.”
Let's hope that this report marks a shift in a policy response - and that the voices and needs of young women are prioritised when developing the solutions. As Rizina shared at the launch of the report: let's hope this report is the start of a new beginning - particularly now that we have these insights from young women across the country.