Oregon Girls & Young Women

Society lacks an understanding regarding the connection between the cycles of abuse, violence and crime and how our culture values and invests in the needs of girls. Researchers now have a better understanding of the risk factors faced by girls because of their gender, which can derail or delay their healthy development:

Girls’ behaviors, for the most part, are not violent, but do carry a high societal cost.

• One out of three girls will experience sexual or physical abuse in her childhood 
  (National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1997)
•  Two-thirds of teen mothers have histories of being abused
  (Boyer, Debra, University of Washington, 1992)
•   60 percent of Oregon’s runaway and homeless youth are adolescent girls
  (NW Youth Services,1999)
•  70% of girls on the street run away to flee violence in their homes. Many of these girls are at risk of entering prostitution. (Chesney-Lind and Sheldon, 1998)
•  Nationally the average age of entry into prostitution is 13.
  (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report, 1996)
• The majority of prostitutes are influenced by their early experiences of sexual abuse and juvenile prostitution is closely linked with running away.
  (Seng, M.J., “Child Sexual Abuse and Adolescent Prostitution,”1989)
•  Approximately 73% of girls who enter the juvenile correctional system report being victims of physical and sexual abuse (Chesney-Lind and Sheldon, 1995 cited in Pepi, 1998)
•  Girls who have been sexually and physically abused are nearly twice as likely to be involved in delinquent acts and illicit drug activity
  (Spatz-Widom, 2000; Bodinger-Deuriate, 1991 cited in Sondheimer 2001)
•  75 percent of suicide attempts by youth in Oregon are made by girls
  (Oregon Health Division, 2003)
•  Girls are 50 percent more likely to suffer from depression than boys.
  (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1996)
• One in five girls 14 to 18 years of age report they have been abused by a dating partner. (Harvard School of Public Health’s analysis of the 1997-1999 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted In Massachusetts.)

Why this is important?

Research indicates that girls face multiple barriers to success. National and state statistics confirm that girls need – and currently lack – specialized, gender-specific services to help them overcome these barriers. The Coalition’s efforts have successfully resulted in legislation requiring state agencies to provide gender-specific services in Oregon. However, there continues to be a lack of awareness and commitment to social change concerning gender equity issues.  Girls from or currently living in at-risk environments will continue to suffer and have difficulty achieving their full potential until these issues are brought to the public’s attention and addressed. 

The Coalition members believe that girls need and deserve the awareness, attention, and commitment of a wide range of individuals to promote their healthy development.  Parents should continue to play the primary role in supporting girls' development. However, educators, a range of professionals, public officials, and other members of the community should strengthen their efforts to create a safe and supportive climate that nurtures girls and encourages them to develop and pursue their own unique and positive solutions for achieving their goals.

Girls' concerns and perspectives often are ignored in the design and implementation of programs, policy decisions and research intended to address their needs. Girls should be included as partners in these activities in ways that help them gain leadership skills, develop supportive intergenerational relationships, and experience themselves as active participants in social change.