In October, on International Day of the Girl, women’s and children’s charities took to the media and social media channels to highlight the ongoing challenges that girls face across the world.
Among these were Plan International, whom ComRes were pleased to have supported alongside Bloem Consulting in carrying out original research to draw attention to girls’ safety worldwide. Plan commissioned a global survey of nearly 400 experts in children’s and women’s rights and urban safety, to assess their views on the greatest risks to girls and how far they were involved in decision making in cities worldwide.
The research found that sexual harassment was the primary safety risk to girls across all cities, with four in five experts (78%) describing it as a high or extremely high risk for girls and young women. The risk of sexual assault or rape came in as the second most widespread risk, with over half (57%) of experts rating it as high or extremely high.
