Empowering Indiana's Girls: A Call to Action for Change

Title: Empowering Indiana's Girls: A Call to Action for Change By Danielle Shockey, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana In September we unveiled the groundbreaking inaugural Indiana Girl report, and in this month as we will celebrate girls on October 12, the International Day of the Girl on Oct. 12, I’d like to share a little more about what this report tells us about the stark realities girls in our state face, and it may shock you. This report isn't just about data. It's a testament to our unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of girls. It serves as a poignant reminder that we, as a society, have not been prioritizing their social, emotional, academic, and physical well-being as we should. It is a call to action to unite and address the challenges our girls confront daily. With more than a century of experience championing girls and their needs, Girl Scouts knows that together we can make HER world a better place. The core objective of this report is to increase awareness about the realities our girls experience and to engage adults to drive change. Whether you are a caregiver, policymaker, corporate or nonprofit leader, or funder, you should understand the urgency and significance of the findings and act for meaningful change. The facts: 1. Girls are not ok and may not admit it. The challenges facing this generation of girls are complicated by how easily they are concealed. Research shows girls are in an unprecedented mental health crisis with a shortage of professionals to help, and often their symptoms go unnoticed. Girls need a safe space to navigate these often-taboo topics, like mental health or sexual dating violence, while they navigate rapidly evolving social systems in digital spaces, which are difficult for adults to monitor. a. Hospitalization rates for girls are more than three times higher than those for boys in Indiana. b. Girls, who typically begin puberty and emotional maturity earlier than boys, are more likely than boys to experience mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. Shockingly, 47% of middle and high school girls showed signs of depression in 2022 compared to 24% of boys, and nearly 1 in 4 girls seriously considered suicide. c. Girls in Indiana are more likely than boys to become victims of bullying. They are twice as likely to become victims of traditional bullying and three times as likely to become victims of cyberbullying compared to boys.