Young Women's Alliance

Young Women's Alliance (YWA), an ACNC-registered charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, is the the chief research and representative organisation for young women.

We created an innovative model of preventative intervention that aims to identify those at high-risk of violence and poverty, provide targeted intervention, and stop the snowballing of gendered disadvantage. This diverges from current, reactive approaches where women primarily get help during or after crises, meaning greater and longer devastation and recovery.

Economic modelling confirms the veracity of our model - it has significant, positive economic and social impacts. Our long-term goal is to embed our model in government frameworks for gender and disadvantage policies.

Our approach is also unique in that although we primarily focus on young women, we also support young men, recognising they are a priority, neglected cohort.

Primary Activities

Research

We conduct original, primary research and aggregate secondary research on young women’s life experiences and outcomes across 10 areas, including health, career, domestic family sexual violence (DFSV), political agency, and financial security.

This contributes to closing research and data gaps as identified by ANROWS’ ANRA and UN Women, and ensures we provide young women evidence-based support.

Primary Prevention

We develop and deliver DFSV primary prevention programs to young people.

We deploy educational interventions on identifying and preventing physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse.

Given the Australian Government's investment in Consent and Respectful Relationships Education (CRRE), we research and pilot which curricular integrations are most effective in creating sustained attitudinal and behavioural change.

Financial Security

We provide in-demand skills training and employment pathways to low-income, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and victim-survivor young women.

Noting the mixed-effectiveness of previous skills training and employment programs, our approach is informed by the best-practice findings of the Paul Ramsay Foundation Employment Portfolio Review.

Political Agency

We connect our research and young women's voices with local, state, and national decision-makers by serving as both an informal and structured channel for consultation.

GIWL's review of The National Women's Alliances Model highlighted limited representation of young people in government decision-making; we provide this function, ensuring young women can influence the decisions that impact their lives.

Evidence

We are bombarded with opinions on gender issues - we've gone too far, feminism is robbing men of rights, we haven’t done enough, the sexual revolution has screwed us, literally - but what does the evidence show about youth and gender in Australia?

YWA relies on evidence and data to establish Our Why.

Young women experience significant violence

51% of Australian women in their 20's have experienced sexual violence; young women are subjected to violence at higher rates than women of any other age group

Women under 30 face the highest risk of gendered violence and poor mental health (Moulding, 2016)

In 2022, 86% of sexual assault victim-survivors were under age 34

Young women's mental wellbeing is compromised by gender disadvantage

50% of young Australian women are living with a mental health disorder

Young Australian women are 2x as likely as male young people to report not feeling happy with themselves, feel unable to achieve their goals, or deal with things that happen in their life

15% of Australian girls aged 14 to 15 years self-harmed in 2016 compared to 4% of boys the same age

The suicide rate for Australian female young people aged 15 to 19 years has almost doubled since 2010

Young women's financial security is hampered

KPMG analysis demonstrated that when the presence of women in an industry increases, pay declines; young women are disproportionately affected by unequal pay

Even young women in female-dominated sectors (e.g. nursing, 90% female) earn significantly less than their male counterparts ($6, 300 less annually, a 7.6% gap)

Young women have no direct avenue for connecting their opinions and experiences with policy change

72% of young Australian women feel Australian politics is NOT an inclusive or equal space for them; 97% desire to be politically involved

Gender data gaps, research gaps, and limited policy evaluation hinder progress on gender issues and each of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Australia has a gender data gap of 51.6%

There has been NO systematic gathering of young Australian women's experiences, and asks for policy change apart from YWPS; state and Commonwealth policies have limited evaluation frameworks

Young men are a priority, neglected cohort needing support and intervention

27% of Gen Z men feel equality efforts have gone too far

Research shows that 'no hope for the future' is a primary driver of young men's violence

In YWA's report, 'Young Minds, Old Biases: The Gender-Based Violence Crisis,' young men identified a lack of life purpose and direction as one the main drivers of violence

1/5 of young men look up to Andrew Tate

Select Funders

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Economic Modelling

Economic modelling showing the veracity of YWA's innovative model is underpinned by cost and preventative potential research.

Below, we feature some of the costs research.

Costs Research

Financial abuse costs victims and the Australian economy $11 billion (Deloitte, 2022)

In 2016-17, the estimated annual burden of violence against children and young people in Australia was $34.2 billion; the lifetime cost was $78.4 billion (Deloitte, 2019)

Violence against women and their children costs the Australian economy approximately $22 billion per year as of 2015-16 (KPMG, 2016)

Women aged 24–30 in 2019 who had experienced sexual violence were 63% more likely to not have completed Year 12 compared with those who had not experienced sexual violence. Sexual violence was consistently associated with high financial stress over time – women across different age cohorts were 30–45% more likely to experience high financial stress if they had experienced sexual violence (SV), compared with those who had not experienced SV (AIHW, 2019)

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at increased risk of injury and death, as well as a range of physical, emotional, and social problems. Physical health consequences include a 50% to 70% increase in gynaecological, central nervous system, and stress-related problems (Wathen & MacMillan, 2003)

IPV and SV are widespread among adolescents and place them on a lifelong trajectory of violence, either as victims or perpetrators (Lundrgin & Amin, 2015)

Women in Australia are more likely to experience poverty than men. In 2019-20, 18% of households with a woman as the main income earner were in poverty, compared to 10% of households with a man as the main income earner (ACOSS, 2023)

Poverty among women, especially single mothers, places a greater strain on social services and welfare systems. For example, 50% of single mothers who experienced domestic violence relied on government benefits as their main source of income (AIHW, 2024)

The barriers stopping women from fully participating in the workforce are costing the Australian economy $128 billion dollars (Women's Economic Opportunities Review, 2024)

Women aged 25–44 are more than two and a half times as likely to be out of the labour force as men of the same age (Guardian, 2019)

Even three years after violent relationships have ended, women have been found to experience difficulty in sustaining a job (Adams et al., 2012)

Partner violence has been found to impact on employment stability after nearly 6 years, although women’s mental health was a mediating factor (Crowne et al., 2011)

Studies highlight additional outcomes [of IPV] among young women such as a lower GPA, truancy or college drop out which often lead to lower income and/or poverty later in life (Bush, 2004; Jordan et al., 2014; Hicks, 2006)

IPV is significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of graduating high school (reduced probability by 5.64 percentage points) and reduces the probability of college graduation (8.53 percentage points) (Strenio, 2017)

Around 8.1% of young Australian women (aged 15–24 years) were not engaged in either work or study (Tran et al., 2021)

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