By Dawn Brand Fluhler—
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Girl Scouts is proud to release The Indiana Girl Report. The groundbreaking report was commissioned through the Indiana Youth Institute in collaboration with Girl Scout councils from across the state and the Girl Coalition of Indiana.
The report is the very first of its kind and was developed through qualitative and quantitative research to provide insight into critical challenges girls are experiencing and the variances across the state.
The report’s findings create a foundation for understanding key issues impacting the quality of life for girls. It also offers a roadmap for cultivating supportive environments and developing resources for girls to help them navigate through topics often considered taboo including mental health, sexual dating violence, gender bias, bullying, and more.
“The Indiana Girl Report data shows that we are not prioritizing their well-being as well as we need to be,” Girl Scouts of Central Indiana CEO Danielle Shockey said.
Key findings from the research include:
- Among 7th to 12th grade girls in Indiana, 1% experienced depression in 2022 and nearly 1 in 4 girls seriously considered suicide.
- 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.
- From 2015 to 2021, the rate of physical and sexual dating violence among girls in Indiana has increased, while the prevalence among boys has decreased. 17% of high school girls reported having experienced sexual dating violence in 2021 – 5x the rate of boys.
- In 2021, girls were admitted for inpatient care at a hospital more than three times the rate of boys.
“At Girl Scouts we have more than 100 years of experience in championing girls and their unique needs,” Shockey said. “This report reflects our ongoing commitment to elevating the social, emotional, and academic well-being of girls, along with recommendations for how we as girl serving organizations, educators, caregivers, and policy makers need to join together with intentional focus on the unique challenges that our girls face. Just like in the Girl Scout mission, together we can make HER world a better place.”
A full copy of the report can be found at https://girlcoalitionindiana.org/report/
We Are Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover theirstrengths and rise to meet new challenges— whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscoutsindiana.org.
About the Girl Coalition of Indiana, Inspired by Girl Scouts
Six Girl Scout councils currently serve girls in the state of Indiana. To ensure every girl in Indiana lives her best life physically, academically, emotionally, and socially, all six councils aligned in an unprecedented collaboration to form a Girl Coalition of Indiana funded by the Lilly Endowment. The vision of the Girl Coalition of Indiana is toenable every girl in Indiana to live her best life physically, academically, emotionally, and socially. Over the next three years, the project vision will accomplish measurable goals including increasing overall Girl Scout membership of girls in low-income households through several initiatives, including conducting, sharing, and acting on annual research of the State of the Indiana Girl.
About Indiana Youth Institute
Since 1988, Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) has worked to achieve its mission to improve the lives of all Indiana children by strengthening and connecting the people, organizations, and communities that are focused on kids and youth. IYI provides critical data, capacity-building resources, and innovative training for over 2,500 diverse youth-serving organizations and 17,000 youth workers each year. IYI has a long history of actively listening to Indiana’s youth workers and community leaders, leveraging their feedback to facilitate collaboration and promote problem-solving and collective advocacy on a statewide scale.
About the Indiana Girl Report
The 2023 Indiana Girl Report is an annual snapshot of the well-being of Indiana girls statewide. A partnership between Indiana Youth Institute and the Girl Coalition of Indiana, the Indiana Girl Report aims to understand the realities girls face and the variances across regions and provides data-driven actions for parents, youth serviceproviders, and policymakers to improve support and overall conditions in the state of Indiana for Hoosier girls.
