Written statement (Wales) on International Day of the Girl 2025 - Oct 10

Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip: International Day of the Girl is observed globally on 11 October. It is a day to celebrate the achievements of girls as well as recognise the challenges and barriers that many still face. The United Nations' theme for 2025 is ‘The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis'.

While gender equality has made much needed and positive strides forward, there is so much further to go. Globally, 650 million girls and women alive today have experienced sexual violence in childhood. Nearly one in five girls are married during childhood. Adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 are still twice as likely to not be in education, employment or training (UNICEF, UN Women and Plan International, 2025). 

This evidence is stark. All too often girls find themselves on the frontline of crises which can wreck their future and destroy their lives. According to UNICEF, in 2023, over 170 armed conflicts were recorded. Approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres of these conflicts, a 50 per cent increase compared to a decade ago.

Violence and abuse are inexcusable but continue in societies everywhere. In England and Wales between 2018 and 2023, recorded incidents of violence against women and girls increased by 37%. At least one in 12 women experiences male violence each year, though the true numbers are likely much higher (College of Policing, National Police Chief's Council, July 2024).

We have always been clear about our ambition to end violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) in Wales. As a part of delivering our VAWDASV strategy 2022-2026, a Children and young people's needs workstream is focused on gathering data and evidence on key issues, encouraging whole-system approaches to preventing and tackling VAWDASV and strengthening multi-agency approaches to ensure the needs of children and young people who have experienced abuse or violence are effectively met. 

Schools can be a catalyst for change. The Welsh Government continues to fund Stori Cymru's Spectrum project. Spectrum's work in schools, teaching children, educating teachers, and engaging with governors and parents is directly supporting our ambition to prevent violence and abuse. It does this by equipping children and young people with the knowledge and skills to recognise abuse, understand healthy relationships, and how to seek support.

By ensuring sensitive issues around VAWDASV are addressed with confidence, compassion and clarity, the project is instrumental in protecting the mental health of our children and young people and supporting them to live in a world where they can thrive. 

During 2024/25, the Spectrum project engaged with 40,860 pupils and 2855 staff across 3040 sessions.   

Girls and young women face serious challenges, threats and harms that are evolving daily, both offline and online. While many of these challenges are deeply rooted in broader social and cultural systems, it is increasingly evident that social media plays a powerful role in amplifying and accelerating their impact. 

We are encouraged that Ofcom, in developing their regulatory guidance, recognise the unique vulnerabilities faced by young women and girls online. We will continue to engage with Ofcom as they develop their guidance for online services, ensuring that tackling online gendered harms remains a central focus. 

Within the Curriculum for Wales, the mandatory Relationships and Sexuality Code (RSE) sets out core learning which aims to tackle serious issues such as bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination. Online safety is a key feature within the Code and educating young people on how to safely engage with social media is a cross-curricular issue. 

The ‘Empowerment, Safety and Respect' strand of the RSE Code helps learners develop empathy, kindness and compassion, and equips them with the confidence to seek help when concerned about their own safety or that of others. This includes specific learning on recognising and responding to violence against young women and girls, domestic abuse, and sexual violence. 

In April, the Cabinet Secretary for Education met the Keeping Safe Online youth group and heard their views and experiences of misogyny online, in school and in their daily lives. Building on this valuable feedback, our focus for the autumn term will be on addressing harmful attitudes. This will include a series of ‘Link and Learn' sessions for primary and secondary learners which will be delivered by E-sgol in partnership with Technocamps. 

The Cabinet Secretary for Education also recently announced funding of £4 million over three years for the Addysg Cwtch Education Project. This national programme will further support the development of healthy, respectful relationships in schools right across Wales. The funding will ensure expertise, by securing advisors to support every local authority and every school by providing expert advice and quality resources including a body of trained RSE specialists delivering this vital part of the curriculum. 

Together, Spectrum and Cwtch represent a powerful partnership, one that supports schools, empowers professionals, and most importantly, helps our young people thrive. 

This is more than just curriculum delivery. It is about creating safe, inclusive school environments where every child and young person feels supported, valued and empowered. We want a Wales where children can develop and maintain healthy, safe and fulfilling relationships throughout their lives.

Every young person should also have access to the opportunities which allow them to unlock their potential, whatever their chosen path. We are supporting girls and young women to pursue STEM qualifications and careers. STEM activities funded under the Curriculum for Wales grant programme have been allocated nearly £10 million over the next 3 years. The new Curriculum for Wales grant programme requires all our partners to deliver support which responds to the diverse needs and experiences of learners. This includes supporting disadvantaged learners and those from under-represented groups, for example, girls in STEM. 

The Seren Academy supports the brightest learners in Wales from Years 8-13, regardless of socioeconomic background, to have the ambition, capability, as well as the curiosity, to fulfil their potential and excel in their future educational goals at the highest level. 57% of learners in the Seren Academy are female.

Louisa Rees recently graduated in Medicine at Cardiff University. With no links to medicine and not knowing anyone else in her school who wanted to become a doctor, Louisa joined the Seren Academy. It opened opportunities, built her peer support network and enabled her to follow her dream. As a Seren graduate, Louisa is now giving back to current Seren learners, most recently supporting current learners at the Medicine and Dentistry residential at Cardiff University. 

Like so many girls and young women across Wales, Louisa has demonstrated that when girls are empowered and given the right opportunities, they prove time and time again that they can succeed and achieve. I congratulate Louisa on her achievements and am sure she will have a highly successful future here in Wales.

The journey towards gender equality is far from over but progress is being made. We must celebrate the many achievements of girls and young women across Wales as we continue to break down the barriers and smash the glass ceilings. Welsh Government will continue to listen to and work with girls and young women across Wales to ensure they can thrive, fulfil their potential and lead the change we all want to see.