Community / Isles in top five places to grow up as a girl
Study, however, says ‘girls across the whole of the UK are experiencing challenges as a result of their gender and age – even in the top performing areas’
SHETLAND has ranked fourth in a study of the best places to grow up as a girl in the UK.
The research, from the organisation Plan International UK, used a set number of standardised indicators to come to its conclusions.
They were child poverty, life expectancy, educational attainment, child obesity, teenage conception rates and ‘not in education, employment or training’ status.
Shetland ended up with a score of 1.19 to come fourth in the overall list, with Orkney coming first with a score of 1.48.
However, the organisation said that even in the top ranking local authority areas girls were still experiencing challenges due to their gender.
“While this index draws attention to the structural barriers to girls’ rights, and the regional variation in girls’ rights outcomes, it should be acknowledged that girls across the whole of the UK are experiencing challenges as a result of their gender and age – even in the top performing areas in this index,” it said.
“Therefore, we must continue to champion girls’ rights across all parts of the UK, but recognise that girls in different areas might have different needs.”
The study pointed to a number of statistics which were garnered from a survey, such as six out of 10 girls aged 14-21 thinking males are treated better than females in the UK.
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