Before coronavirus, there was already a crisis in mental ill-health among young women, so many of whom face daily discrimination and sexism resulting in financial hardship. So today’s statistics are unsurprising given the overwhelming number of young women who have told us during the pandemic that it has exacerbated this situation.
Responding to the latest ONS statistics on coronavirus and depression in adults, Sophie Walker, Chief Executive of Young Women’s Trust said:
“Before coronavirus, there was already a crisis in mental ill-health among young women, so many of whom face daily discrimination and sexism resulting in financial hardship. So today’s statistics are unsurprising given the overwhelming number of young women who have told us during the pandemic that it has exacerbated this situation. Three quarters of the young women we surveyed in April said they have experienced an increase in stress or anxiety as a result of the crisis. [1]
“Young women are facing enormous pressure because so many of them are struggling to make ends meet as a result of unfair and unsafe workplaces and increased unpaid caring responsibilities. Many have told us that small gains made at work, in their careers and at home have been eroded by the pandemic and this step backwards has left them feeling lonely and helpless. Young women who have an existing mental health condition told us that it has worsened since lockdown with some struggling to access the mental health services that they relied on before the pandemic.
“The only way to reverse the trends we see today will be to ensure economic justice for women and ensuring that they do not carry the burden of the economic and domestic recovery from this crisis through job losses and yet more unpaid care.”
Note to editors
- Ignored, underpaid and undervalued: The impact of coronavirus on women’s work, finances and wellbeing
- Young Women’s Trust is a feminist organisation working to achieve economic justice for young women.
