Girlguiding Celebrates 15 Years of Empowering Youth Advocates for Change

GIRLGUIDING, the UK’s largest youth organisation dedicated completely to girls is celebrating 15 years of its youth advocate panel this International Youth Day.

Members of the advocate panel, aged between 14 and 25, lead the direction of Girlguiding’s advocacy and research, using their voices to speak out and seek change at the highest levels. They represent Girlguiding at events, meet with MPs and politicians, and act as media spokespeople.

During their two-year term, advocates gain new skills for their futures and make friends for life.

First founded in 2009, Girlguiding’s advocate panel has seen through five general elections and attended more than 25 party conferences. The panel members have been interviewed across national and local news outlets, successfully campaigned for relationship and sex education to be made compulsory in schools and contributed to securing new laws to make girls safer online.

In the 15 years since the panel began, advocates have played a key role in Girlguiding’s milestone campaigns:

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Lending their voices to the national campaign in 2013, the advocate panel wrote to the Sun’s editor, Dominic Mohard urging him to stop the objectification of women in his paper. The campaign was a huge success, and The Sun stopped publishing topless photos of women in 2015.

Campaigning against sexual harassment online and in schools

In 2015, the advocate panel launched Girlguiding’s campaign to tackle sexual harassment in schools, helping to show the extent of the issue and successfully calling for new guidance and compulsory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in schools.

The panel has campaigned on several specific aspects of sexual harassment over the years including upskirting and online harassment.

Campaign wins so far include the introduction of two new laws – the Online Safety Act 2023, which introduced stricter protections for children online, and the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023, which made sexual harassment in public places illegal.

Fighting to end period poverty

Since 2018 the advocate panel has been campaigning to end period poverty, aiming to tackle the stigma around periods and for the government to permanently provide free period products in schools. Campaign highlights include the advocate panel carrying out peer research to gather insight into the experiences of their peers, the creation of a special End Period Poverty badge and pledge, and the launch of the government scheme to provide free period products in schools and colleges until 2024.

Battling appearance pressures

Almost since the panel’s inception, Girlguiding’s advocates have been fighting against appearance pressures placed on girls and women. In 2010 the panel launched a campaign for images in magazines and adverts to highlight when they have been airbrushed.

As technology has moved on, so too has the focus of the advocate panel. Currently Girlguiding is calling for more transparency online and is urging the newly elected Government to make it a requirement for advertisers, including influencers, to make it clear when filters, editing software or artificial intelligence have been used to change of create an image.

Giving girls a voice

Earlier this year ahead of the election – advocates took to the houses of parliament to present ‘For All Girls‘, Girlguiding’s asks to the next government. Backed by Kim Leadbeater MP and supported by broadcaster and presenter Ashley James, the advocates presented the set of asks to key political figures.

Former NUS president Larissa Kennedy speaking about her time as a Girlguiding advocate, said: 

“I absolutely loved that as the advocate panel, we worked together from across the four nations of the UK, and came together with our different perspectives and our different lived experiences.

“Being an advocate teaches you how to go out into the world as a campaigner, knowing that you can collaborate with people to make something happen and make a difference.”

Current Girlguiding advocate Charlotte, 17, said: 

“I think one of the biggest benefits of being on the advocate panel is the confidence you get. I tell myself ‘You’re an advocate, you can do this! You walk into that room and tell those MPs what you think’. That confidence comes from the training and the experiences we receive.”

Amanda Azeez, director of communications, marketing and fundraising at Girlguiding, said: 

“Our vision is for an equal world where all girls feel happy, and safe and can enjoy fulfilling lives. For 15 years, our advocates have been at the very heart of us working towards that mission. Playing an invaluable role in making sure the voices of girls and young women are heard loud and clear in parliament, the media – and beyond to create change and improve the lives of girls across the UK.”

To find out more about Girlguiding’s advocate panel and Girlguiding’s campaigning work, please visit: girlguiding.org.uk/girls-making-change/were-speaking-out/advocates/.