Girl Scouts and Girl Co. release the Girl Report. Photo provided by Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana.

News Release

FORT WAYNE — As Indiana strives to remove gender barriers and create access for girls across all races and socio-economic levels, communities must have a proper understanding of the challenges girls encounter. This is why, for the second year in a row, Girl Coalition of Indiana, Girl Scouts and Indiana Youth Institute have produced the Indiana Girl Report, a comprehensive report on the well-being of Indiana girls statewide. The findings aim to show the complex realities girls face today and provide Hoosiers with the tools needed to help improve Indiana girls’ mental and social well-being.    

The 2024 edition of the Indiana Girl Report delves even deeper, aggregating information from even more sources to bring state-wide consciousness to the issues impacting girls’ lives. It also includes a more definitive call to action for Hoosiers to unite to improve Indiana girls’ mental health and social well-being.

Specifically, the 2024 report identifies the following as essential for the well-being of girls:

Positive Childhood Experiences

Girls recognize the importance of these experiences as they call for safe schools, supportive girl-only spaces to talk about complex issues, adults they can trust, connected peer networks and opportunities to grow their skills and nurture their leadership potential.

Addressing Interpersonal Aggression

Bullying, cyberbullying and sexual assault are part of a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. Indiana residents need statewide interventions to address interpersonal aggression for children and adolescents, as well as prevention efforts to disrupt the cycle of domestic and community violence.

Access to Mental Health Supports

Accessing mental health support is critical for girls to address the challenges they face now. When it’s accessible to all adolescents, it is crucial to prevent future aggression and violence.

Additional findings identify the importance of caregivers, youth program providers, schools and state policymakers in effectively impacting the quality of life for girls. With the data from the 2024 report, Girl Co. will host stakeholder meetings for community leaders, educators and girls in 20 of Indiana’s 92 counties, where the disparities rank the highest. Girl Co. has also created a statewide advisory council to guide advocacy efforts with Indiana lawmakers.

“There continues to be a stark discrepancy between the mental and physical health of Indiana’s girls and their male counterparts,” said Girl Coalition of Indiana Executive Director Mackenzie Pickerrell. “Over the next year, Girl Co. will continue our work with stakeholders and our newly formed advisory council to identify advocacy opportunities and legislative needs for addressing these and other issues identified in the report. We will also foster meaningful conversations within communities and share the report and community feedback with potential partners. This collaborative effort will help create pathways that connect girls to Girl Scout programming and enhance their quality of life across our state.”

Girl Coalition of Indiana is a girl-focused statewide social innovation initiative. It is inspired by the six Girl Scout councils serving Indiana. Girl Scouts understands that surrounding girls with supportive, trusted adults and creating a safe space where all girls feel a sense of belonging are positive strategies that will interrupt the negative cycles in areas identified within the report. As founding members of the Girl Coalition of Indiana, Girl Scouts is focused on helping all girls live their best lives physically, academically, emotionally and socially, where girls living in low-income and traumatic-impacted households face inequities and unprecedented challenges in their daily lives.

Girl Co. provides the opportunity to dream, ideate, test and develop new ways to serve all girls, particularly those in low-income communities. Girl Co.’s innovative approach involves being deeply embedded in communities, learning more about the needs of girls and families in 20 specific counties and creating ideas that remove barriers for girls to access beneficial and impactful experiences like Girl Scouting.

A full copy of the report can be found at GirlCoalitionIndiana.org/report. For more information about the Girl Coalition of Indiana, visit GirlCoaltionIndiana.org.