Through Manchester Metropolitan University’s Getting Out For Good project, young women and girls facing complex social issues have the opportunity to make their voices heard while being helped to create new opportunities for self-empowerment.

The female focused project aims to boost the aspirations of young women and girls through sport and arts with support from their peers. Activities include boxing and fitness, football, drama, and filmmaking, with each activity leading to nationally recognised AQA accreditation provided by the university.

Researchers from the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University worked in partnership with local voluntary groups and statutory agencies on the project, which was funded by the Comic Relief I Define Me international programme as part of the Tampon Tax fund.

The Associate Director of Manchester Centre for Youth Studies, Dr Deborah Jump, said: “Women can be involved in harmful behaviours in a number of ways, from participating in serious youth violence to facing sexual exploitation.

“Typically, it is usually males who are thought of when we talk about serious youth violence, but many women are affected. The area of serious youth violence and women’s involvement is massively under-researched and, consequently, a lot is unknown, but the impact is no less harmful.

“We want to change that. We supported the young women to develop positive choices away from harmful behaviours. We wanted to introduce positive elements into their network to empower them.

“They can therefore build a legacy for themselves and their community by introducing positive elements to their networks. It is an incredibly powerful idea.”

Eight similar projects took place across the globe, two in Colombia and two in South Africa, and four additional ones in the U.K. The learning from all projects fed into a final research-informed framework aimed at assessing how girls and young women are impacted by serious youth violence, gang-influence, and complex social needs. The project hoped to find out what works to help bring about social and personal change in different cultural contexts. The recommendations can be found here: Phase One Evaluation Report – Executive Summary, Phase Two Evaluation Report – Executive Summary.

The research highlighted that:

• 68% of participants reported that their problems improved after taking part in the scheme, while their life satisfaction was also found to have improved.
• Girls excluded from school returned to full-time education, and the renewal of relationships with families and agencies helped to prevent repeated ‘missing from home’ occurrences.
• Getting Out For Good further demonstrated the distinct needs of girls and young women in youth violence responses, and located the project in a framework that worked with mental health services; enhancing protective factors surrounding criminal and sexual exploitation.

The Manchester Metropolitan team has worked with 168 girls and young women in the region, creating a legacy of engagement documented in film, creative outputs, and more sustained long-term participation in activities in their own communities.

You can access the Getting Out For Good Project Evaluation Reports here:

• Phase One Evaluation Report
• Phase Two Evaluation Report

Getting out for Good · Manchester Metropolitan University (mmu.ac.uk)

Article posted on: 17/08/2022 12:08pm