Societal issues including sexism, misogyny and loneliness are being felt by girls younger than ever before, according to a new survey.

The UK’s largest youth organisation, Girlguiding, has carried out its annual survey of more than 2500 girls aged between 7-21-years-old, and the findings have been described as ‘devastating’.

According to the research girls are facing concerning levels of inequality, as well has a confidence crisis caused by systemic issues, with 50% revealing they feel anxious about their futures, and only one in four feeling very confident in their life.

The survey reveals that 59% of 13-21-year-olds have seen or experienced sexual harassment, and 85% of girls aged 11-21 say they experience sexism in their daily lives, from sexist comments (53%) to when they’re online (73%).

This appears to be having a knock-on effect on girls’ sense of safety, with almost half of girls (47%) aged 11-21 revealing sexism and misogyny makes them feel less safe, more than double the number of girls who reported feeling this way ten years ago (up from 17%).

41% of girls also said that sexism makes them feel less confident, up from 32% in 2014.

The survey also found that girls as young as seven increasingly feel they have to look and behave in a certain way. More than 2 out of 3 girls aged 7-10 years old feel they are expected to behave or think differently to boys their age (69%, an increase of 10% since 2014).

17-year-old, Girlguiding advocate, Jiya said: “In my daily life, I see how the constant pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards and the normalisation of sexism leaves girls feeling vulnerable and unsupported. Being online all the time amplifies this.

 “While we're ‘more connected’, we're also more exposed to judgment and comparison - through body shaming, sexist jokes, online harassment, and objectification. This fuels loneliness and erodes our confidence, which only makes it harder to feel positive about the future.”

However, the issues young women are facing are being heightened by online harms and pressures.

According to girls, 77% of 7–21-year-olds have experienced an online harm in the last year, and incidents of cyber-stalking, seeing unwanted sexual images and individuals pretending to be someone they’re not online have all risen in the last three years.

Cyber-stalking has increased by 6 percentage points (17% up from 11%) for girls aged 11-21, with almost one in five girls now saying they’ve experienced some form of it. Seeing unwanted sexual images is up 9 percentage points (35% vs 26% of 11-21s), and individuals pretending to be someone they’re not online is up 10 percentage points (38% vs 28% of 7-21s).

Even girls as young as 7 (aged 7-10) have said they’ve seen ‘rude images’ online, which has doubled in just 3 years (22% vs 11%). Disabled girls of this age are even more likely to say they’ve seen rude images online (41% vs 19%).

Girls are also reporting that they’re feeling worried about the future of the internet in general, with concerns about AI and their safety. Over half of girls (59% of 11–21-year-olds) say they feel concerned that AI may be used to create fake images of them and impersonate them online.

To help address online concerns, girls aged 11-21 would like reports to be taken more seriously by online platforms (48%), and more action taken to deal with the violence and abuse that women experience online (46%).

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Angela Salt, CEO of Girlguiding said: “It’s devastating to see girls feel less confident about themselves and their futures. Sexism continues to be pervasive, leaving many girls feeling vulnerable and unsafe. We’re glad to see the Government is taking rising levels of misogyny seriously. Now it's been acknowledged as a problem, we are determined to make sure the voices of girls are heard as part of the solution.

“But even in tough times, there are rays of hope. Girls may feel anxious about their futures, but they also remain hopeful and curious. Our recent impact report has shown that girls in Girlguiding are up to 23% more confident than girls in UK on average, thriving in a space where they can be themselves, have fun, make friends and try new things without many of the pressures girls face in today’s world."

With dwindling levels of confidence experienced by young woman, it is having damning consequences. Due to the pressures being faced, girls levels of loneliness are rising, and it is having knock on effects.

While confidence levels fall, girls (aged 11-21) say they know someone their age who has experienced or experiences anxiety (80%, up from 72% three years ago).

A total 68% of the questioned girls said they know someone who has self-harmed, up from 65% 3 years ago, and 62% know someone who has or had an eating disorder up from 58%.

Despite the challenges they face, and the anxieties they have, promisingly, 44% of girls aged 7-21 are hopeful, and 43% are curious about the future.

In total, 2734 girls and young women aged between 7-21 took part in the survey which was carried out between February and May this year.

Girlguiding has around 385,000 members and 70,000 volunteers who make Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, and Rangers a safe place for young women and girls to socialise and take part in extracurricular activities.