Why Work with Young Women and Girls Matters is an insights briefing, designed to support those providing services for young women and girls. It includes:

• useful evidence highlighting the importance of this type of specialist provision and why it is needed,
• information about the types of support on offer,
• the voices of those who have benefited from specialist young women and girls services.

It is designed to support communication with commissioners, service providers, funders and other interested professionals.

Why Work with Young Women and Girls Matters is the result of 12 organisations, funded through The National Lottery Community Fund’s Women and Girls Initiative (WGI), coming together through the Girls and Young Women action learning set (ALS). They were facilitated by Sue Botcherby (DMSS) and Camilla Child (TIHR) as part of the WGI Learning and Impact Services. Members brought with them a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to share learning and insights about their WGI funded work with girls and young women. The ALS met regularly over a period of a year with members visiting each other’s projects. This document is the result of their work.

This insights briefing is the fifth public output of the Learning and Impact Services. All of the work undertaken as part of the WGI Learning and Impact Services has been funded as part of a £44.7million investment into the WGI, using funds raised through the National Lottery. This funding is supporting 62 organisations across England to empower women and girls, in order to provide dedicated support for women and girls in local communities through outreach, advice and advocacy, refuge and prevention projects.

Additional support for WGI grant-holders, through the Learning and Impact Services, was contracted by the National Lottery Community Fund, in recognition that there is a need to empower projects to provide strong evidence of what works when supporting women and girls, ensuring they have the confidence, skills and ability to share inspirational stories and communicate their successes and learning. This support is being delivered by three partner organisations: Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR), DMSS Research (DMSS) and the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU).