Why it matters
The numbers are not okay. The girls are not either.
Girls are growing up under pressures their parents never faced. Girls in under-resourced communities feel every one of them harder. Every figure below is from a primary source, linked.
Worldwide
The global picture.
| Reality | Data | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mental health | 1 in 7young people ages 10 to 19 experiences a mental disorder. Half of all adult mental disorders begin by age 18, and most go undetected and untreated. | World Health Organization, Mental Health of Adolescents (2024) |
| Girls and depression | 2×By mid-adolescence, girls are more than twice as likely as boys to experience depression. Suicide is among the leading causes of death for ages 15 to 19. | Child Mind Institute; WHO (2024) |
| Education | 122 milliongirls remain out of school. Nearly 4 in 10 adolescent girls do not complete upper secondary school. In conflict-affected countries, girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school. | UNICEF, UN Women, Plan International (March 2025) |
United States
Our founding chapter.
| Reality | Data | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Persistent sadness | 53%of high school girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year. | CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023 |
| Depression | 26%of girls ages 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year, versus 9.8% of boys. | SAMHSA, NSDUH 2024 Population Statistics Report |
| Social media | 45%of teen girls feel overwhelmed by the drama on social media (boys: 32%). 46% of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their body. | Pew Research Center (2022); Common Sense Media (2023) |
| Access to care | 1 in 2More than half of youth with major depression received no treatment or counseling. Cost, insurance, and not knowing where to go are the leading reasons. | Mental Health America (2022–23 data); SAMHSA NSDUH 2023 |
Clinics cannot reach every girl.
A trusted adult, a skill she can use tonight, and a circle of sisters can. That is the gap we fill, and we fill it the same way in every chapter we open.