New research from UCL has revealed concerning levels of abuse, harassment and victimisation among young women in the UK, prompting a strong response from Woman’s Trust.
It finds unwanted sexual approaches and sexual assault are more common among Gen Z at age 23 than during their late teens, especially among young adults who have attended university.
A quarter of females have experienced sexual harassment, and one in seven have experienced emotional abuse from their partner.
The study, which tracked around 10,000 people born across the UK between 2000 and 2002, found that one in ten (11%) Gen Z young people reported emotional abuse and 3% experienced violence from a partner in the past year. It also highlighted a rise in sexual victimisation, with one in six (16%) reporting unwanted sexual approaches and 5% reporting sexual assault by age 23 – both higher than when the same group were surveyed at age 17.
Responding to the findings, Woman’s Trust said the data reflects what frontline services have been seeing for years: that abuse among young women is both widespread and often under-recognised.
As well as Woman’s Trust’s support for women of all ages, it also provides specialist workshops and 1-1 counselling sessions for young women aged 16 to 25.
This is for young women and girls who identify as being at risk of domestic abuse, or who have previously experienced abusive or unhealthy relationships.
The charity points to national estimates showing that one in four women and one in five children will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, with young women aged 16 to 19 at the highest risk – experiencing abuse at twice the rate of those over 25.
Woman’s Trust emphasised that the nature of abuse affecting younger women is also shifting. Among those aged 16-25, sexual abuse is reported more frequently than financial abuse, a pattern that aligns closely with the UCL findings showing increased levels of sexual harassment and assault in early adulthood.
In its own service data, the majority of young women report experiences of sexual abuse, often alongside coercion and emotional harm.
The UCL study also found that young adults who attended university were twice as likely to report unwanted sexual approaches compared to their peers who did not. For Woman’s Trust, this underlines the importance of embedding prevention and support by holding workshops and groups. It is urging greater investment in early intervention and prevention, including education on healthy relationships, recognising “red flags”, and how to support friends who may be experiencing abuse.
It says its peer-led approaches and outreach in spaces young women already use – from universities to community settings – are key to improving awareness and engagement.
Lead author Dr Aase Villadsen warned that early experiences of victimisation can have long-term consequences for young people’s mental health, wellbeing, education and employment.
Woman’s Trust echoed these concerns, highlighting growing evidence linking domestic abuse to serious mental health impacts, including increased suicidal ideation. The charity says that for many young women, abuse coincides with a life stage already marked by pressure to become independent – making it harder to recognise harmful relationships or seek help.
According to counsellors at Woman’s Trust, young women often feel they should be able to “handle things themselves”, which can delay or prevent engagement with support services.
As a result, Woman’s Trust is calling for services that are more flexible and responsive – allowing young women to access help in ways that fit around changing routines and responsibilities.
It stressed that the new UCL data should be seen as a call to action. The rise in emotional and sexual abuse among young adults shows that the risks have evolved.
The organisation says that without targeted support and prevention, these early experiences of abuse risk shaping long-term outcomes for a generation of young women.
Through Woman’s Trust’s Living Without Hope campaign, it is calling for £27.5 million per year to provide specialist mental health support for domestic abuse survivors.
Half of the women who approach the charity for specialist mental health support after domestic abuse are turned away due to chronic underfunding – leaving vulnerable survivors at heightened risk of suicide.
