Impact & Evidence:
The Rights-Based Approach

At Girls To The Front, we don’t just believe our methods work, we have the evidence to prove it. Our delivery is built on a foundation of international human rights and academic research into adolescent health.

Article 12: The Right To Be Heard

At the very heart of Girls To The Front is Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This article establishes that every child has the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them, and that those views must be taken seriously.

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If you’re feeling powerless and like things are a bit pointless, this is for you (and a note to self). You’re not too small to make a diffidence. Consume and create. Show up and exist. It’s all we can do but it’s so important.

You can’t be what you can’t see so show them everything. Show them how to be strong, how to use their voice, how to change the world. Now really is not the time for gatekeeping, the next generation needs to know what they’re capable of.

Movement as an act of resistance. Resisting the norm that activity has to be competitive and restricted to set rules. Resisting the idea that girls should be quiet and shrink. Celebrating autonomy and how cool these young girls really are when you give them space to be themselves.

Rewriting the rules and breaking boundaries.

Tell me you’ve never had to fight for your right to autonomy without telling me you’ve never had to fight for autonomy…

Some thoughts I’ve had while going over the Misogyny Survey responses. I thought everyone would have a lot to say and engagement would be straightforward. I’m a research officer, so I know recruitment isn’t always easy but with the conversation so loud online I thought it might be a great opportunity for people to use their voice. My biggest surprise came when I got ghosted by organisations who were signalling online that they were big advocates of girls and women and dismantling oppressive systems (for all identities).

I hadn’t considered how reading the responses would make me feel as some bought up a lot of things I’d downplayed or dismissed. It was quite confronting to address my internalised biases as well. There’s a lot more I have to say on this and how this links in with our definitions of misogyny which I’ll save for another video.

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments…

We are so back.

Confidence building strength and fitness designed to dismantle the system and rewrite the rules. Every Tuesday 4.15pm.

Also good coffee in fancy cups and the feeling when you get to cross a horrible item off your to-do list.

Staying sane around the table - hopefully this helps. I’m no expert so share away in the comments too…

There’s not a whole heap fancy about it, just a series of small actions from supporting local to co-producing research. I try my best. I challenge when I need to. Above all I just try and be a lighthouse.

Feminism is part of my every day.

From a recent conversation. Whatever your genre of choice is, it’s tricky to untangle politics and I’ll stand by that. I will forever think people screaming their thoughts, fears and loves at me is the coolest thing ever.

Creating the content I’d like to see more of. It’s not about being an aspiration or an expert but a real human trying to make tiny changes to Earth.

The crazy idea that you can do it yourself.

Sticker things. Packs now available. Stick ‘em anywhere and spread the word.

Get them on the online shop.

Thanks for asking the question @libranewmoon ⚡️

It’s everything I needed when I was a teenager; that’s why Girls To The Front exists.

As much as you can find your own voice, there’s something to be said about your role in helping others find theirs. This is a little snapshot from an ongoing exhibition of children’s voices about identity where we’ve designed murals that now exist in the wild.

As part of the Here Girls Can Conference, I was asked to run a zine workshop to help girls find their voice… here’s some mega cool feedback that’s been shared with me and makes my heart happy. I should probably be better at sharing stuff like this.

If you’re interested in running a zine workshop, reach out - let’s do it. Zines are such a great tool for communication; helping people find their voice by breaking barriers and giving permission to do it yourself.

Co-production pretty much drives every decision I make whether it’s in research, movement sessions or zine workshops. Listening to people matters. Numbers without context leads to assumptions and stereotypes that are not always helpful.

I am 100% that annoying person who always asks how you’re going to listen to people in your work.

Also, if you ever want to know what being in STEM looks like - it’s crocs and socks.

Absolutely l o v e d learning how to letterpress with @deadmethods at @swanseaprintmaking - isn’t it mad that mass communication originated on this type of press? That people who owned these presses were literally able to control what the public read? Doesn’t sound familiar at all.

We were able to press five quotes from young people to hang in an exhibition next month. The exhibition will showcase the project I’ve led around identity in a Steel Town and it’s been a privilege and massive learning opportunity to listen to young people talk about history, aspirations and belonging.

It all counts. If your corner of work involves pulling at one of the threads, you’re helping to unravel the whole damn cloth.

Inspired by a post from @robynmakesthings and @coffeesforgaza using a quote from Ursula Wolfe-Rocca

Everyone has a voice but sometimes other voices need to be louder. De-centering yourself and being open to hearing things from another perspective. Maybe even hearing barriers, solutions or opportunities you’d never considered.

Not here to live in comparison. Stop comparing. Start creating spaces that break rules instead. Rewrite them.

I was recently asked to help Play Wales analyse over 7,000 from young people across Wales about play satisfaction in their local areas. They want time, clean and welcoming spaces and the freedom to play safely in their communities - it’s not just fenced-off playgrounds. Play matters.

There’s a full report coming soon.

The whole point is for them to not need me at all. To genuinely feel empowered. To teach their own classes. To use their own voices. To make their own spaces. To change their own worlds.

Some of the creations made at the Here Girls Can event. Thank you for asking Girls To The Front to be part of it @heregirlscanuk @stride_active and being able to introduce a whole heap of girls to zines.

@activehw
@courtyard_arts
@thisgirlcanuk

Trying to remember that there’s a generation full of hope so I’m what I can to show them their voice matters and they can make a difference.

Young people consistently show up and show how resilient they are. You only need to look at how many manage to make it through the doors of a school every day before 9am to know they are the absolute experts of consistently being somewhere to do things they might not want to do or find really difficult.

Ella made this box jump by the way. She figured it out with resilience, patience and space to keep trying.

GTTFxEXIST⚡️this session goes from nerves to confidence in seconds and I love to see it. It is absolutely not easy to turn up to a space you’ve not been before and try something new and scary but if you came yesterday, you crushed it 👊🏻

We see the word empowered used a lot at the moment and I believe it’s not enough to say people are. They have to feel it. Providing safe spaces to mess up, ask questions, have fun, try new things and take their time goes some way to embedding that feeling.

A massive shoutout to the coaches who were kind, compassionate and patient and thank you @swansea_council for funding the summer sessions.

Making space versus taking space. Something I’ve thought about a lot and think a shift in how I talk about space is needed because language is really important. I’d love to hear your thoughts too ⚡️👇🏻 📝

A reminder to keep playing. To make space for it. To give permission for it. To make time for it. To remove barriers for it. To navigate the world through it. To fail through it. To have fun with it. Play is whatever you want it to be.

Happy National Play Day to all who celebrate ✨

Fold. Cut. Fold. Resist. Create. Rebel. To show young girls that they are not powerless in this world and that their voice has value.

You don’t need permission to publish your writing, your art, your stories, your advice.

Finding your voice can happen through so many different mediums. It’s not necessarily about being vocal but finding a way of expressing yourself in an authentic way. Thanks to @craftseauk for providing a space for us to explore that through pottery painting.

All made possible through @swansea_council COAST funding.

For the next four weeks (22nd/29th/5th/12th), the Girls To The Front Tuesday movement sessions are free to attend (for ages 10-16). These sessions are designed to build confidence through strength, fitness and play. Rewriting the rules and breaking down barriers.

Every Tuesday 4.15-5.00pm at West Street Community Space in Gorseinon.

We’re running free sessions this summer to make space for girls to find their voice. The sessions are open to girls aged 10-14 and are designed to help girls build confidence in safe, supportive environments. No cost, no pressure, no experience needed.

Spaces are limited so book a spot over at the website or via the daily spam you’ll seen in my stories.

More TBC⚡️thanks @swansea_council for the resources to be able to offer these.

There’s a cliche of trying to be who you needed when you were younger. I think of all the cliches, it’s the one clicheying the most with me. I’m super proud of what this is and where it’s heading.

For schools and youth organisations, this means rethinking how physical activity is promoted. Rather than more sports, more drills and more rules, children need inclusive, safe spaces where they feel confident to participate and free to choose. If we want to support children’s wellbeing, we must shift from performance to participation. It’s not just about how fast they can run or how long they can play. It’s about whether they feel safe, capable, and in control.

Hey, it’s me again banging on about how important it is to listen to young people. These are the findings from my latest piece of research on what is important for wellbeing. Confidence, having choices and feeling like you have the ability to do things are key. Who knew?

This full article is available at @theconversationdotcom and has been published in PLOSOne if you’re into scientific journals.

I have absolutely no right to be running around a festival talking and delivering stuff. A perfect storm of showing up and surrounding myself with people who believe in me more than I do leads to incredible experiences like this.

Thank you @lovetrailsfestival ❤️ a reminder that you’re more capable than you believe, you’re the sum of the people you hang out with, bags are for throwing over fences and time is finite.

I hope anyone who came to anything I did has taken away the belief that they can make a difference and change the world.

Break the cycle 👊🏻 a co-produced period positivity leaflet that outlines what we want people to say, know and do. From a workshop with @women4resources - these are real voices. The leaflet format was inspired by helping Hannah fold a few as we were setting up and chatting all things periods, growing up and navigating adulthood. I love doing this type of work.

You can download it for free on the website.

Bringing all the GTTF zine submissions together in a spray painted cover. Self-publishing is so empowering when you realise you don’t need permission to let stuff exist in the world. You also get to create stuff with cool people.

July is International Zine Month by the way and I can’t shout loudly enough about how much we need this type of work right now.

You don’t have to be on a stage in front of thousands or holding a placard and marching to be an activist.

Thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to a very important conversation and sit alongside some incredible trailblazers and advocates. Feminism is for everybody and I’ll say it with my entire chest. This is not a time to sit at either end of a continuum but to show up, talk, be an ally, be a lighthouse. Change happens because of people. People like you reading this. Use your voice. Make space.

You can watch the full documentary, No Place Like Home, on YouTube.

Be part of the opportunity, not the barrier. Sometimes our role is to listen and create space.

I appreciate that walking past us would have been something out the ordinary. I don’t believe the shouting was ill-intentioned but to have two men on separate occasions shout at a group of young girls really changes the dynamic of a space. Imagine how much more powerful and empowering the silence would have been instead. Showing girls that they can exist loudly outside without fear.

You are part of making spaces what they are.

Here’s me leaving my zine page until the last minute. Submissions for May’s GTTF Zine are now closed but anything else submitted will go in the next one so please keep sending me stuff. I’m actually overwhelmed at the response and it gives me joy to see people using their voice in so many different ways.

Here’s my latest published research. While we know being sedentary is linked to worse mental health, the idea of telling young people they just need be active is not enough. There has to be space for them to feel safe, confident and able to make choices.

Co-production is definitely key to all this but there’s still so much resistance around actually listening to young people. So this is a friendly reminder that it’s not about you.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN UNTIL END OF MAY⚡️

You can submit:
Photos
Poems
Illustrations
Collages
Stories
Advice
Playlists
Etc…

It can be one page or multiple pages, it just needs to fit A5. The link to submit is on the GTTF website. Find your voice! What would you tell someone who doesn’t feel seen or heard?

Showing up is powerful. The act of turning up, existing, day by day, brick by brick. Tiny, imperfect acts of care and courage shift culture. Keep showing up. That’s the revolution.

SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN!! I’m accepting contributions to the next GTTF Zine around the theme of ✨FINDING YOUR VOICE✨. What would you tell or show someone who feels like they aren’t being heard or seen?

No experience or ability needed. All backgrounds and ages can submit. Actively encouraging people who have never done this before to put something in! Your submission can be entirely anonymous if you’d like it to be, it’s all through an online form.

If you want any more information, drop me a message.

All young people have the right to be heard on all matters that affect them and to be taken seriously (Article 12 of the UNCRC). This means there should be opportunities and systems in place that allow them to do just that. These zine workshops are one way Girls To The Front helps create those opportunities - a space where girls can talk, create, and find their voice.

ZINE WORKSHOP ⚡️ 25/04 3-4.30PM

A space for young girls to learn and talk about zine-making, share ideas, and create their own using collage, drawings, words and loads of materials. It’s a safe space to share, learn and create. Drop a message to book!

Just to be very, very clear this decision will not dismantle the systems that hurt women and girls. It will only embolden and support them.

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Impact & Evidence: The Rights-Based Approach

Article 12: The Right To Be Heard

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Impact & Evidence:
The Rights-Based Approach