Many regions across Merseyside are included on the map

Our new map shows the toughest places to be a girl in the UK – and how hard it is where you live. Many factors affecting girls’ lives such as education, poverty, health, violence and voice have been explored by Children’s charity Plan International UK.

The charity found that girls face more difficulties than boys in every part of the country, and in some areas of the UK girls have it far tougher than in other parts. A report from The State of Girl’s Rights in the UK 2024 found girls in the worst-performing areas were far more likely to live in poverty, leave school with poor grades, live fewer years in good health and face a bigger pay gap compared to men in the workplace.

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As part of its data collection, Plan International UK surveyed nearly 3,000 girls and young women aged 12 to 21 across the UK, through schools and online panels. Rose Caldwell, Plan International CEO, said: “The community in which a girl grows up still has a huge impact on her life.”

She added: “Whilst girls and young women told us throughout our research that they find much joy in life, in their communities, and relationships, they also told us loud and clear that they aren’t experiencing the progress on gender equality that they’ve been promised.”

The charity rated North East Lincolnshire as the toughest community for girls to live with a ranking score of 69.07 out of 100 . The top performing area was East Dunbartonshire in Scotland which achieved a score of 79.74 – which was classed as ”room for improvement.” Many regions across Merseyside are included in the list with Sefton, Wirral and Liverpool among them.