In 2025, UN Women Australia's International Women’s Day theme, March Forward, emphasises the importance of transforming "promises into progress".
This year, as we reflect on the mental health challenges facing young people, it's clear that while mental health issues affect all genders, young women and girls are experiencing particularly high rates of distress in certain areas.
The latest data from the ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing paints a concerning picture: in 2020-2022, one in four females (24.6 per cent) reported experiencing a mental disorder in the past year, with two in five (40.4 per cent) struggling with anxiety. Mental health issues are especially prevalent among young women aged 16-24, with almost half (45.5 per cent) experiencing a mental health disorder—far higher than the 32.4 per cent of young men in the same age group.
Alarmingly, more than one in four young women in this age bracket have self-harmed at some point in their lives.
This International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting the crucial work being done at Orygen to understand and address these mental health challenges, and turn promises into meaningful progress for young women and girls.
Suicide prevention
In 2022-2023, women and girls made up two-thirds of intentional self-harm hospital presentations.
Orygen’s Professor Jo Robinson, Dr Louise La Sala and Dr Bridget Kenny are part of a new Global Taskforce dedicated to the prevention of self-harm and suicide in women and girls, and are conducting a systematic review of risk and protective factors for self-harm and suicide among young women and girls globally.
The team are also analysing national survey data collected in 2024 to see if women and girls are exposed to, or engage with, different types of social media content than boys and men, and if so, how this impacts them.
“As part of our work with the Taskforce, we’re interested in better understanding young girls' and women's vulnerabilities or experiences related to self-harm and suicide, so that we can develop mental health interventions or solutions that speak to what they need,” Dr La Sala said.
“We also want to better understand the experiences of help-seeking among young women and girls when it comes to mental health support and care.
“We know that young women and girls are more likely to be dismissed as “attention-seeking” when it comes to seeking help for self-harm and suicide, and this is likely to impact how and when they seek support.”
Eating disorders
Anorexia is the deadliest of all mental health conditions, and up to 90% of those affected are women and girls.
“Conditions like eating disorders, which predominantly affect women and girls, have historically received far less attention compared to mental health conditions affecting men, but at Orygen we’re making a concerted effort to change this,” Head of Orygen’s Eating Disorders team, Associate Professor Andrea Phillipou, said.
“Our team is focused on better understanding conditions like anorexia, so we can develop more effective diagnosis, prevention and treatment – including trialling new approaches like non-invasive brain stimulation – giving hope to young people, especially young women, who are struggling.”
Social inclusion
Gender is a key social determinant of mental health, influencing both young women’s experiences of mental ill-health and their access to care.
Senior Research Fellow at Orygen, Associate Professor Kate Filia, said that young women consistently experience higher rates of mental ill-health, loneliness, and social exclusion than young men.
“Gender inequality can impact women’s mental health in a negative way, as a consequence of social roles, discrimination and societal expectations - and also because women’s social roles can limit their ability to access supports for their mental health,” Associate Professor Filia said.
“When we look at social inclusion and access to healthcare for young people, we are very conscious of the different experiences young women have, and the need to create supports that are relevant, accessible and affirming of their experiences.”
Orygen Digital
Access to evidence-based digital tools can support all young people, including women and girls, to proactively manage their mental health.
ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020-22 data showed 11.1 per cent of young women and girls aged 16-34 accessed digital mental health care, compared to 5.3 per cent of young men.
"We know from national trends that women are more likely than men to seek mental health support through digital services. This is also true for Orygen Digital's Mello app, with cis- and transgender women making up over 65% of our users," Orygen Digital Senior Research Fellow Dr Imogen Bell said.
Jessi Malouf, Senior Designer for Mello, said it was vital that accessible, effective digital mental health supports were available to young women and girls, with user numbers showing how receptive young women are to digital services like Mello, which addresses rumination or ‘stuck thinking’.
“These women demonstrate a clear commitment to their mental wellbeing, with 62 per cent actively engaging in therapy exercises, compared to just 26 per cent of men,” Malouf said.
“We want our digital mental health services to be not only effective, but beautifully designed and easy to use, reducing barriers for young people who are looking for support.”