Gender Matters: Girls Action Foundation research adds to call for inclusion of gender in mental health

In 2003, the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology published The Health of Canadians – The Federal Role, which studied the state of the Canadian health care system. While it addressed many important issues relating to mental health, it did not acknowledge the effects of gender on mental health. In response to this report, Girls Action Foundation has produced a paper
entitled The need for a gender-sensitive approach to the mental health of young Canadians – a study that examines how the intersections of gender, poverty, racialization, Aboriginal status, and other factors can affect mental health, and provides recommendations and practices to promote mental health and well-being for girls and young women.

• The Need for a Gender-Sensitive Approach to the Mental Health of Young Canadians

This 24-page paper presents current Canadian research on mental health, based on data collected through national and provincial surveys and provides a snapshot of mental health among young Canadians aged 10 to 24. It was created to help inform and increase the effectiveness of policies, programs and services designed to promote mental health and prevent mental illness among young people.

• What is a gender and diversity-sensitive approach?

A gender and diversity-sensitive approach facilitates a holistic understanding of the diversity of girls’ experiences due to experiences of poverty, Aboriginal status, ethno-racial background, sexual orientation, newcomer status, and other diversities.

• Why does gender matter?

• 44% of young women are likely to report feeling constantly stressed (versus 28.7% of young men)
• 14% of Aboriginal girls are likely to feel seriously distressed (versus 10% of the general population of girls)
• Female-to-male incidence of depression averages 2 to 1 and young women are twice as likely to be hospitalized
• Racialized girls experience challenges when accessing services intended to support young people
• Newcomer and refugee girls face additional stresses related to settlement, and/or surviving trauma

Conclusions and Recommendations

• Build policy frameworks to promote mental health and prevent mental illness among children and young people
• Base policies, programs, and services for youth mental health systems on an analysis of gender and other forms of diversity
• Increase understanding of the influence of gender and diversity on young people’s mental health by enhancing the availability and quality of evidence
• Invest in gender-specific, diversity-sensitive, community-level programs that promote youth mental health and empowerment
• Create supportive environments

“Canada is celebrated for its diversity, yet our individual diversity is valued and responded to differently,” says Girls Action Foundation Executive Director, Tatiana Fraser. “These differences contribute to inequities in young peoples’ health outcomes and their access to health services. The fact is that boys’ and girls’ mental health needs are different and need to be approached differently. Our approach to mental health favours an integrated framework for understanding and responding to girls’ mental health needs. We hope our paper will be useful for considering gender and diversity for media and those working in the field of mental health with young people.”
 

• To read The need for a gender-sensitive approach to the mental health of young Canadians, please follow this link: www.girlsaction.ca/en/need-gender-sensitive-approach-mental-health-young-canadians