Welcome to Girl Friends

Do you work with girls between the ages of 9 and 18?

Do you want to encourage them to …

  • Hold on to their voices and stay true to themselves?

  • Enhance judgment and critical-thinking skills to make for wise and healthy choices?

  • Counter trends towards self-doubt and improve self-esteem?

Girl Friends is a one of a kind service, dissimilar to any other. Our main objective is to empower young women regardless of background, culture or race.

Adolescent years can be a problematic time for many young girls, all of whom are vulnerable or at risk from different factors of modern day society.

Girl Friends is a Community Interest Group, structured to support girls aged between 9-18, specialising in programmes built to increase girls’ self-efficiency, confidence, and social support.

We work with girls to examine identity, assertiveness skills and goal setting. Girl Friends is uniquely designed to increase positive connections, personal and collective strengths, and competence.

We provide full 8-12 week programmes, for one and a half to two hours per week, using activities that promote critical thinking in all areas of girls’ lives. Activities can be creative or focused, using methods such as, role play, drama, journal writing, poetry, dance, drawing, collage, and so on.

Enhances Current Programs

The Girl Friends format can be applied to existing programmes in areas such as:

  • Health Education
  • Youth Justice
  • Outdoor Adventure
  • Athletics
  • School Advisory groups
  • Pregnancy Prevention
  • Boys and girls clubs
  • Girl Guides
  • Gang-prevention

In such settings as schools, agencies, church halls, clinics, homes etc. In this way, Girl Friends provides the opportunity for authentic relationships within a girl's own setting and community.

What’s Our Impact?

  • Improved relationships with other girls.
  • Reduced risk of substance abuse.
  • Enhanced problem solving/decision making skills.
  • Counters feelings of isolation and self-doubt.
  • Increases respect for self and others.
  • Ability to express oneself and have a voice.
  • Creates a safe space to share feelings.
  • Better relationships with adults.

Participant’s surveys revealed statistically significant improvement for girls in six long-term outcomes:

  • A decrease in self-harming behaviour.
  • A decrease in rates of alcohol use.
  • An increase in attachment to school.
  • An increase in self-efficiency.
  • Improved relationships with other girls.
  • Reduced risk of substance abuse.

Girl Friends does not aim to provide advice, but encourages girls to share experiences that are helpful to one another.

Our strength-based, skills building approach creates a safe place for girls to address risky behaviour. We have found that girls self-expression within a safe caring environment encourages self-confidence, authenticity in relationships, and enhanced judgment skills.

Girl Friends creates a safe space for girls to address their issues.