11 Aug 2026
The Centre for Young Lives and Agenda Alliance have today published a new briefing, Meeting the needs of young women and girls in the implementation and delivery of Young Futures Hubs, setting out how the Government's Young Futures Hubs can better support young women and girls by tackling VAWG, improving mental health outcomes, and widening access to opportunity.
Drawing on evidence from Agenda Alliance, the Commission on Young Lives, stakeholder workshops and wider research, the briefing highlights how girls often experience violence, exploitation, poor mental health and exclusion differently from boys, yet are frequently overlooked by services designed primarily around male patterns of risk and offending.
The paper sets out several guiding principles and themes for the implementation of Young Futures.
- Create a single, trusted front door for support: Young Futures Hubs should bring together education, health, youth justice and community services, with strong referral pathways and coordinated local delivery. For girls, this includes links to CAMHS, sexual assault services, schools and VAWG support organisations.
- Put young people and families at the centre: Services should be designed with, not for, young people through meaningful co-production. Hubs should make a particular effort to hear from girls and young women, whose voices are often underrepresented in youth services.
- Reach those most at risk: Hubs should be embedded in local communities and use proactive outreach to engage underserved groups, including girls, minoritised young people and those at risk of exploitation or exclusion
- Deliver high-quality, specialist support: Hubs should offer accessible activities, skilled staff and strong partnerships with specialist girls' and VAWG services to provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive and tailored support
- Ensure services are gender-informed: The needs and experiences of girls and young women should be considered throughout planning and delivery, with dedicated support, specialist expertise and safe spaces where needed.
The paper also includes three core recommendations which, alongside the principles, can guide how hubs are resourced, how delivery partners are supported, and can ensure Hubs have the skills and expertise required to guarantee that young women and girls’ needs are a central part of the success of Young Futures Hubs.
- Preventing harm: Make preventing violence, exploitation and abuse a core part of Young Futures, with early identification, trusted adults and stronger safeguarding pathways.
- Responding to harm: Fund specialist, trauma-informed and culturally responsive support to help girls and young women who have experienced harm or are at risk.
- Creating safe spaces: Ensure hubs are co-designed with girls and young women, provide dedicated support where needed, and work closely with specialist local organisations.
Supported by the Hadley Trust, this paper is part of a series of briefings setting out good practice in support for young people through the Young Futures programme. It builds on previous publications by the Centre for Young Lives: a Framework for Young Futures, a briefing on the model of mental health support in Young Futures Hubs, and a paper on the role of Young Futures in boosting youth employment. Agenda Alliance’s work on girls’ school exclusions is supported by The Triangle Trust.