A Jacksonville-based nonprofit's third study on the "Status of Girls" in Florida found "rampant victimization," with one in five girls having considered suicide and one in 10 having been raped.
Girls of color and those who are from rural areas or identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are at the greatest risk, according to the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center's "Research to Action: Make Girls a Priority in Florida" study commissioned by the Florida Women’s Funding Alliance.
"We are talking about girls in middle school and high school across our state, in our communities," said Vanessa Patino Lydia, vice president of research and planning at the policy center. "The level of hopelessness … was striking and I think calls attention to the opportunity to really intervene right now in the lives of girls. This is not a retrospective study, having these conversations with girls when they're young women or adults, but it's happening now and it's very relevant."