BLOG | Helping women and girls stay active and well
28th September 2023
This Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week, we’d like to share more about the work SAMH is doing to support inclusion and help reduce barriers to sport and physical activity for women of all ages.
We’d also like to take this moment to pay our respects to our inspirational founder, Dr Kate Fraser CBE, who created the first iteration of SAMH 100 years ago, overcoming sexism and stigma to forge a better future for the people of Scotland.
Young Women in Sport Leadership Programme
In sport within Scotland, we know there is a huge gap in female leadership at all levels. Poor self-confidence, poor self-belief and low self-esteem are all barriers for young women reaching their goals. Along with Scottish Women in Sport, we see that by supporting young women to build certain skills and enhance their knowledge, we can help empower women to become the leaders they can be.
We are working with women aged 18 to 24 through our Young Women in Sport Leadership programme to empower the next generation of leaders in sport. Alongside our expert panel of young women, we have spent two years designing and piloting the 12-month programme, which fully embeds education around leadership, mental health and wellbeing while providing support from a mentor.
The programme takes the young women on a journey through a series of online modules in:
- Maintaining Wellbeing
- Identity
- Resilience
- Stress Coping & Control
- Assertive Communication
- Mental Health Awareness
There will also be in-person sessions that will build strong connections between the whole group, allowing networking and peer support opportunities. By taking part in the programme the young women will work towards an Adult Achievement Award and will receive an SVQ of a minimum level 2.
Sport and physical activity is so important for our mental health and wellbeing, and we hope that by helping to enable more young women into leadership roles in sport, we can inspire a new generation of girls to stay active.
"We're truly not alone, others are experiencing similar challenges"
The Changing Room for Women
We recently completed the second cohort of The Changing Room for Women: a 12-week programme in a football setting which provides a safe place for women aged 18 to 30 to connect with others and tackle mental health issues in the community.
We know women can face barriers to meeting in person due to childcare commitments, or may feel less comfortable travelling to a football stadium on darker nights. To ensure the programme is accessible, we’ve taken a hybrid approach which allows us to build confidence and a social connection to participants online before we carry out in-person sessions. From there, participants can meet at their local football ground and use the power of sport to boost their mental health and wellbeing.
When asked what their biggest learning was from the programme so far, once participant replied: "That we're truly not alone, others are experiencing similar challenges as we are." Another said: "I have learned within this space that even though we might have different challenges we are all here dealing with them together."
This is the power of community, and why we have continually worked with young women to expand the programme.
Moving Through Menopause
Earlier this year we launched Moving Through Menopause, research commissioned by SAMH and produced by The University of Edinburgh that shines new light on the links between our physical and mental health and wellbeing, and how menopausal symptoms impact women during this time. A phenomenal 1,200 responded to our call and took part in this research – we are very grateful to them for their honest and brave contributions.
The research found menopause was a barrier to being active, with 57% of women who participated reporting a decrease in activity levels, and 94% of women reporting a change in mood, such as low mood, anxiety, mood swings or low self-esteem.
Women were generally aware of the benefits of being physically active to make them feel better but, for some, motivation and confidence to be active dropped during the menopause. The research highlights the urgent need for improved awareness and education across healthcare and sport settings about the menopause and its impact on mental health and physical activity, so they can support ‘menopause friendly’ and ‘menopause specific’ exercise spaces.
By ‘normalising’ menopause, we can all help break down barriers to engaging in regular physical activity and support women’s health and wellbeing during this crucial life stage.
Future generations
Much has changed for the better in the last 100 years, but there is still so much more to do and our ambition remains the same: to support Scotland's communities to better mental health and wellbeing.
We hope that through programmes like these, we can continue to tackle stigma and remove obstacles to women and girls accessing all the physical, mental and social health benefits being active has to offer. If you would like to learn more about these programmes, please contact Kirsty Stewart, Physical Activity & Sport Partnership and Development Co-ordinator, at Kirsty.Stewart@samh.org.uk
