In Her Voice: An exploration of young women’s sport and physical activity experiences

This resource provides insight into the sport and physical activity experiences of girls and young women. The report is based on focus group conversations with young women, aged 13-17, from five diverse communities across Canada. The information gathered offers programme providers and decision-makers in sport and active living, health, education, and social service sectors a better understanding of the diverse needs, interests and experiences of young women, supporting the creation of better programmes and more responsive health promotion initiatives

In Her Voice was a project conducted by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS). The project involved focus group conversations with adolescent girls, ages 13 to 17, regarding their perspectives about physical activity and sport. A total of 46 participants from six sites across Canada participated in the focus groups.

The purpose of In Her Voice was to hear from young women about their physical activity and sport experiences. CAAWS was interested in discovering what young women think about physical activity and sport, what activities they enjoy, and what factors encourage or discourage their participation. CAAWS also wanted to gain insight from adolescent girls regarding methods to increase their participation in physical activity.