More girls self-harming: NSW report YOUNG NSW women are continuing to harm themselves in increasing numbers and at three times the rate of their male counterparts, a report has found. The 2013 Women in NSW report released on Friday found that 410 young women in every 100,000 had been hospitalised for self-inflicted injuries in 2011-12 compared with 148 young men. It is the second annual report on the status of women and is designed to track progress on more than 90 key areas, including health, education, work, financial security and safety. The report paints a worrying picture of mental health among young women. "There is still an increase in self-harming amongst young women and young girls, the rate is three times that for men - this is something I know the health minister (Jillian Skinner) is very concerned with and so am I," Minister for Women Pru Goward said. I think with reports like this and information like this the information is there for the minister to now respond to. Ms Goward said the report was a "mixed bag." It found NSW women had narrowed the salary gap and taken on more leadership roles in the workforce, but also that - for the first time in a decade - girls were now less likely to complete year 12 than boys. "There's a risk that when the school leaving age went up, because boys were so much more likely to drop out, there was extra emphasis put on boys and we took our eyes off the girls," Ms Goward said. I don't know what the reason is. I do know that we can't afford for it to continue.