Let's lift the curfew

Every winter, millions of women across the UK face a silent curfew. As daylight hours shrink, safety concerns rise – forcing many to change their routines, avoid certain areas, or stop being active outdoors altogether. This isn’t just inconvenient. It’s a barrier to health, wellbeing, and equality.

Our Let’s Lift the Curfew movement exists to challenge that choice – because women shouldn’t have to weigh up their safety against the joy, confidence, and wellbeing that physical activity brings.

Five women stand in front of a lit-up bill board emblazoned with 'let's lift the curfew'. The women are wearing t-shirts printed with questions as to why they should feel 'cautious, scared, etc.' when getting active after dark

The reality we’re tackling

Research from This Girl Can paints a clear – and worrying – picture:

72% of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter.
Almost a quarter (24%) stick to well-lit routes, and 23% avoid certain areas altogether.
One in five (20%) glance behind them to check they’re not being followed.
These figures have risen sharply since 2023, when 46% of women reported changing their routines.

These figures reflect a growing concern: women’s safety fears are worsening, and the impact on physical activity levels is profound. The emotional toll – feeling anxious, vulnerable, or unsafe – adds yet another barrier to getting active

The result? Women’s participation drops in the winter months, widening the Enjoyment Gap – the fact that 2.4 million fewer women than men enjoy getting active.

How the movement began

In 2023, Let’s Lift the Curfew launched with a 5km night run around Westminster, alongside a parliamentary roundtable with MPs, academics, and sector leaders.

Together, we identified five priority areas for change:

Culture – Educating from a young age about respect and allyship with women.
Reporting – Robust frameworks to tackle misogynistic behaviour at every level.
Planning – Designing public spaces and activity areas with a female lens.
Data – Better sharing of safety information to inform real solutions.
Community – Building partnerships to amplify women’s voices and drive change.

Scaling up for impact

In 2024, the campaign grew into a nationwide movement. Over 100 organised runs took place across the country – from Southampton to Durham – marking the onset of the winter “curfew” and demanding urgent change.

In Manchester, our flagship event featured a UV-lit path that illuminated words such as vulnerable, anxious, and afraid – the emotions women told us they feel when active after dark.

We were joined by England Athletics, Good Gym, Greater Manchester Moving, and countless local clubs and community groups, proving the power of collaboration in challenging systemic barriers.

A call to the sector

Let’s Lift the Curfew is not about one-off events, and it’s not a singular responsibility.

We need everyone – from local authorities and leisure providers to national governing bodies and grassroots organisations – to engage with the issue.

It’s about driving systemic change across sport, physical activity, planning, and public safety.

Women should have the freedom to run, walk, or cycle without the fear of what might happen in the dark. This isn’t just inconvenient – it’s an injustice.

Let’s Lift the Curfew is demanding lasting change so that every woman can move freely and safely. We won’t stop until that becomes the reality.

Kate Dale

Director of marketing, This Girl Can

How you can support

We need the sector’s expertise, influence, and reach to help dismantle the winter 'curfew'. That means:

Embedding women’s safety into programme design – from route planning to facility lighting.

Championing the five calls for change within your networks and partnerships.

Gathering and sharing data on women’s experiences to inform practical interventions.

Amplifying women’s voices in your communities and leadership spaces.

Together, we can lift the curfew – and ensure women have the same freedom, choice, and confidence to be active, every day of the year.

Keep an eye our for more from Let's Lift the Curfew later in 2025.

Previously, from Let's Lift the Curfew

This Girl Can's Let's Lift the Curfew runners in central London

New campaign highlights winter safety

Westminster run draws attention to the concerns women feel when getting active outdoors after dark and follows a parliamentary discussion to address the issue.

Runners run over glow-in-the-dark footprint stickers at night

Let's Lift The Curfew demands change on women's safety at night

Our new research finds that almost three-quarters of women change their behaviour getting active outdoors in winter.