Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to content

Let's Lift The Curfew

Runners pose with Let's Lift the Curfew signs in front of glow-in-the-dark footprints at night in Manchester

This autumn marks the fourth year of Let's Lift the Curfew, the national movement from This Girl Can aiming to end the curfew imposed on women by safety fears during darker nights.  

Every year, the clocks go back – and every year, women’s worlds shrink.  

When the clocks went back on Sunday 25 October, millions of women across the UK once again saw their world get smaller as the nights get darker.  

Safety concerns affect where they go, when they go, who they go with and whether they can be active outdoors at all.

Whether shaped by past experiences, stories they've heard, or not feeling comfortable or confident in a particular place after dark, many women are unable to be active outdoors or use public spaces in the same way that men do. 

In fact, nearly three-quarters (72%) of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter, according to our 2023 data. This impacts women’s health and wellbeing and reinforces the stubborn gender activity gap which sees half a million fewer active women than men. 

Let's Lift the Curfew challenges this reality to ensure no woman has to change where, when or how she gets active because of safety concerns.  

Since launching in 2023, Let's Lift the Curfew has grown into a nationwide movement, bringing together women, community groups, sports clubs, organisations and allies to raise awareness of the issue and create change. 

Last year, more than 13,000 people took part in over 390 activities across the country.

This year, groups across the UK are once again holding Let’s Lift the Curfew activities.

The reality we're tackling

Research from This Girl Can shows:

  • more than half (55%) of women feel unsafe exercising outdoors alone after dark, compared with a third (33%) of men
  • 69% of women fear sexual harassment when exercising outdoors after dark – up from 60% in 2023
  • more than two thirds (67%) of women believe rising online misogyny and anti-women attitudes are making women feel less safe outdoors
  • nearly half (47%) of men admit they underestimate women’s safety concerns
  • almost half (48%) of men recognise they have to think about their own safety less than women do.

How to get involved

At the heart of the movement are local events and activities taking place across the country to support the campaign, amplifying women’s voices to make outdoor sport and physical activity safer and more inclusive for women. Whether you walk, jog, run or race, Let's Lift the Curfew is for everyone. 

No woman should have to change where, when or how she gets active in darker months because of safety concerns.

So, we invite you to join your local Let's Lift the Curfew activity, listen to women's experiences, start conversations and help ensure the realities many women face after dark are heard by the communities, organisations and leaders who shape our public spaces.

Activities are taking place across the UK, including runs organised by our partners England Athletics and Good Gym starting from the week beginning 26 October. 

Use the links below to find an event and be part of the movement:

Can’t find an activity taking place near you? Why not organise your own run? We have packaged details, resources and promotional materials on our Campaign Hub to help you do so.

Deliver a Let's Lift the Curfew activity

Seven women stand side by side looking upwards at the camera, with glow-in-the-dark footsteps in the background

Share your activity

To help create a visible nationwide movement, we'd encourage you to share details of your activity on social media. 

When posting about your activity:
 

  • use the hashtag #LetsLiftTheCurfew
  • tag @thisgirlcanuk wherever relevant
  • use the Let’s Lift the Curfew stickers on Instagram stories – (search LetsLiftTheCurfew)
  • share details of how people can get involved
  • encourage participants to invite friends, family or colleagues

We're always looking to amplify activity taking place across the country and may re-share selected content through This Girl Can channels. 

Using Strava
 

If you're participating in a Let's Lift the Curfew activity we’re asking you to log a walk, run or cycle on Strava – at a time you feel safe doing so – and label it 'Let’s Lift The Curfew'.

You can share your Strava activity to your social media with the hashtag #LetsLiftTheCurfew and tag This Girl Can, explaining that these activities are to draw attention to the safety concerns preventing women getting active during darker months.

If you’re sharing it to your Instagram Story, you can search for the 'Let’s Lift The Curfew' sticker in-app and add that too. 

When promoting your run please use the #LetsLiftTheCurfew hashtag and tag in This Girl Can where appropriate, as we would love to see your posts and re-share:

For more details on promoting your activity, please visit the Campaign Hub.

Let's Lift the Curfew - campaign hub