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Runners raise awareness for women’s safety during winter

31st October 2023

#LetsLiftTheCurfew highlights the concerns many women feel when getting active outdoors after dark by calling for a safer and more inclusive experience.

Empowering women to feel safe and confident when exercising is essential.

That’s why we took to the streets of central London last night for our #LetsLiftTheCurfew run - to bring attention to the safety issues that stop women getting active outdoors in winter. 

To deliver our message, women from running clubs across the capital - including London City Runners, Black Girls Do Run and This Girl Runs - were accompanied on a 5km run by a mobile digital screen displaying quotes from women conveying how they feel about getting active in daylight compared to darker evenings. 

The run highlighted how many women view the long winter months as a ‘curfew' and how they make changes to their outdoor exercise routines to avoid feeling 'anxious', 'vulnerable,' and 'unsafe' - especially after the clocks go back. 

This Girl Can runners at Let's Lift the Curfew campaign activation

Our latest research reflects this, finding nearly half (48%) of women prefer not to be active outside after dark and that six in 10 (60%) worry about the risk of sexual harassment or intimidation when exercising as the evenings draw in.  

It also shows that two in five (40%) women feel limited because of this and that more than a quarter (27%) feel sad or frustrated.  

#LetsLiftTheCurfew aims to address these concerns by giving women a voice and advocating for change - a mission championed by Kate Dale, our director of marketing. 

“As daylight hours diminish, many women are opting to stay indoors due to safety concerns, resulting in decreased physical activity levels,” she said. 

“The impact of this on women's overall health and wellbeing is of massive concern and requires both attention and intervention. 

“It’s not right that for nearly half the year, we feel we have fewer options to be active in the ways that work for us.  

“And even if we go out despite these fears, it’s harder to get the joy, freedom and confidence that physical activity can bring if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder or monitoring your surroundings.  

“It’s yet another emotional barrier, something else we have to manage if we want to build activity into our routines and lives." 

Our parliamentary roundtable

The #LetsLiftTheCurfew launch follows a parliamentary roundtable on Thursday, 19 October, attended by thought leaders including Caroline Nokes MP and Kim Leadbeater MP, who identified key themes and action areas for making sport and physical activity safer for women. 

  • What did we discuss

    Five key themes and action areas emerged from the discussions. They were:

    • Culture – education around respect for, and allyship with, women is needed from a young age and women’s experiences must be taken seriously, including minor aggressions which can build to make women feel unsafe.

    • Reporting – ensuring proper frameworks are in place to report misogynistic behaviour of all levels in a range of environments.

    • Planning – planning environments, including sports and games areas in public outdoor spaces, e.g. skateparks, with a female lens.

    • Data – identifying and implementing opportunities to share safety information to inform solutions.

    • Community – acknowledging the power in partnerships to reach broader audiences with important messages. 

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Kate welcomed the opportunity this meeting provided to have a conversation about the challenges women face and develop a strategy to overcome these issues.

“Helping women feel safe when getting active is not a singular responsibility; we need everyone to engage with the issue,” she added. 

“Our parliamentary roundtable helped to facilitate this, bringing parliamentarians, experts, academics and influencers together to discuss how we can make sport and physical activity feel and be safe for women, 12 months a year.  

“It was a powerful session, and we are optimistic about the change we can bring about.  

“We must all work together to keep the conversation going, while bringing on board individuals, groups and organisations across wider society to understand their role in making women feel safer when getting active.” 

Passing landmarks including the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, our runners wore t-shirts emblazoned with messages showing how they feel about getting active outside during the darker hours of winter. 

#LetsLiftTheCurfew forms part of the wider National Lottery-funded mission of This Girl Can to close the Enjoyment Gap – which highlights the fact that 2.4 million fewer women than men enjoy getting active.

Together, #LetsLiftTheCurfew

We’re calling on women everywhere to join the conversation.

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