WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE RUNNING SCARED
Credit: #WeWill
I wanted to let you know about a new campaign that’s launching today, that has been five days in the making, and why I feel compelled to support it. Mel Bound, Esther Newman, Ruth Hooper and my Co-Founder Lisa Parfitt are the amazing women who have created something that’s fuelled by a passion for running and the opportunity for all women to enjoy the benefits of running.
#WEWILL is a campaign, supported by This Mum Runs, Women’s Running and Women’s Aid, to empower women to be able to run freely wherever and whenever they like. Every single day in online communities we read about countless stories of harassment and abuse. It is pretty hard reading. In the days following the murder of Sarah Everard, and reflecting on the deaths of Blessing Olusegun, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry in recent months, it became clear, through recent discussions in those communities, that women have all been changing their running (& walking) behaviours out of fear. And this isn’t a new occurrence – women have been doing it their whole lives, and for many the behaviour is so ingrained they’re not even conscious of it.
With 97% of young women reporting experiencing harassment, and 31% of women runners considering giving up running because of safety concerns, taking action is long overdue. We’re not talking about more surveys or extra street lighting, but meaningful, long lasting change. And there is huge power in the small behaviour changes we can all make. These small, individual commitments add up to positive and collective action that creates long-term change.
The #WEWILL campaign is asking you all - men and women - to stand shoulder to shoulder and pledge the small changes you will make using #WeWill as a positive call to arms (or legs). Everyone will have their own personal reason to pledge, and here’s mine.
Male aggression and violence towards women affects us all – our families, friends, and the type of society we live in. Naturally, women’s voices are at the forefront of calls to address it, but this is not a ‘women’s issue’. If women are the only ones seen to champion change, there are plenty of small minds who will feel vilified, victimised in their own way, and put on the defensive. Male allyship isn’t just a moral imperative or a show of solidarity, it is a way to banish the #notallmen sentiments from the conversation.
Hearing that two thirds of women don’t feel safe running should stop you in your tracks. It certainly did me. During lockdown I’ve got into the running habit, seeing the same faces on daily runs, without a second thought about whether they felt safe or not. To think that the women overtaking me would have pangs of fear or worry, while my biggest anxiety was whether I’d pull a calf muscle. I was unaware of the steps women were taking to modify their behaviour. But they hit home, as I’ve done most of them – keys between fingers, doubling back, crossing the road, calling a friend (or pretending to). They were throwbacks to growing up in London - behaviours from the memory bank. For women, they are depressingly a present day reality.
So my pledge, as you will see from the mugshot on WeWill’s Instagram, is to ‘cross the road and keep a safe distance so women don’t have to’. I say mugshot, as it does look (and sound) like I could be a predator. But that is the point. The safest judgement for women to make is to assume I might be, and modify their behaviour accordingly. It is time that women weren’t the one’s having to change their behaviours out of fear, and no woman should have to give up running due to safety concerns. The problem is bigger than running, but it is a first step in the right direction. We won’t stop until women can run safe and run free.
Please visit wewillcampaign.com to find out more and for inspiration on a pledge you could make. Please also follow WeWill on Instagram and post your pledge with #WEWILL.
Thank you for your support. Together we can help make women feel safer on our streets.