![]() ![]() ‘And as, when you’re running, it’s desirable to avoid other people, you’re more likely to be in less public spaces, which puts you in an environment where you are more vulnerable. ‘There’s also the fact that people often run alone and if perpetrators see people by themselves, that increases the likelihood,’ says Amber Keegan, a campaigner at Our Streets Now, a movement fighting public sexual harassment. That toxic assumption is only one among many factors that leave female runners vulnerable. ‘Of course, it shouldn’t be the case, but it may be that by moving our bodies and putting ourselves out there, some people deem that an invitation to comment on us.’ ‘I was surprised by how much it affected the running community,’ says Roberts. Street harassment is not something suffered only by runners, but runners do seem to be particularly at risk. ‘I started talking to other women, who told me, “Yes, I’ve had similar experiences, but what can you do about it?”.’ I just thought that we shouldn’t have to put up with this.’ ![]() Roberts’ experiences led her to contact other women and share their harassment stories on her website and to begin campaigning against street harassment of runners. And I just got tired of being wary every time I laced up my shoes.’ The traffic-free streets should have been liberating, but I was constantly on edge. ‘It’s not new information that when you’re heading out as a woman you expect to get heckled,’ she says, ‘but at the beginning of the first lockdown I was running every day and I was experiencing incessant catcalling and wolf-whistling. For runner and anti-harassment activist Cat Roberts, the issue came sharply into focus last year. Responding to our survey, hundreds of female runners shared their experiences of harassment and how it has affected their running and their lives. ![]()
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