Banding together to help Lift the Curfew

Following the campaign ‘Let’s Lift the Curfew’ launched by This Girl Can, The Sports Trust decided to get together with the local running clubs to address some of the issues women face running during the darker evenings.

Why

This Girl Can statistics showed that ‘48% of women prefer not to be active outside after dark’ and ‘6 in 10 women worry about the risk of sexual harassment or intimidation’. As an inclusive sports charity, these statistics highlighted an issue our local community faces and we wanted to show our support. Over 60 women turned up and shared their experiences with us.

Our charity’s mission is to create inclusive and inspiring spaces for people to love sport and exercise. This event aimed to address the inequalities which women face when the clocks go back.

As a leading advocate for community well-being through sports, The Sports Trust hoped to bring together community members, whether they’re beginners or experienced runners, to unite and show the need for an increase in support for women’s safety so they feel reassured to stay active despite the darker evenings.

How

We worked closely with some amazing local running groups to spread the message and gain their expertise on the best practices for women running safely at night. The event connected our local running clubs such as Folkestone Running Club, Blister Sisters, Hamro Running Club & Hawkinge Hurricanes, with women in the community who may have not known about these groups otherwise.

As women arrived, we supplied them with a free high-vis vest to wear so they could be visible during the darker evenings. Kent Police also showed their support by bringing their own runners and handing out panic alarms to participants. We all gathered at Three Hills Sports Park with Catherine O’Connor, running coach at Folkestone Running Club, sharing her expertise on running safely at night.

From here, our amazing volunteers took to the streets with a crowd of women who all felt the need for a safer community for women to continue exercising without fear. After the street run, the group took to the newly opened running track at Three Hills Sports Park to finish with a lap of honour.

Rossy Smith, Community Events Manager at The Sports Trust, Said:

“Let’s Lift The Curfew was a necessary event to address the concerning drop-off in women participating in outdoor exercise when the clocks go back in October. This means that for nearly half of the year, due to concerns about their safety, women’s health and well-being can be severely impacted due to having fewer options to be active in a way that works for them and brings them joy. Whilst we acknowledge that we cannot make changes overnight, we believe that our event is the first step in empowering women to feel more confident exercising outdoors, whilst also asking that policymakers take notice of the huge demand for improvements to women’s safety”