About Safer Spaces to Move
Safer Spaces to Move is a dedicated project between ukactive and Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign. Designed to help women and girls to feel safer and more confident while being active in gyms, fitness and leisure facilities.
This resource hub provides training and guidance for the sector to reduce and manage some of the barriers women and girls face in taking part in physical activity and create spaces that are inclusive and enjoyable for all.
The project follows on from research carried out in 2021 and 2022 that found that personal safety and confidence can be significant barriers for women and girls when participating in physical activity.
To ensure the resources in this hub are practical for the sector, we’ve worked closely with our Safer Spaces to Move Taskforce, a group comprised of representatives from public, private and independent operators from across the sector. This group has helped develop resources to ensure our sector can play its part in tackling the broader societal issues of intimidation and harassment.
Who We Are
Launched in 2015, This Girl Can is Sport England’s nationwide campaign which aims to close the gender activity gap by empowering all women and girls to be active, regardless of shape, size, or ability. Funded by the National Lottery, the campaign tackles barriers, including fear of judgement and safety concerns, while celebrating women moving in their own way.
Sport England is a public body that invests up to £300 million of National Lottery and government funding each year to help people across England get active. Its 10-year strategy, Uniting the Movement, focuses on tackling inequalities and supporting those who are least active, including women, disabled people, and those on lower incomes.
Our Mission
- To raise awareness of our research outcomes with regards to harassment and intimidation within gym, fitness and leisure environments.
- Educate the sector and consumers on the harm and fear this causes to women and girls and how that can impact their engagement to use our spaces.
- Provide guidance to support the issue and how the sector responds to it, including but not limited to – opportunities for upskilling the workforce.
- Instill confidence in women and girls by proactively pursuing and demonstrating a positive culture within facilities.
Claire Edwards
Head of Campaign Activation
Sport England
“At This Girl Can, our sole focus is to help women get active in whatever way works best for them.
Many women rely on gyms and leisure centres to stay active. Safety concerns restrict women’s freedom and comfort in fitness and leisure centres and pose a significant barrier to them enjoying exercise.
Getting active should be a positive experience for all women – exercise is for everyone, and we must all work together to ensure everyone feels welcome.
Working with ukactive, we want to support all fitness facilities to reduce some of the barriers women and girls face in taking part in physical activity to help create spaces that are inclusive, safe and enjoyable for all.”
“Through our partnership with Sport England’s This Girl Can we are working collaboratively to ensure all women and girls have the opportunity to utilise our members’ facilities to enjoy being physically active in any way they choose, in an environment that feels both empowering and safe.
Together with the sector, we want to ensure that should anyone need to report an incident they can do so in the knowledge that issues will be taken seriously and managed effectively. Any form of harassment in fitness and leisure facilities is totally unacceptable and we expect operators to take a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and intimidation, to ensure all women and girls feel confident and safe being active in these environments.
The sector will continue to support millions of women and girls to be active and enjoy all the benefits that being physically active can bring.”
Hattie Jones
Head Membership and Sector Development
ukactive