UK Groups Push To Make Gyms Safer for Women

As female gym participation continues to rise across the pond, ukactive and Sport England have created a playbook to help facilities communicate harassment policies and establish more welcoming spaces for women and girls

The U.K.’s leading trade organization for the fitness sector, ukactive, has come together with Sport England’s nationwide campaign for women and girls, “This Girl Can,” to help gym and club operators cultivate safer spaces for female members.

The two organizations have created a guide, titled “From Policy to Practice: How to Share Your Stance Against Harassment in Your Facility.” The resource provides practical examples and tips meant to improve communication with gym members on the road to building trust, confidence, safety and a welcoming space where women and girls feel respected.

“Women and girls have the right to go to fitness facilities to work out, keep active and have fun without being intimidated or harassed,” said UK sports minister Stephanie Peacock.

“As a government, we are committed to building a healthier nation by making physical activity truly accessible and welcoming to all, and these guidelines will play a vital role in ensuring gyms, leisure centers and swimming pools are equipped to play their part,” she added.

The information covers topics for facilities including:

• How to communicate clearly to visitors and members that sexual harassment and intimidation are not tolerated in facilities. 
• How operators can ensure that visitors and members know how to report any concerns, what will happen next if they do and what support is available to them.
• How to build trust and confidence with visitors and members in an operator’s policies and training so more members feel equipped to report any potential issues. 

The guide was specially designed for fitness operators, suited for all levels within a company, from operations teams to marketing and member communications.

Supporting the Growing Population of Female Gym-Goers

To develop the guide, the partnered organizations consulted a series of focus groups of men and women to best inform what members expect from operator communications, and what messaging would be best suited to build trust and confidence while conveying safety.

This Girl Can and ukactive also consulted with the Safer Spaces to Move Taskforce, which is comprised of representatives from across the industry, such as various operators of all sizes, across the public and private sectors.

The guide also comes in response to the less than half of female gym users (46%) who were aware that their facility had a code of conduct or safety policies, and the 15% of women who did not report an incident of harassment or intimidation said it was because they did not know who to report it to, according to 2022 research commissioned by the organizations. 

But now, awareness has increased, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of women ages 16-34 aware their club has a code of conduct.

The campaign’s data supports the explosion of women and girls seeking out fitness facilities, with Sport England’s latest Active Lives Survey revealing that fitness activities among women and girls over 16 have seen the largest growth across all types of activity from the previous year (1.9%), with 7.7 million women having taken part at least twice in the previous 28 days. 

“With millions of women and girls using gyms and leisure centres, the fitness sector must be ready to tackle harassment and intimidation, and today’s launch reaffirms our commitment to helping gyms and leisure centers put stronger safety standards into action,” said This Girl Can’s head of campaign activation Claire Edwards.

Some fitness brands are investing in settings that make women feel safe to work out, especially as more women embrace strength training but still find discomfort in gym environments. 

One of those pioneers has been Curves, which is investing in re-growing its once popular women-only fitness chain across the U.K. and Europe.