Women’s Safety: Walking, Wheeling, Cycling and Running

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jess Asato]

I thoroughly agree. Women are often filmed while running, and girls are put off exercise by the way that men create this material, which can go viral. We have seen recently that men have been using smart glasses to film women in public spaces going about their everyday lives. Those women have then been harassed, with everything that goes with that, simply for being in a public space.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

To build on the point made by the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), Girlguiding has found that two thirds of girls say they are put off exercising and going out because they fear some of the things we are describing. Given that we are debating potentially removing social media from young people, does my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) agree that it is even more important to ensure that other activities that we want young people to take part in are equally available to girls and that they do not feel scared? Otherwise, they will face even more inequality and stigma.

[Jess Asato]

I absolutely agree. I firmly support the idea of a social media ban for under-16s, partly because of the huge impact it has on girls and their body image, which obviously affects the way they think about taking part in sporting activities, often in public. We also know that many of those girls are catcalled and whistled at as they come home from school, not just by boys their own age, but often by grown men. That has a chilling effect on their decision to engage in sport and other activities.

Last year, I was glad to invite Dr Caroline Miles, who researches the abuse of women runners, to meet the Safeguarding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), to discuss the issue in front of us today. Alongside her colleague Professor Rose Broad, their research found that 82% of the women they surveyed had safety concerns while running, and 68% had experienced abuse while out running, but only 5% had reported it to the police. Of those who experienced abuse, 91% received it verbally, 29% were followed and 10% were sexually flashed—that is illegal. Indeed, very recently, a man exposed himself to a woman on the seafront in Lowestoft when she was out on her daily walking route, which has had a profound impact on her sense of outdoor safety.

The university researchers also looked at the 81 offences recorded by Greater Manchester police and Merseyside police in 2021 and 2022, and they found that more than 40% were sexual offences. They identified three areas where they think the Government could go further: improved space design, police training and challenging societal attitudes.

I am glad to see that the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy, launched just before Christmas, says:

“Well-lit streets, accessible transport, and thoughtful urban design can deter violence and reduce opportunities for harm”.

We now need to see national design guidance reflect the concern about violence against women and girls. The strategy states that tackling VAWG

“must be embedded in the training of every officer as a fundamental requirement.”

Yesterday’s policing White Paper sets out that the College of Policing, with the new national centre for VAWG and public protection, is currently developing a

“programme for frontline officers that focuses on the core skills needed to respond across crime types like domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and harassment.”

I hope that includes harassment outdoors. The training should learn from the best practice that already exists across a number of forces, such as the Jog On campaign, as part of which undercover female officers posed as joggers to catch perpetrators. It is vital that we encourage women who are harassed while out running, cycling or walking to report it, and that we ensure that, in reporting it, they feel that they will be taken seriously.