Women are so worried about being attacked while running, they carry rape alarms
01.03.2024 - 06:51
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Two thirds of women runners have experienced abuse of one form or another, a study has found. Out of 498 women asked, 68 per cent told a University of Manchester survey they suffered threats, physical or sexual assaults, had objects thrown at them or were 'flashed' by men while out running.
The most common abuse reported was verbal (58 per cent) but others said they had been followed while out running (19 per cent), flashed at (7 per cent), or been abused by men in vehicles (13 per cent). Some 13 women said they had been physically assaulted while out running, and seven women had been sexually assaulted, according to the survey.
Some reported they carried rape alarms with them or held car keys in their hands to use as a weapon to defend themselves in case of an attack. Only 5 per cent of women who reported they had been abused went to the police and of those most said there was 'no substantial outcome' as the perpetrator had not been identified.
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Among the reasons they cited for not to go to police was that 'abuse of women in public being so normalised that experiences are perceived as trivial and part of everyday life', according to the study.
Some said they didn't believe their experiences amounted to a criminal offence or they did not want to 'waste police time', according to the study, which surveyed women from Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
The vast majority of those who responded (82 per cent) said they worried about their personal safety while out running.
Most incidents never come to public attention, but in 2016 the Manchester Evening News reported how a 25-year-old woman was attacked in broad daylight by a male who