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March 24, 2023
Following new research showcasing the safety concerns many women face when running, sportwear leader adidas has launched a campaign to highlight the issue of women’s safety during exercise. ‘The Ridiculous Run’ initiative calls for male education and allyship to help end harassment and gender-based violence against women.
adidas surveyed 9,000 runners across nine countries to better understand men’s and women’s experiences and perceptions of safety when running. 92% of women shared that they felt concerned for their safety, with 51% afraid of being physically attacked as compared to 28% of men. Additionally, over a third of women have experienced physical or verbal harassment, with over half having received unwanted attention, sexist comments or unwanted sexual attention.
Of those who had experienced harassment, women were significantly more likely than men to suffer mental and physical effects such as anxiety. Women also reported a loss of interest in the sport compared to 1 in 3 men and 40% expressed heightened feelings of vulnerability.
adidas detected a need for change in both attitudes and action after finding out that while 62% of men recognize the issue, only 18% believe the responsibility lies mostly with men to help women feel safer. The Ridiculous Run intends to drive greater awareness of the realities women face during running, educate men on the issue and is calling on the running community to take action.
The research and The Ridiculous Run were created as part of adidas’ commitment to help make sport equal – an ambition to drive inclusivity in sport by enabling access, equity and safety for marginalized communities. It also supports the ongoing work of adidas Runners’ global running initiative, With Women We Run, which launched last year in partnership with the UK’s White Ribbon charity. Now in 49 countries across 72 communities, it is working to create change from a grassroots level, while also creating safe spaces for women runners.
“We believe sport should be equal, and safety is essential to creating that reality. We know from our communities and our research that safety is the most discussed topic when it comes to women and running – and unfortunately, women continue to be made responsible for protecting themselves,” said Sina Neubrandt, adidas Women, Global Communications Director.
“Addressing this issue is a marathon, not a sprint and our campaign will not solve this overnight, but if we can encourage more men to understand their role as allies, we can create progress and hopefully, change.”
White Ribbon encourages all men to wear a White Ribbon and to make a pledge to declare themselves as allies in ending gender-based violence and discrimination. To support this, the adidas Running app includes safety features such as the ability for a runner’s live location to be automatically shared with selected followers and educational content around the issue. There are over 120,000 signatures on the app to the pledge, “I pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women”.
To date, more than 250 coaches and captains from adidas Runners international community have received toolkits and training specific to this issue.
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