More women than ever are reporting harassment at the gym, but are women-only gyms the answer?

Ladies-only gyms have been receiving rather a lot of consideration on TikTok just lately, with the hashtag #WomensOnlyGym at 21 million views and rising. Ladies take to social media daily to speak about their experiences in health areas, and infrequently these embrace experiences of sexual harassment, being stared at and feeling intimidated or not feeling comfy, succesful or like they belong.

A current examine by Origym titled The Fitness center-timidation Report confirmed that six in 10 ladies within the UK have been harassed whereas figuring out in blended gyms. Apparently, 31% of girls surveyed mentioned they see a profit to women-only gyms and that women-only health areas would assist them really feel safer and extra comfy. However would all-female gyms truly assist? Or would they only create extra division and make issues with harassment worse?

In accordance with a 2021 examine on the gender exercise hole carried out by Sport England as a part of its This Woman Can marketing campaign, a major share of girls really feel unable to train with out obstacles which embrace intimidation, embarrassment and sexual harassment affecting their experiences. Most of the time, it’s male health club goers which can be related to these obstacles.

Origym discovered that two in 5 ladies keep away from the health club as a result of males make them really feel uncomfortable. Within the Fitness center-timidation Report, ladies, transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid gym-goers cited encounters of males making a go at them, following them across the health club and sexual remarks as a number of the commonest types of health club harassment.

Charlotte, 37, from Solihull, felt uncomfortable utilizing the sauna at her native health club after the identical man adopted her in on a number of events. “I used to be utilizing the pool, and a person stored hanging across the facet ready for me,” she says. “Once I entered the sauna, he got here in, and it was simply us in there. He requested me out. I mentioned no and left the sauna. Just a few months later, I went into the sauna once more and, in waltzes the identical man to strive it on once more. I positively felt uncomfortable there after that.”

“Ladies may really feel safer, however single-sex gyms wouldn’t deal with the broader downside of sexual misconduct.”

The query is, would women-only gyms cease this type of behaviour from occurring? Inside an inclusive single-sex health club, ladies may really feel safer, however single-sex gyms wouldn’t deal with the broader downside of sexual misconduct. Harassment would nonetheless proceed in different areas and on the road.

This additionally begs the query, ought to ladies must shoulder the accountability of conserving themselves protected when it is primarily males who’re actively bothering them in gyms throughout the UK? In organising all-female areas, ladies are but once more having to tackle the labour of eradicating themselves from unsafe conditions, somewhat than all blended gyms merely cracking down on inappropriate behaviour.

“It’s unlucky that ladies must really feel like they want a segregated health area, to start with,” says Stef Williams, founding father of the health app, WeGLOW. “We ought to be trying to assist ladies to really feel assured sufficient to not want that separation; whether or not that is from educating them on tips on how to use the gear to make sure all health areas are welcoming and inclusive to everybody. I’d by no means need any lady to really feel like they need to be subjected to a female-only area as a result of they may take that as a sign that they couldn’t or shouldn’t transfer their physique in different health areas.”