West Mercia Police using national campaign to tackle female runner abuse
The force is using the Jog On initiative across Herefordshire and Worcestershire which is dedicated to tackling the harassment faced by female runners
West Mercia Police has said it will continue to clamp down on unwanted behaviour and abuse towards female runners through a new initiative.
The force has rolled out the Jog On campaign in both counties which is dedicated to tackling the harassment faced by female runners and joggers, including catcalling, intimidation, and assaults, and has been used elsewhere in the country by other forces such as Surrey Police.
It held its first operation as part of it earlier this month in Kidderminster, with female police officers in plain clothes running in key locations and then getting the support from nearby crews to deal appropriately with any perpetrators if they experienced any harassment.
Violence against women and girls a 'real priority for policing'
Jog On was launched following a national survey by Runner’s World that found that 60% of female runners experience some form of harassment, particularly from men in cars.
Prevention hub inspector for the south of the West Mercia force, Liz Warner, confirmed more work around this topic would take place with a clear goal to it all.
She said: "Its primary aim is to tackle street-based harassment of females, but particularly females that choose to run and enjoy running.
"Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a real hot topic, it's something that's spoken about by many agencies but is a real priority for policing.
"This {campaign} is a great way of engaging with the (running) community, but it's also a really good opportunity to initiate another conversation around what violence against women and girls is, identifying it, and just showing the public that we take it seriously."
Type of behaviour is 'not acceptable'
Following the operation, West Mercia Police said one driver had been "educated around harassment offences" and it sent a "clear message" to people these actions will not be tolerated.
"It's as much about saying to women, these are not behaviours you have to put up with, as it is to all of our communities saying this is unacceptable, this is what women are experiencing every day just to go for a run and it is not acceptable," Warner said.
"This campaign is absolutely a two-pronged approach, it is education and awareness but in the enforcement as well.
"The aim is to make people aware that this is unacceptable and absolutely every incident needs to be reported to the police."
Joint partnership
The force also said the campaign was being carried out through partnerships between West Mercia Police, Herefordshire Council, Worcestershire County Council, the University of Worcester, and Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire.
Last year a University of Worcester study highlighted the extent of the harassment some runners have faced.
The Running Free, Running Safe survey heard from 101 runners, 61 women and 40 men, with more than half of those reporting experiencing harassment and abuse while out running, the vast majority being female.
It found the abuse most common being directed at women took the form of men shouting obscene and sexualised remarks or comments from vehicles and the shouted abuse was often about the victims’ appearance.
'This isn't just a small thing, it's not just a joke, it's really affecting people's lives'
Dr Gill Harrop is a forensic psychologist and senior lecturer in forensic psychology at the university who is doing the research alongside the Jog On campaign and working with the police.
On continuing their side of the work, she said: "We're looking at social norms, we're looking at perceived seriousness of that behaviour and what we can do from a psychological perspective and from a behavioural change perspective to try and change the social norm to recognise that kind of harassment isn't okay.
"A lot of the work that we're doing is coming from a forensic psychology perspective, so we're thinking about behaviour change, we're looking at community engagement, and we're trying to work with the police really towards those same goals.
"One of the challenges we have with this particular kind of behaviour is convincing people that it's a problem, this isn't just a small thing, it's not just a joke, it's really affecting people's lives, so it's really highlighting the impact on the female joggers and on communities as a whole of this kind of behaviour."
West Mercia Police is reminding anyone who has experienced any form of harassment to contact them through their website, call 101, or if in immediate danger, call 999.