Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign and UKactive have published a new guide to help gyms and leisure centres create safer and more welcoming spaces for women and girls.
The guide focuses on preventing sexual harassment and intimidation, improving communication around safety and building confidence in how concerns are reported and handled.
- 7.6 million women took part in fitness activities at least twice in the previous 28 days, an increase of almost 1.3 million since 2021.
- Fitness activities among women and girls aged 16+ saw the largest growth of any activity type over the previous year, increasing by 1.9%.
- Participation by women in public leisure fitness increased by 12% over the last 12 months.
- With 11.5 million people aged 16+ now members of a health and fitness club, gyms and leisure centres are an important setting for supporting women and girls to be active.
The new guide provides practical advice on communicating that sexual harassment and intimidation are not tolerated, and ensuring members know how to report concerns, what happens afterwards and what support is available. It also highlights the importance of staff training and clear policies, helping to build trust that concerns will be taken seriously.
The guide builds on previous Safer Spaces to Move resources published in 2025, which focused on giving operators the policies and staff training needed to respond to sexual harassment and intimidation. The latest guidance moves the focus towards how these policies are communicated and experienced by members.
Source: New guide to creating safer gym and leisure spaces for women | Sport England