Exercise and physical activity safe environments for women

ongoing

Women face unique barriers of access to the practice of physical activity, which translate into lower levels of physical activity and sport participation. Some of these barriers are related to women’s feelings and perceptions of safety in sport environments, which are traditionally male-dominated. The ExerSafe project comes from the realisation that it is necessary that new policies to promote sport and physical activity for women are built upon sound needs analysis, and understanding the perspectives and situation of women in sport spaces, both at the grassroots and the competitive level. Hence, ExerSafe amins at promoting the creation of harassment-free and gender-sensitive sport spaces in order to promote equal participation and health enchancing physical activity for women. In order to do that, the project will 1) analyse the needs of women in respect of feelings of safety and comfort at spaces for physical activity; 2) create learning opportunities for professionals working in the sport and fitness field (trainers, managers, coaches, gym staff) on how to build more gender-equal spaces for sport and physical activity; 3) deliver a set of guidelines for stakeholders on gender equality at sport and fitness-dedicated spaces and how to prevent and act against harassment; 4) promote women’s participation in exercise and sport by organising mixed sessions (sport+education) tailored to boost their confidence in performing exercise and promoting positive social relationships; and 5) test the effectiveness of the different strategies generated during the project through a pilot implementation in clubs, fitness centres and other spaces for sport practice.