This autumn marks the fourth year of Let’s Lift the Curfew, the national movement from This Girl Can aiming to end the curfew imposed on women by safety fears during darker nights.
Every year, the clocks go back – and every year, women’s worlds shrink.
When the clocks went back on Sunday 25 October, millions of women across the UK once again saw their world get smaller as the nights get darker.
Safety concerns affect where they go, when they go, who they go with and whether they can be active outdoors at all.
Whether shaped by past experiences, stories they’ve heard, or not feeling comfortable or confident in a particular place after dark, many women are unable to be active outdoors or use public spaces in the same way that men do.
In fact, nearly three-quarters (72%) of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter, according to our data from 2023. This impacts women’s health and wellbeing and reinforces the stubborn gender activity gap which sees half a million fewer active women than men.
Let’s Lift the Curfew challenges this reality to ensure no woman has to change where, when or how she gets active because of safety concerns.
Since launching in 2023, Let’s Lift the Curfew has grown into a nationwide movement, bringing together women, community groups, sports clubs, organisations and allies to raise awareness of the issue and create change.
Last year, more than 13,000 people took part in over 390 activities across the country.
The reality we’re tackling
Research from This Girl Can shows:
- more than half (55%) of women feel unsafe exercising outdoors alone after dark, compared with a third (33%) of men
- 69% of women fear sexual harassment when exercising outdoors after dark – up from 60% in 2023
- more than two thirds (67%) of women believe rising online misogyny and anti-women attitudes are making women feel less safe outdoors
- nearly half (47%) of men admit they underestimate women’s safety concerns
- almost half (48%) of men recognise they have to think about their own safety less than women do.
