{"id":570292,"date":"2026-03-28T16:19:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570292\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T16:19:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:19:12","slug":"half-of-women-have-been-harrassed-while-running-new-data-shows-as-nsw-safety-program-gets-500000-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570292\/","title":{"rendered":"Half of women have been harrassed while running, new data shows, as NSW safety program gets $500,000 boost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifty per cent of female runners in NSW have experienced harassment, new research shows, with an overwhelming majority saying safety issues dictate their behaviour.<\/p>\n

More than 5,000 women were surveyed as part of the state government’s Run My Way initiative, which has been given a $500,000 funding boost for a series of women-only track nights.<\/p>\n

Designed to make recreational running safer for women, the nighttime events are also billed as a way of improving technique and building confidence.<\/p>\n

In interviews featured on the Run My Way’s website, many women said they were always “hyper-aware” of their surroundings when running, with running after dark being of particular concern.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

More than 5,000 women were surveyed as part of the NSW government’s Run My Way initiative. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

“Only running during the day” and “always carrying a phone” were comments repeated often, along with: “Really scared of being a woman in the dark.”<\/p>\n

NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said women should be able to feel safe when they are out and about in the community.<\/p>\n

“Whether they’re living their day-to-day lives, whether they’re going to work, whether they’re exercising, the NSW government is working really hard to provide an increased feeling of, and actual, safety for women and girls across New South Wales,” she said.<\/p>\n

The first night event was held last week at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre, where a coach provided support, training advice and guided runners through drills.<\/p>\n

Three more nights are planned at Sydney Olympic Park and ES Marks Athletics Track in Randwick.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

A running coach at the night events will provide training and guidance. (Supplied: NSW government)<\/p>\n

“Half of women that experience harassment while running, and 95 per cent say their sense of safety influences where and when they run,” Ms Harrison said.<\/p>\n

“So, the Run My Way program is way providing a couple of coaches during track nights … and it’s really aimed at improving feelings of safety and participation for women.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

NSW Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said it was critical to trial practical initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment is about removing barriers so more women, girls and gender diverse people can get active, build confidence and enjoy sport and recreation,” he said.<\/p>\n

More than $1 million, including the additional allocation, has been invested in Run My Way over three years from 2025 to 2027, according to the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fifty per cent of female runners in NSW have experienced harassment, new research shows, with an overwhelming majority…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[280185,43,44,16862,280186,280182,280180,280181,280187,280184,280183,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-570292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-es-marks-athletics-track","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-nsw-government","tag-nsw-minister-for-sport-steve-kamper","tag-nsw-minister-for-women-jodie-harrison","tag-run-my-way","tag-safety-for-female-runners","tag-safety-initiative","tag-sydney-olympic-park","tag-sydney-olympic-park-athletic-centre","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}