80% increase in sexual assaults in London gyms

The number of rapes and sexual assaults in London’s fitness and leisure spaces increased by almost 80% between 2021 and 2023, according to the latest data.

A freedom of information request to the Metropolitan Police shows 39 such reports were made in 2021, 55 in 2022 and 70 in 2023, and concerned locations including gyms, leisure centers and spas.

In the period from January 1 to July 31, 2024, 28 reports were submitted.

The data suggests that reports of harassment and bullying at gyms in recent years may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to safety in such facilities.

Ciara Madden, owner of women-only gym Body by Ciara in Muswell Hill, Haringey, said: “It’s quite shocking to be honest.

“But I think it’s very common – if it weren’t, women wouldn’t come to my gym in such large numbers.”

The fitness influencer from Barnet, who has 121,000 followers on Instagram, has had mostly positive experiences at mixed gyms.

However, the 34-year-old said better staff training and clearer ways of making complaints were needed.

Madden said she witnessed an elderly man exposing himself at the health club’s mixed spa and confronted him.

She added: “He turned around, winked at me and said, ‘I bet you liked it though.’

Madden reported the incident to the health club, which investigated, “but didn’t actually do anything.”

She said: “I was wondering, if it happens again, will I care?

“I’m very confident and don’t scare easily, but this unnerved me and I wonder how someone who was less confident or didn’t know anyone would have handled it.”

The actual number of incidents may be much higher than these figures show.

According to Rape Crisis UK, 82% of women and 80% of men who are victims of rape do not report it to the police.

Madden believes it is important to talk about sexual violence against men in fitness and recreational facilities, as well as women.

Between January 1, 2021 and July 31, 2024, women and girls were more than four times as likely to report sexual assault and almost three times as likely to report rape compared to men and boys.

Reports of sexual assault against men aged 13 and over also increased by more than 44% between 2021 and 2022, from 9 to 13 years old.

However, in 2023, only seven incidents were reported, a decline of over 46%.

Survivors UK, a charity that supports and advocates for male and non-binary victims of rape and sexual abuse, said in a statement that it believed many more survivors may have failed to report the crime due to low conviction rates and fear of not being prosecuted. believed.

It said environments such as gyms “emphasize physical strength and hypermasculine stereotypes” and added that the new data was “worrying.”

The charity welcomed steps to promote safe spaces but said staff needed more training to feel empowered to deal with reports.

She encouraged victims to contact her or other organizations such as Safeline and Rape Crisis, adding: “The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone, we believe you and that help is available.

“Don’t fight in silence.”

Kate Dale runs Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which encourages women and girls to get active, and said the “spectre” of sexual violence is affecting the way people of all genders use fitness and leisure facilities.

She said: “Everyone should feel they can exercise without fear of harassment, bullying, sexual assault or rape.

“It should be obvious and the fact that it isn’t is just appalling.

“It only needs to happen once to you or someone you know to color your entire experience or prevent you from going.”

Dale said women-only gyms like Madden’s are a positive step, but shouldn’t be the only solution

She said: “We certainly cannot live in a world where the only way for women to be safe is to not be around men.”

Dale added that she was confident that change could happen and urged victims to report crimes to management and police.

According to research by This Girl Can and non-profit organization UKactive, 42% of women have experienced at least one incident of sexual harassment or bullying at a fitness or leisure center, such as inappropriate comments or invasion of personal space.

This number almost doubled for women aged 16 to 24, reaching 83%.

More than three quarters of affected women said they changed their behavior as a result, for example changing the way they dressed or using facilities at different times.

In February 2024, This Girl Can launched an eight-week pilot of Ask for Angela across 11 fitness and leisure centers in South West London.

The pilot, working with organizations including the Met Police and UKactive, encouraged anyone who felt unsafe to use the word “Angela” as a code word to alert trained staff.

The program is part of This Girl Can and UKactive’s ‘Safer Spaces to Move’ campaign, which aims to support services working to combat sexual harassment and bullying.

The campaign is currently working with an evaluation agency to explore the next steps for the Ask About Angela project.

In a statement, ukactive said operators should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual assault, including asking users to sign contracts prohibiting illegal activity and emphasizing codes of conduct.

He added that anyone who harasses other users should have their membership suspended pending an investigation and, if necessary, any incidents should be reported to the police.

The Metropolitan Police did not comment specifically on sex crimes in fitness and leisure facilities, but said in a statement that all allegations of rape and sexual assault are taken seriously.

Officers said: “Officers recognize the profound impact of crime on victims and are committed to supporting them throughout the investigation and trial.

“Our clear message is to contact the police or other support agencies and ask for help – we will respond sensitively and work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place.”