Hull women say mixed gyms are off-limits due to harassment from men

A group of women from Hull say they are avoiding mixed gender gyms because of sexual harassment from men.

They said many women now avoid exercising and the problem was so widespread it needed "calling out".

One of the group, Aimee, 28, who did not want to give her surname, said she had quit gyms because of "inappropriate comments".

She said: "I would notice eyes staring at me, especially if I went at a certain time of the day."

Speaking to BBC Look North, Aimee said: "Only the other day I had a comment after I'd finished a run on the treadmill, with a man saying as if I could run like that.

"I can be on a simple machine too and I will have men telling me how to use it. It's that interruption as well and nine times out of 10 it's males doing it. It does affect a lot of females."

According to research conducted in 2021 by personal training company Origym, 60% of female respondents said they had been harassed at least once in the gym by a man with inappropriate and sexual comments.

The same survey found two in five women avoided exercise at the gym because they had been made to feel uncomfortable by a man.

Aimee believes unacceptable behaviour often goes unreported.

"I think women feel embarrassed but they need to report it so that something gets done about it," she added.

Drawing on her own experiences, Tammy, 40, said if it was not for a women's only gym she would avoid exercising altogether.

She said: "I went to two gyms and at both I felt so out of place so I just didn't go back.

"I had some men looking at me inappropriately and it made you feel uncomfortable. It is demoralising when that happens."

Tammy said women needed to "stand together" on the issue.

She added: "We shouldn't have to be pushed out and have to have our own space but it's what it's come to."

Kaylee Carver, 35, a former model, said there would be "a lot of comments about your figure".

"It just made you want to run away," she said.

Ms Carver said she now runs a female-only gym in the city, adding "nearly every member who walks through this door reports similar issues."

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