Active Bystander training, which was expanded as part of a campaign to stamp out harassment of female runners and joggers, has seen a huge uptake.
The training was rolled out as part of the JogOn initiative, a joint project by Bradford District Police, Bradford Council and partners (as part of Safer Bradford) and has been attended by approximately 600 people since March.
The two-hour training programme aims to empower people to actively intervene when they witness an incident, instead of being passive bystanders. It provides practical skills to intervene, support and respond to potentially harmful situations.
JogOn was launched in March following a national survey by Runner’s World magazine which found that 60 per cent of female runners experience some form of harassment, particularly from men in cars. It leaves many women feeling scared and intimidated, looking for alternative running routes or changing the times they go out to avoid cat calling, offensive comments and, occasionally, physical harassment.
JogOn is an action plan and campaign to tackle runner harassment, to encourage victims and witnesses to report incidents and ensure that there are consequences for unacceptable behaviour.
The Police have carried out enforcement action sessions across the district by sending female officers out in plain clothes to run or jog in ‘hotspot’ areas. As well as police action, Bradford Council can enforce its Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). This bans the anti-social use of vehicles and includes ‘Shouting, swearing at, or abusing, threatening or intimidating another person – including using sexual language or making sexual suggestions’ from a vehicle. Offenders can receive a Fixed Penalty Notice or a £1,000 fine.
So far, JogOn has carried out six operations which have resulted in: five PSPO breach tickets issued for the harassment of women and girls, 24 traffic offence reports, a warning issued for antisocial use of motor vehicle and four vehicles seized.
It is clear from officers talking to offenders, that many think shouting out of vehicles and pipping horns is not harassment. In fact, one of the males who was stopped even stated he was “encouraging the females to run!”.
Chief Inspector Beth Pagnillo from Bradford District Police said: “This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable, and it does not encourage women to run, it puts them off running all together.
“I hope that by calling out this behaviour it shows that we are taking the issue seriously and makes men think twice about making these types of comments.
“It is really great to see that so many people across the partnership have taken up the active bystander training, they now have the skills to safely intervene if they see this type of behaviour. They are all playing their part in improving the safety of woman and girls across Bradford.”
Cllr Kamran Hussain, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “It is clear from these updates that JogOn is a successful and much-needed initiative to challenge the culture of misogyny and harmful behaviours.
“No one should feel unsafe to go out running, jogging or simply walking down the street. It is clear that there is still a good deal of work to be done to ensure that women and girls can feel safe and free of harassment.”
Anyone who suspects a breach of the Public Space Protection Order can contact the council’s Safer Communities Team by emailing safer.communities@bradford.gov.uk.
The next Active Bystander Training session is from 10am to 12 noon, on 18 October 2024, at Javelin House Police Station. To book a place visit here.
