92% of women feel concerned for their safety while running. That’s an alarming statistic and adidas wants to do something about it. The brand surveyed 9,000 runners across nine countries to understand men and women’s experiences and perceptions of safety when running. Some astonishing results came out. 51% of women are afraid of being physically attacked, compared to 28% of men. 38% of women have experienced physical or verbal harassment andof these women, 56% have received unwanted attention, sexist comments or unwanted sexual attention (55%), been honked at (53%), or followed (50%).

The research demonstrates the need for change in both attitudes and action when it comes to women’s safety when running – finding that while 62% of men recognise the issue, only 18% believe the responsibility lies most with men to help women feel safer when running. The data also shows that 46% of women reported a loss of interest in running due to the problem, in comparison to 33% of men  

To highlight the problem, adidas has created a film, The Ridiculous Run, showing the absurd lengths to which women might have to go to feel safe while out for a jog.

The commercial points to adidas.com/withwomenwerun, which explains the steps adidas is taking to address the issue, from creating allyship workshops and educational toolkits for men, safe spaces for women to run and safety-focused features on the adidas Running app, including the ability for a runner’s live location to be automatically shared with selected contacts to help track their run.

The campaign aligns with adidas’ long-term initiative, With Women We Run by adidas Runners, which is committed to playing a role in ending harassment and any forms of violence against women to transform running culture. It is now live in 49 countries and across 72 communities.

“Addressing this issue is a marathon, not a sprint and our campaign will not solve this overnight, but if we can encourage more men to understand their role as allies, we can create progress and, hopefully, change,” stated Sina Neubrandt, global communications director for adidas Women.