Cars seized in female jogger catcalling crackdown

Four cars have been seized by police as part of an operation to stop male drivers catcalling female joggers in Bradford.

The JogOn initiative, which includes the city council, West Yorkshire Police and other bodies, has also seen five fines handed out as well as a host of traffic offence reports.

The scheme, which includes undercover female police officers posing as runners, has also provided active bystander training to 600 people.

Ch Insp Beth Pagnillo said: “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.”

JogOn was launched in March following a national survey by Runner’s World magazine which found that 60% of female runners experienced some form of harassment, particularly from men in cars.

The BBC has previously reported on how female university students as well as joggers in the city said they had been victims of regular whistling, name-calling and abuse as they made their way around.

The council said the initiative had run six operations since march to catch men engaged in catcalling.

A spokesperson said: "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'."

The two-hour active bystander training programme aims to "empower people to actively intervene when they witness an incident".

The council said it provided practical skills to intervene, support and respond to potentially harmful situations.

Ch Insp Pagnillo, who herself had received abuse while out exercising, said such behaviour was "totally unacceptable".

She praised those who had done the active bystander training, but warned those shouting at women and girl joggers: "It does not encourage women to run, it puts them off running all together."

Kamran Hussain, the councillor in charge of public safety in Bradford, 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."

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