Inside the movement against ‘gymtimidation’: Women are heading to female-only gyms in their droves after being harassed and sexually assaulted by men

A growing number of women, cheered on by fitness influencers, are signing up for female-only gyms – to get away from unwanted attention by men.

From being laughed or jeered at – to having lewd comments made about their appearance – six in 10 women have been harassed while working out in mixed gyms, a study by OriGym found.

As a response to ‘gymtimidation’, women avoid certain areas of the gym that are perceived to be male-dominated such as the weights and the flexible floor space.

And, according to Girls Spot Gym, 79 per cent of women said they would transfer to an all-female gym where men are banned from the area entirely.

These statistics – as well as unpleasant personal experiences – have been spurring on founders to set up safe spaces for women just wanting to exercise. 

Emily Williams, from London, had her first experience of sexual harassment in 2015 when she was just 24 years old. A man in the gym repeatedly made comments about her figure when she was working out.

‘He came up behind me and said something to me about my bum. I didn’t take to it very kindly. I was in the gym, I felt a bit alone, I was at the leg press and there weren’t that many people around,’ Emily said.

‘I said to him “What’s your problem? Why do you keep making comments?” and his response was “I’m a man, that’s what we do.”‘

Emily Williams (pictured) first experienced sexual harassment in a gym when she was just 24 years old

Sadly this is not the only instance of sexual harassment at the gym that Emily has faced.

‘I recently left a gym because I was filmed,’ she said. ‘I had someone taking pictures of me.

‘On one occasion, the guy was on FaceTime and I was training and he was turning the phone around to film me.’

Fed up, personal trainer Emily started an Instagram page called Gym Safe Ladies dedicated to calling out sexual harassment and sexism happening in gyms across the nation.

In 2022, she met with London mayor Sadiq Khan and various commercial gyms such as The Gym Group as part of their Lift Me Lift campaign.

Also raising awareness about gym-based sexual harassment on social media is fitness influencer Natalee Barnett, 25, who has more than 2.5million followers combined on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. 

The young mother said that she has been filmed in the gym before without her consent, inspiring her to start her own gym

Fed up, Emily started an Instagram page called Gym Safe Ladies dedicated to calling out sexual harassment and sexism happening in gyms across the nation

Natalee told FEMAIL that she has experienced ‘the full scale’ of unwanted attention at the gym.

‘The staring, mansplaining, being touched, having my space invaded and feeling intimidated – women deserve to be in the gym as much as any other person,’ she said.

‘I also experienced sexual assault inside the gym when I was 18 years old.’

Natalee previously told MailOnline that she headed for her workout at around 9pm – her regular time – and while the gym wasn’t busy, there were familiar faces around including a male gym-goer she had ‘known for a while’.

‘As I laid back on one of the benches, he touched me really inappropriately. I don’t want to give exact details as it’s too upsetting,’ she said.

‘It was so rapid that at first, I questioned whether it had happened at all. I couldn’t believe a man would do such a thing to a woman in a public space.

‘Experiencing sexual assault when I first joined is absolutely harrowing. I should have never have had to go through that.’

As a result of her experience, Natalee decided she wanted to join a women-only fitness club but found they were too small or had inadequate equipment for her training needs.

Fitness influencer Natalee Barnett (pictured) has more than 2.5million followers combined on YouTube , Instagram and TikTok

Natalee told FEMAIL she has experienced ‘the whole scale of sexual harassment’ while working out in mixed gyms

‘Women-only spaces inside of gyms are very malnourished,’ she said. ‘They consistently follow the narrative that women can’t lift heavy and that women don’t want to lift, they’re just there to lose weight.

‘I went to one and I think the highest dumbbell was 20kg and they had a lot of cardio machines. It reinforces the belief that women only work out to lose weight.

‘This means in order to be away from harassment and intimidation, I now have to limit my own capabilities which I think is wholly absurd.’

With the lack of suitable women-only gyms, Natalee felt ‘forced to stay’ at the gym where the assault took place as ‘there was nowhere for me to go’.

But she soon realised there was a ‘gap in the market’ and decided to open her own ladies-only gym with a variety of classes and equipment galore that men would be banned from using.

‘It’s not an agenda against men,’ she clarified. ‘It’s about the safety and protection of women.

‘I’ve thought about whether there is another way to tackle gym harassment without segregation and there isn’t. That’s why I say you have to take men out of the equation, that’s the real solution here.’

After several years of searching for investors, the fitness model recently signed a lease for a space in south east London which will become the first site of Girls Spot Gym – a fitness space made by women exclusively for women.

The mother-of-one recently signed a lease for a space in south west London which will become the first site of The Girls Spot

Although it is not yet open, the fitness model introduced the gym to her followers last Sunday and within 48 hours, more than 5,400 women registered their interest

Although it is not yet open, the influencer introduced the gym to her followers last Sunday and within 48 hours, more than 5,400 women registered their interest.

‘It’s absolutely insane,’ said Natalee. ‘It shows much much demand there is for something like this.

But the fear of ‘gymtimidation’ and sexual harassment is not the only driver behind interest in Girls Spot Gym.

‘I know that Muslim women will form a big part of my community,’ said Natalee. ‘As well as those starting out on their fitness journeys.

‘New mothers too. I’ve been pregnant and I am a mum myself and I think navigating your body when pregnant and particularly postpartum you don’t really want to be exercising in front of men.

‘Every single person deserves to train exactly how they want to, reach their goals how they want to and feel comfortable whilst doing it.

‘Whether you lift heavy or whether you only like classes or you’re a mum or you’re a complete beginner, you can come to the Girls Spot and you can train. There is no doubt about it.’

Lynsey Parkins, 47, has seen first hand how transformative female-only fitness spaces can be for Muslim women, new mothers and those going through the menopause.

Lynsey Parkins (pictured) runs her personal training company The Fitness Monkey out of StrongHer – a female-only gym in Bethnal Green in London

The mother-of-two runs classes for new mothers where babies are also welcome in the space in Bethnal Green 

The personal trainer runs her business The Fitness Monkey out of StrongHer – a female-only gym in Bethnal Green in London.

She said: ‘There is a big Muslim community here who want to train and they’re not going to be able to go into commercial gyms because they can’t take their clothes off.

‘In an all-female space they can take their hijabs off and they can work out and put their clothes back on and leave to carry on with their day.’ 

The mother-of-two said she runs classes for new mothers as she knows how hard it can be to find a gym that allows women to work out with their children.

‘When I was on maternity leave, I wanted to work out with my baby,’ Lynsey told FEMAIL. ‘All the gyms in the area were turning me away because they don’t have insurance to bring small humans in so I set up my own group exercise class for new mums.

‘My clients come in feeling empowered, confident and safe. It’s a community

‘The personal trainers are in control of the music and we can put whatever we want on and we’ll just have a laugh with it.

‘Members who are there take out their AirPods and join in on the conversation and it’s just a safe space to talk about anything and everything. You know, we’re talking about the perimenopause and periods very openly because we don’t have to be guarded. 

Lynsey has found it easier to speak openly about periods and perimenopause in a women-only fitness space

Speaking of StrongHer, Lynsey said: ‘I’ve never trained in a place which is so open, free and non-judgemental’

Lynsey said her clients feel ’empowered, confident and safe’ in the women-only classes at her gym

‘I’ve never trained in a place which is so open, free and non-judgemental.’

Larger chains of health clubs such as PureGym and Fitness4Less have cottoned on to the rising interest in ladies-only fitness spaces.

Total Fitness, which has 15 large clubs in the north of England and Wales, introduced its first ladies-only space in Manchester last year.

They identified demand for women’s only facilities from a range of sources including interviews with more than 100 female gym-goers, a research study in which more than 3,500 women detailed their workout preferences and Google search data which showed an 82 per cent year-on-year increase in searches for ‘women-only gyms’. 

The design of the space was based on this consultation process – with female gym-goers able to choose between working out alone, with others and in mirrored or mirror-free spaces.

Equipment was also chosen ‘with the female body in mind’ while weights are dispersed throughout the gym to create a ‘free-flowing environment’. 

‘The Women’s Gym is a statement to women that we take their needs seriously,’ said Total Fitness CEO, Sophie Lawler.

‘We listened to thousands of women through our research and have applied what we learned in a very thoughtful way to create a gym that’s designed to help them feel at ease while working out.’

Staff at the Manchester branch of Total Fitness are also being trained on how to support women through various life stages including pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause and menstruation.

Sophie continued: ‘It’s a space where women can achieve progression and enjoy a full, uninterrupted workout, no matter the occasion, their frame of mind or life stage.’

The UK’s trade body for the physical activity sector ukactive said in a statement to MailOnline: ‘We want all women to feel safe, welcome, and comfortable when working out, so they can enjoy all the benefits of physical activity.

‘The latest figures show our nation’s gyms, pools and leisure centres supported more than 9.5 million women to be active last year, so our sector recognises its duty of care to women.

‘Sexual harassment remains a societal issue which affects many parts of public life and gym and leisure facilities will not be immune from this. Any form of harassment in facilities is totally unacceptable and we expect operators to take a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and intimidation.

‘We are working proactively with women’s safety groups, government agencies, and our members as part of the Safer Spaces to Move project, providing gyms and leisure facilities with the evidence and guidance to ensure women feel safe using them.

‘If anyone ever feels uncomfortable using a gym or leisure facility or notices another member of the public being harassed, we encourage them to report it directly to a member of staff immediately.’

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