When out jogging, leering and lewd comments from men you’ve never met, as they whizz by in their cars, is exactly the kind of “encouragement” that women dread. Yet, despite the fairly obvious fact that none of us appreciates harassment at the best of times, let alone when we’re gasping up a steep incline or making our way around a deserted park, it is at precisely these moments that many women find themselves the target of of it.

One such experience was shared with Everyday Sexism on Twitter this week, echoing thousands of similar stories from others, angry and frustrated at the impact that harassment has on their efforts to exercise out of doors.

It’s worth pointing out: she faces comments on every single run, escalating into someone physically blocking her way, and then verbally abusing her when she asked to be left alone. For those who haven’t experienced sexual harassment this might sound shocking, but to many women it is simply the price they pay for simply choosing to jog, cycle, or exercise outside. Plenty of women have posted on Everyday Sexism with similar experiences:

As I was running to my local swimming pool, a car slowed down beside me and a guy shouted ‘whore’ at me.”

Was outside trying to enjoy a run, and in the hour I spent in public, got honked and/or shouted at no less than three times.”

I do exercise classes outside in a public park. Teenagers on bicycles yelling obscenities. Middle aged men leering openly as I stretch. Men old enough to be my father saying things that make it clear that I’m obviously only there for them to look at.”

Cycling up Stamford hill last Friday, a man grins at me saying ‘lucky saddle’. I’m 41, and heard exactly the same phrase when I was cycling to school at 16.”

From comments about weight loss and women’s figures, to sexually explicit invitations and aggressive verbal abuse, women find themselves facing a veritable gauntlet of unwanted attention. And the problem doesn’t stop there; in many instances it escalates further:

Just had my crotch grabbed at by man on bike whilst I was jogging in north London.”

I was cycling alone on a secluded road near my house a few years ago, I was about 14. A car drove up beside me, at speed and less than a foot away and a man reached out and grabbed my bum, nearly pushing me off the bike.”

I was out running by a canal recently. I ran past a man walking in the other direction who used the narrow path to his advantage and managed to grab a feel of my bum as I ran past.”

The problem is so bad that many women describe the coping mechanisms they adopt, from avoiding certain routes, to playing loud music through headphones to avoid hearing harassment. Many even said they had given up on exercise altogether in order to avoid it.

I live in north London. I used to run on a regular basis but no longer enjoy going because of the number of comments I receive.”

I want to take up jogging but without a buddy too intimidated due to previous experience of heckling.”

Just had to cut my run short & go home as felt very unsafe due to men driving past and slowing down, beeping and shouting obscenities at me out the window. I was out for five minutes. How is this fair?”

According to Sport England, 2 million more men than women play regular sport. Meanwhile only 31% of 14-year-old girls do regular exercise, compared to 50% of boys the same age.

The good news is that a number of women have described positive experiences after choosing to report incidents. One runner, whose bottom was grabbed as she ran along the canal, wrote:

A few days later I called the police as I couldn’t get it out of my head that he had been there to prey on women, using the narrow path to his advantage. I thought the police would laugh at me for reporting something so minor, but they took it very seriously. They were even a bit cross I hadn’t called it in at the time. They came and took a full statement and will now have more officers out on the canal path to watch out for the joggers.”

Another said:

While out running on a reasonably busy street in broad daylight, I was stopped and asked for directions … I obliged and as I showed him on the map on my phone he looked down my top, made a sleazy remark then grabbed my breast … I calmly took his registration and went straight to the police. I was surprised by how seriously they took it. They thanked me for coming in! They agreed with me: this guy was out of order and his behaviour was not OK! He’s been charged.”

However, not everybody feels able to report incidents to the police, and it would be helpful to see more bystanders stepping in to challenge harassment, as they are often in a stronger position to do so than the victim. It is ludicrous, in 2015, that women are made to feel scared, hounded and unsafe exercising in public spaces. And for anyone who thinks that harassing a jogger is a great romantic approach, this runner has the perfect response: