Taking a stand for safety and freedom
Women’s Freedom Ride accompanied by petition demanding safer cycling for women
London’s women cyclists took a stance on safer roads for female riders at the weekend, presenting a petition to the city’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman before embarking on the second annual Women’s Freedom Ride.
More than 1,000 women took part in the ride, which took in landmarks including Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and The Mall.
The petition, signed by more than 5,000 people, sets out demands for greater physical and social safety, plus improved local routes for women riders.
Abuse from motorists, often gendered, is something that female riders have come to see as par for the course, says London Dynamo women’s captain Ellie Cousins.
“Sadly, probably most of the women in the club have been subjected to it in different ways,” said Cousins, going on to explain that it usually happens when women ride alone or perhaps during a women-only ride, and in clubs generally it may be something that the male fraternity have little awareness of.
“I’ve noticed that whenever it’s a group of all women, the language used is quite different,” Cousins said. “We’ve been called bitches before and also had more sexual comments.”
Cycling Weekly also heard from a female London rider who had been groped by a moped rider on her commute.
Unfortunately, the misogyny is not confined to motorists; Cousins has also been subjected to unwelcome comments from other male bike riders.
“It was a man making a comment about wanting to ride behind me, so he’s got a nice view. I almost wonder if they realise what an impact that has,” she said, adding that other male riders could help in those situations by pointing out how inappropriate it is.
Many women shy away from riding into the lanes alone, says Cousins, while others carry personal alarms.
LCC commissioned a study last year into women’s experiences of riding in the city. Izzy Romilly, coorganiser of LCC’S women’s network, said the results were shocking.
“We were expecting to read some shocking stories, but I think the scale of it and reading nearly 1,000 stories, one after the other, of people who’ve had these experiences, it really shocked us,” she said.
“You wouldn’t tolerate that kind of misogyny in the workplace or in other places, but it seems that somehow on the roads, that kind of abuse is quite common and quite public.”
Will Norman said: “It was a privilege to join hundreds of women from across London at the ride to receive their petition demanding action.
“I reaffirmed the Mayor of London’s and my commitment to work with boroughs and the Metropolitan Police to do more to make our streets safer for women and girls.”
“We’ve been called bitches and also had more sexual comments”