Public Harassment of Runners in the United States: Differences by Gender and Sexual Orientation

Abstract

We investigated runners’ experiences of public harassment and the association between gender and sexual orientation and harassment. We hypothesized that cisgender women and LGBQ+ individuals would report more harassment, fear of harassment, and behavioral changes than cisgender men and straight individuals. Adult United States runners ( N = 1,645, primarily cisgender women) completed an online survey assessing lifetime and past-year experiences of harassment, fear, behavioral changes, and harassment attributions. Most participants (84.2%) reported at least one form of harassment while running ( M = 3.55 types). Gender interacted with sexual orientation such that sexual minority cisgender women reported significantly more lifetime and past-year harassment than straight cisgender women ( gs = 0.44–0.45). For fear and behavioral changes, only gender was significant, with cisgender women reporting more fear and behavioral changes than cisgender men ( gs = 0.99–1.06). Cisgender women also were more likely than cisgender men to attribute the harassment to gender (ϕ = .70). LGBQ+ individuals reported significantly more attributions to sexual orientation (ϕ = .16) than straight individuals but not more fear or behavioral changes. This study, the largest investigation of harassment among runners, highlights the need for prevention campaigns to make public spaces safer for all runners.