West Mercia Police said nearly two-thirds of comments on a Jog On post were dismissive, derogatory or offensive after it shared a Wednesday video about harassment of women runners. The force said the response came after officers highlighted misogynistic behaviour linked to the scheme.
On Thursday, John Campion said the women in the original video had read the comments left by members of the public. He said, “This is exactly why initiatives like Jog On matter,” and added the comments made him want to hold his head in his hands.
Lillian Istance on West Mercia
Lillian Istance, an ambassador for women runners and founder of Girlies that Run, said the comments were “really disappointing” and “highlight the culture that we're in at the moment”. She told Hereford & Worcester, “We do have rights as women but culturally we're still disrespected when we're trying to go about our everyday life,” and, “It's been normalised and when we try to speak up we're penalised for that.”
Her response gives the clearest read on the online reaction: the concern was not only the comments themselves, but how quickly some people tried to dismiss them. Istance said, “Some people are trying to argue it's just a beep and what harm is it anyway,” before adding, “It is really disrespectful to women to communicate to them in that way.”
Jog On initiative
West Mercia Police said the Jog On initiative uses plain-clothed officers posing as joggers to reveal street-based harassment. The force said misogynistic remarks and predatory behaviours were not acceptable. It also cited a Runner's World magazine survey showing 60% of female runners nationally experienced some form of harassment, particularly from men in cars, and said such incidents were significantly under reported.
The comments under the Wednesday post exposed the same contradiction the force was trying to challenge on the street: behaviour that women described as harassment was treated by some users as harmless. Campion said attitudes like that contribute to a culture where harassment is normalised and women's experiences are minimised, while women and girls can feel intimidated, unsafe and unable to enjoy public spaces without fear.
For readers watching how the issue plays out, the immediate point is the scale of the response under the post itself. West Mercia Police has already shown the scheme in public, and Thursday's reaction showed that the argument over what counts as acceptable treatment of women runners is still being fought in full view.
