A NEW campaign in Gloucestershire has launched to encourage more women and girls to enjoy sport. 

This Girl Can With You campaign is helping sports clubs become more inclusive after finding out that 2.4 million more men than women strongly agreed that they enjoy sport and physical activity. 

Active Gloucestershire want to work with sports clubs and activity groups to shrink this enjoyment gap by helping them feel more social, suitable and safe.  

Creating spaces where women feel safe and free from harassment and intimidation is their top priority because it helps women feel less vulnerable during exercise. 

Providing a support network and a bigger community is also seen as integral to making activity enjoyable for women.

Active Gloucestershire want to ensure sport clubs caters to their communities' specific needs by considering cultural and practical needs.

A spokesperson for the campaign said: "Enjoyment doesn’t just mean making activity fun. 

"It means making it enjoyable in all its splendour – including the sweaty, breathless bits! It means not having to worry about intimidation.

"It means a chance to catch up with friends, with a work-out on the side. It means feeling accepted for who you are. It means no woman left behind."

Nicky Harverson, physical activity specialist at Active Gloucestershire, said: “There are so many reasons why women may not enjoy physical activity as much as men but we want to remove those barriers and support all women to be active.

"One key area we want to focus on as an Active Partnership is ensuring that women have a space in our communities to feel safe and accepted when being active. That we are welcomed and encouraged to do it our way.

"After all, physical activity is not just good for our physical health, it supports our mental health too.

"By supporting the This Girl Can With You campaign, we can help close the enjoyment gap!”

For more information on the campaign go to www.thisgirlcanwithyou.co.uk.

If you are an activity provider, sports club or activity group and would like some support to make your activity more inclusive email hello@wecanmove.net.