UK Campaign Launches in Australia to Overcome Negative Stereotypes of Women
25 July 2017 at 4:08 pm
An internationally successful campaign aimed at improving women’s health and tackling “outdated stereotypes” has launched in Australia.
Not-for-profit organisation, VicHealth’s This Girl Can campaign, launched on Tuesday, will showcase Victorian women “giving it a go” and getting active regardless of their fitness levels or ability.
VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter said the campaign aimed to help Victorian women overcome feelings of judgement when exercising.
“This Girl Can is a celebration of active women who are doing their thing no matter how they look, how well they do it, or how sweaty they get,” Rechter said.
According to research 60 per cent of Australian women are not sufficiently active – participating in less than 30 minutes of physical activity on four or more days a week.
Research conducted by VicHealth found more than 41 per cent of Victorian women surveyed said they felt “too embarrassed to exercise in public”.
Rechter said there were many obstacles women felt when they started a sport or exercise program.
“Concerns [such as] how they look when they exercise, that they aren’t skilled enough to exercise or that they should be prioritising their family or work over activities,” she said.
“In Australia and Victoria, women are less active than men throughout their life – this is particularly evident in women with children.
“We’re calling for Victorian women to share their story and be part of this groundbreaking campaign which is all about women inspiring other women to get active.”
The campaign builds on the success of a Sport England UK campaign which inspired 2.8 million British women to engage in physical activity through mass advertisements which told “unedited stories of women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and a range of diversities being active and playing sport”.
Sport England CEO Jennie Price, who also attended VicHealth’s This Girl Can launch, said she hoped the campaign would encourage Victorian women “to smash outdated stereotypes and take advantage of the increasing opportunities for women in sport and physical activity”.
“Over the last few years there has been a shift in momentum, with more and more opportunities opening up for women and girls to take part in sport and physical activity,” Price said.
“We want to see this campaign inspire women to smash old-fashioned stereotypes about what women can and can’t do in sport, in the gym and in their neighbourhoods.”
Victorian women can submit their stories at www.thisgirlcan.com.au or by visiting the mobile story pod which will be touring Victoria over the remainder of 2017.
