Ex-footballer helps create VR app to tackle abuse

A former women's footballer has teamed up with a university to create a virtual reality (VR) app, aimed at tackling harassment against women and girls.

Meg Bowyer, who captained Stoke City FC's women's team for more than 10 years, said she had been the victim of inappropriate comments made by men since her retirement in 2023.

They included three cases in one week with one being when a man shouted inappropriate comments at her while she was out running.

In a bid to tackle the issue, the ex-defender worked with the University of Staffordshire to develop the educational app, which aims to put men in scenarios often faced by women.

Bowyer told BBC Radio Stoke she had become a "bit of a gym girl" since her retirement and exercised regularly.

On one occasion, she was running with a friend when a man driving a white van went past them and shouted: "I'll give you a good workout."

"Why would you say that? I'm literally just out for a run," she said.

"It made me think - you've got women out there who aren't confident enough to go out and do exercise yet.

"What if they get themselves to the point of going for their first run outside and someone shouts something like that at them? It's going to set them back."

Bowyer said the incident made her angry and it was followed by two similar occurrences in the same week, including a man who tried to offer her a lift.

"If that was your mum, sister, wife, daughter or friend, you wouldn't like them having that shouted at them," she added.

The aim of the VR app is to place men in similar situations to get them to understand what women experience, those behind it say.

One such scenario involves a teacher being followed by a man who says an inappropriate comment just before she arrives home.

Bowyer said: "It's very easy to explain to a guy how he's made me feel doing something but how do I get him to understand?

"I thought 'if they can put on a VR headset and see through the eyes of a woman, that might make them understand how we feel'."

Simran Cheema, a digital education officer with the university, helped to design the app and said she had had similar experiences to Bowyer.

"Even walking to work every day, I'm hyper aware of my surroundings, looking at who's around," she added.

"You do think about these things and they might be harmless."

Lecturer David Webb, a former police officer, said the aim of the app was not to demonise all men but to get them to question their behaviour.

"These are things women have to deal with daily. They're far more common than the statistics will show," he added.

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