Red Sky Foundation launches "Save My Life, Not My Modesty" campaign to close the gender gap in Heart Health and CPR Response
Red Sky Foundation has launched a powerful new awareness campaign, “Save My Life, Not My Modesty,” aimed at highlighting a critical yet often overlooked issue in emergency care: the gender gap in heart health outcomes and bystander response.
Heart disease remains the number one killer of women in the UK, claiming more than twice as many lives as breast cancer. Despite advances in treatment and lifesaving techniques, women experiencing cardiac emergencies are still less likely to receive immediate help from those around them.
Through its latest campaign, Red Sky Foundation is working to raise awareness, challenge misconceptions and encourage more people to act confidently in life-or-death situations.
At the heart of the campaign is a stark reality: women who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are less likely to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders than men. Research suggests this disparity is not due to differences in survival potential, but rather hesitation around performing CPR on female bodies.
A survey conducted by St John Ambulance found that nearly one third of men and 13% of women admitted they would feel reluctant to perform CPR on a woman, often due to fears of being accused of inappropriate touching. As a result, only around 68% of women are considered likely to receive bystander CPR, compared to 73% of men.
This hesitation has serious consequences. Previous research (2003-2013) suggests that more than 8,200 women in England and Wales might have survived heart attacks if they had received the same treatment as men.
International studies also show that women are consistently less likely to receive bystander CPR or defibrillation, leading to lower survival rates following cardiac arrest.
The campaign also highlights how training practices may unintentionally reinforce this bias. The vast majority of CPR training mannequins used in courses and public demonstrations are designed with flat, male-presenting torsos. While this may seem insignificant, research has shown that trainees who practise on mannequins featuring female anatomical characteristics, including breasts, report significantly higher confidence levels when performing CPR on women in real-life situations.
Red Sky Foundation encountered this issue first-hand when purchasing what was expected to be a female-form CPR mannequin for training and awareness sessions. Instead, the organisation received yet another flat-chested, male-style model, highlighting the lack of inclusive training equipment currently available.
Another barrier identified by the campaign relates to the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). For a defibrillator to work effectively, pads must be placed directly onto bare skin. Women’s clothing, particularly bras with underwire, can complicate this process.
In some cases, hesitation or uncertainty about removing clothing may delay treatment. Underwire can also interfere with pad placement or cause burns if left in place during a shock.
Studies suggest women are around 15% less likely to survive defibrillator use compared with men, partly due to these delays and uncertainties.
Red Sky Foundation says these findings point to a wider cultural issue: women are not dying because their hearts are fundamentally different, but because people hesitate to help.
Laura Kemp, Head of Operations at Red Sky Foundation, said: “I was shocked to learn that one in three men say they would rather stand and watch a woman die than step in to help, simply because they feel uncomfortable performing CPR. What was even more alarming was discovering that one in eight women also say they would feel uncomfortable performing CPR on another woman.
“We need to talk about this. People need to understand that in an emergency, a life is far more important than modesty. I would always choose to have my life saved rather than my modesty spared, and I have yet to meet a woman who feels any differently.”
Through the campaign, Red Sky Foundation is calling for wider public CPR and AED education that directly addresses gender bias and anatomical concerns. The charity is also advocating for greater inclusion of female-form training mannequins and clearer guidance on defibrillator pad placement and clothing removal during emergencies.
By opening up the conversation and improving training, the organisation hopes to remove the hesitation that could mean the difference between life and death.
Find out more about Red Sky Foundation at redskyfoundation.com/save-my-life-not-mymodesty