Last Saturday morning I was walking home from the Farmers Market at 14th and U. Right outside the the McDonald’s on 14th and U a man says, “hey there, you are beautiful.” I’m not in the mood to deal with it so I decide to ignore him and keep walking. He continues to yell after me, “Hey, beautiful. I just want to tell you you’re beautiful.”
Submitted by anonymous on 9/30/2009
Location: 14th and U NW
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
I was walking to my bus stop after attending the HollaBack DC picnic. There is a group of men that always congregate at the north end of the park, right by the intersection of 16th & Euclid. I often avoid that spot, but had no choice but to walk by it that day. I walked by, and one of them yelled, “hey sexy!” Another one said something that ended in “baby.” I continued on to my bus stop and didn’t approach them – but I thought it was so interesting that I had just attended a picnic to support the founders of HollaBack DC, that works to end street harassment…..and I was harassed on my way home. Wow.
Submitted by anonymous on 9/28/2009
Location: Malcolm X Park – North end
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
I was walking down P street from Dupont heading to the grocery store. I saw the man sitting on the stairs of a house near the bus stop, and I just got that feeling – he’s gonna say something. Sure enough, he wolf-whistled and said, “Hey Sexy.” Without stopping, I said, loudly and harshly, “That’s really rude and you shouldn’t do it.”
He responded, “Oh, you don’t like that?”
“No. Nobody does.” I’m continuing to walk away, because it’s not my job to teach people manners when they don’t have them.
“Oh. I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me. Come back and talk to me. Hey!” He continued to yell down the street at me as I walked.
Submitted by Anonymous on 9/27/2009
Location: P and 18th NW
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
On Sunday afternoon I was coming out of the Farragut West metro, and a young man approached me saying he was trying to fund raise for The Boys and Girls Club. I didn’t believe that he was really doing that, and I told him I didn’t have any money with me, sorry.
At that point he said “That’s okay, can I walk witchu though?” I said “Sorry, I’m busy” and tried to speed off, but my harasser paced with me. “Damn honey, you so beautiful. You ridiculous.” I ignore. “You gotta boyfriend sexy?” I respond “Yes, I do.” He told me that was no big deal for him, we could “Do it quick and hard, how [I] like it, all gangsta style and shit.”
I almost started laughing, but then the guy jumped in front of me, grabbed a chunk of my hair and sniffed it.
I had submitted a post last week entitled “Charming and Handsome Attacker“, and I’m so happy to tell you all that he has been CAUGHT! It’s funny, the thing I felt so stupid about (giving him my phone number) is the very thing that led to his arrest. I had filled out my police report last Thursday (the incident occurred last Wednesday night). The officer had coded it as a simple assault (it was later re-coded by the detectives as a sexual battery).
On Friday morning, I received two silent phone calls from an unlisted landline in VA. I called metro detectives to inform them of this, as I was 99%certain the calls were from him. They said that if he called me again, I should try to set up a meeting with him, and at that meeting the police would arrest him. Sure enough, on Saturday night I get a call from that same number, and it’s him. We arrange to meet on Sunday at 4pm at the West Falls Church metro station. I arrive at 3pm on Sunday and meet the detectives, who are in plain clothes, along with two officers in uniform. I get a phone call at 4:10 from him saying he is running late.
I am standing outside of the turnstiles with a female undercover detective. Another undercover detective is on the other side of the turnstiles, and the two officers in uniform are hidden near me. At 5pm, I see him come off of the escalator and tell the detective beside me. She motions to the other officers. He comes through the turnstiles and slows down, seeming to notice that something is going on. He gets out his smart trip card to turn around and go back to the trains, but then he sees the undercover detective coming towards him and books it for the exit. After a brief struggle, the officers arrest him. He has been charged with misdemeanor sexual battery. A court date is set for October 29th. I also also petitioned for a protective order. The hearing for that is set for October 9th.
I would like to thank Shannon an d Chai for posting my story, and thank the folks who left me such kind, encouraging comments. I would also like to thank the Metro police, Detective Jim Duncan, and especially Detective Kate Loran, who made me feel at ease during a scary process, and was incredibly helpful and kind in helping me petition for my protective order.
Submitted by Emily on 9/24/2009
Location: West Falls Church Metro Station
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
During the week I walk home from Petworth Metro and men holler: can I walk witchu or make other comments they perceive as compliments. On the weekends when I bike up Georgia and pass Petworth station there are always men who yell: can I ride witchu? Around Petworth and Columbia heights there are always lots of honking when I’m on my bike, or men telling me that I dropped something. This is minimized when I wear a helmet. I also had one man stop and get out of his car on Georgia and Randolph and try to talk to me.
Submitted by MR on 9/24/2008
Location: Petworth
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
Adams Morgan in Washington, DC is a nightmare on weekends so I try to avoid it like the plague. I live in the area so sometime I can’t help but walk past or up or down 18th street when it’s really busy. Every time I do I not only have to deal with comments, but with men who touch me. They’ll touch me in passing, my arm or my waist and it INFURIATES me. I ignore the comments, they don’t bother me as much as the the physical contact.
Submitted by anonymous on 9/18/2009
Location: 18th Street Adams Morgan
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
Dr. Kimberly Fairchild is one of the few academics studying street harassment. Check out her article from 2008, written with Laurie A. Rudman: “Everyday stranger harassment and women’s self-objectification” in Social Justice Research, 21(3), 338-357. Her article is based on research she conducted at Rutgers University about street harassment and its relationship to women’s self-objectification. In a one-sentence summary, she examined the question: if men objectify women in public, are the women likely to internalize that view of themselves and objectify themselves?
Currently, she’s examining whether or not changes in context alter women’s responses to street harassment and she’s also studying women’s emotional responses. She’s conducting an online survey as part of her research and is working to gather more responses, especially from men (for contrast). Please take it and share the link. Thanks!
Date: Sunday, September 27, 2009
Time: 4:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: Malcolm X Park
Street: 16th St NW & Euclid St NW
Join us for a community picnic as we celebrate 6 months of working to make DC Metro harassment free and raising awareness about gender-based public sexual harassment.
In the last 6 months, HBDC! has received over 70,000 blog hits, collected over 100 experiences from individuals in the DC Metro area, and been showcased on Mother Jones & Huffington Post. Holla Back DC! is a community effort and this success would not be possible without individual support and community love. Let’s celebrate our victories.
Please bring a vegan dish to share.
Look for balloons and HBDC! signs to direct you to our table.
After chatting with UnsuckDCMetro, we realized that there is one area we haven’t received people’s experiences on, yet we know it happens: upskirting on stairs. We know of a few stairs in the Metro where this happens quite often.
But, enough about us, what do you think? Is upskirting an issue in the metro?
If it is happening, which stations are the biggest culprits?
