Tag Archives: sexual assault

I was sexually assaulted at the Cleveland Park Metro: “We need to think of sexual assault as a CRIME.”

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Location: Inside the Cleveland Park metro station
Time: Evening Rush Hour (3:30pm-7:30pm)

Just as the train approached, a group of noisy 4-5 teenage boys ran behind me. I thought they were running to relocate to a different part of the train. I felt a hand quickly tap the underside of my left butt cheek and I heard someone “Whoot!” When I looked over at the boys, one of them turned back to look at me and laugh. I was already late to a friend’s birthday party so I just got on the train.

I called metro police later and they were very helpful and comprehensive when asking me the details. Unfortunately, it was already 4 hours after the incident and I had no clear descriptions of my assailant since it all happened so quickly. In hindsight, I wish I had not gotten onto the train, and I wish I had called the police immediately. I could have been able to identify the assailant with his fingerprints on my jeans. I could have located them inside the station or at least that train if they had gotten on.

We, as a society, are taught to respond in set ways to theft but we have no guidelines on how to react to sexual assault. If my purse were stolen, I would have reported it immediately. But when my body was touched, I had no idea I had rights. I had no idea what options I had.

To readers out there, I strongly urge you to first think of sexual assault as a CRIME. Stop what you are doing immediately. Life can wait. Call the police. Stay where you are and try to remember all details.

Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 5/11/13 by “A.S.”

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault?
Submit your story to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of street harassment. All submissions are posted anonymously unless otherwise specified.

If you experience or have experienced sexual harassment on the DC Metro system:
Whether the event is happening at the moment or occurred months ago, we strongly encourage you to report to Metro Transit Police (MTP): www.wmata.com/harassment or 202-962-2121. Reporting helps identify suspects as well as commons trends in harassment. Recommended tip: Program MTP’s number into your phone so you can easily reach them when needed.

If you need assistance in coping with public sexual harassment or assault, please contact the DC Rape Crisis Center (DCRCC) 24/7 crisis hotline at 202-333-RAPE (202-333-7279).

 

“I witnessed a man talk about taking advantage of an intoxicated woman on the Metro. What can we do to intervene?”

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Location: Blue Line, Pentagon Metro Station
Time: Night (7:30pm-12am)

This happened a year ago. My friend and I were riding home on Metro after class, around 10pm. Across the aisle from us (the seats that face each other) was a girl who had a little too much fun at happy hour. She was barely staying awake. As we were approaching Pentagon station, she got up to get out. As people were filing out, a middle-aged man who was sitting next to us got up, bent down and commented to me and my friend about “going home with her tonight,” and got off the train just as the doors were closing. As the train pulled away we could see him go up and talk to her.

We were stunned. I wanted to help but I did not know what to do. My stop was the next one but what would I have reported? Yes he was unbelievably inappropriate but I don’t feel like I saw enough. There interaction could have ended on the platform for all I know. Still bothers me when I think about it. Watched the news for days afterward seeing if anything did happen and was reported to police. Luckily I never heard of anything.

I would appreciate some guidance on what I could have done to help her in case I ever witness this in the future.

Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 5/6/13 by Anonymous

Sex without consent = sexual assault; Don’t Be That Guy Campaign

 

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault?
Submit your story to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of street harassment. All submissions are posted anonymously unless otherwise specified.

If you experience or have experienced sexual harassment on the DC Metro system:
Whether the event is happening at the moment or occurred months ago, we strongly encourage you to report to Metro Transit Police (MTP): www.wmata.com/harassment or 202-962-2121. Reporting helps identify suspects as well as commons trends in harassment. Recommended tip: Program MTP’s number into your phone so you can easily reach them when needed.

If you need assistance in coping with public sexual harassment or assault, please contact the DC Rape Crisis Center (DCRCC) 24/7 crisis hotline at 202-333-RAPE (202-333-7279).

 

Sexual Harassment & Assault at Home & Work: “I was attacked twice in three days.”

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Location: Petworth and Logan Circle; on the street and also at my place of work.
Time: Evening Rush Hour (3:30pm-7:30pm)

I was attacked twice within 3 days. On Sunday evening around 7:00 pm I was walking home from the bus stop in my neighborhood when a man started following me. He was yelling at me angrily, telling me that I better come back and that it might be worth my “money” if I did. He then he chased me to my apartment and came right up to my window, luckily I got inside. When I yelled out the window to tell him to leave me alone he got insanely angry and screamed, “Don’t you tell me what to do!” and punched my window, shattering all of the glass. This was in broad daylight in front of people sitting outside.

Then this past Tuesday, after taking Monday to recover from what had happened on Sunday, I was working at my job as a manager at a clothing store. While watching over the dressing room a man who I thought was just trying on jeans asked me to use the restroom. I noticed that he was standing in a strange way next to the dressing room curtain, and even though I told him I would show him where the bathroom was he just kept asking me more strange questions. At this point I started to become afraid. I asked him if the jeans had worked out and that’s when he turned toward me completely revealing his aroused genitals.

After my situation the previous Sunday I was beyond hysterical. Any sense of security that I had before has been completely ripped away from me and I am afraid to leave my apartment.

Obviously police reports were filed for both incidents, but that doesn’t make me feel safe to walk the streets day or night. Both incidents took place during daylight hours and in front of people. These men simply did not care. I am getting mace registered with the police department today and am thinking about leaving DC. Nobody deserves to live their life afraid.

Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 5/1/13 by “AP”

NOTE FROM CASS: If you need assistance in coping with public sexual harassment or assault, please contact the DC Rape Crisis Center (DCRCC) 24/7 crisis hotline at 202-333-RAPE (202-333-7279).

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault?
Submit your story to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of street harassment. All submissions are posted anonymously unless otherwise specified.

If you experience or have experienced sexual harassment on the DC Metro system:
Whether the event is happening at the moment or occurred months ago, we strongly encourage you to report to Metro Transit Police (MTP): www.wmata.com/harassment or 202-962-2121. Reporting helps identify suspects as well as commons trends in harassment. Recommended tip: Program MTP’s number into your phone so you can easily reach them when needed.

My body is NOT public property: “I was sexually assaulted while standing outside a bar in Admo.”

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Location:  Chief Ike’s; 1725 Columbia Road NW (Adams Morgan)
Time: Late Night (12am-5am)

I was standing outside with my friends outside of the bar and a man came back and smacked my butt. I was frazzled and wasn’t sure what to say but said something like “hey, you can’t touch my ass.” He kept walking and looked back smiling/laughing at me.

Groping is a crime. My body is NOT public property!

Groping is a crime. My body is NOT public property!

Submitted 4/29/13 by “SBS”

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault?
Submit your story to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of street harassment. All submissions are posted anonymously unless otherwise specified.

If you experience or have experienced sexual harassment on the DC Metro system:
Whether the event is happening at the moment or occurred months ago, we strongly encourage you to report to Metro Transit Police (MTP): www.wmata.com/harassment or 202-962-2121. Reporting helps identify suspects as well as commons trends in harassment. Recommended tip: Program MTP’s number into your phone so you can easily reach them when needed.

Yet Another Case of Targeted Public Exposure – Not once, But Twice

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Location:  New Hampshire Ave & Quincy NW and New Hampshire Ave & Taylor NW (Petworth)
Time: Morning Rush Hour (5am-9:30am)

This morning, I was walking to the Georgia Ave metro station around 6:30 am. I noticed a man pass me on a bike while I was walking south down New Hampshire Ave. When I got to New Hampshire and Taylor, he was standing on the sidewalk next to his bike, facing away from the street. As I approached, I noticed he had his penis exposed in his hand. I was shaken, but I walked by without reacting or making eye contact. I then saw him ride by me again on his bike and assumed it was over. But when I got closer to the metro, at New Hampshire and Quincy, there he was again, standing next to his bike, waiting for me, again with his penis out. This time I looked him in the eye and said, “Fuck you”…he didn’t say anything, but slightly smiled.

After I got on the train I kept thinking about how I’d reacted. I was afraid I’d given him the satisfaction he was looking for by making it clear he’d upset me. I thought about other things I could have said, more effective ways I could have shamed him for his behavior or reminded him of my humanity. I thought about who I could tell about this incident who would listen without implying that I was overreacting—after all, I never felt physically threatened— or implicitly suggesting that for some reason it was my fault. Even people who loved me—my parents, my boyfriend— I was afraid would just admonish me for walking alone at a time when the streets are relatively quiet. I thought about my clothes…I was headed to the gym and wearing shorts for the first time this year, embracing the recent heat wave. I wondered if it would have happened if my legs, my flesh, hadn’t been so visible. And the fact that I thought about all of these things made it clear to me that despite my self-proclaimed feminism and best intentions, I have internalized the victim-blaming narrative.

This is not the first time this has happened to me, and it won’t be the last. I hate that I’m resigned to that. But I feel lucky that I do have people in my life to whom I can turn. The one friend I’ve chosen to tell so far provided unconditional support, reminded me there’s no “wrong” way to react, and directed me to both this website and the WMATA Stop Harassment Campaign to report what happened.

Sharing my experience is important. This campaign is important. Thank you for creating this space.

Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 4/11/13 by “Aleta”

Street art put up by CASS in the Farragut area.

 

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault?
Submit your story to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of street harassment. All submissions are posted anonymously unless otherwise specified.

If you experience or have experienced sexual harassment on the DC Metro system:
Whether the event is happening at the moment or occurred months ago, we strongly encourage you to report to Metro Transit Police (MTP): www.wmata.com/harassment or 202-962-2121. Reporting helps identify suspects as well as commons trends in harassment. Recommended tip: Program MTP’s number into your phone so you can easily reach them when needed.