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“Girls should not be made to feel uncomfortable when they’re just trying to get home.”

Home A Neighborhood Gallery Place/Chinatown “Girls should not be made to feel uncomfortable when they’re just trying to get home.”

“Girls should not be made to feel uncomfortable when they’re just trying to get home.”

Jul 31, 2013 | Posted by User Submission |

Location: Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro
Time: Night (7:30pm-12am)

Image via ConsentED.

Coming back from a concert, my boyfriend and I were waiting on the platform of the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop, waiting for the redline towards Glenmont. Because of single tracking, everyone waiting for the redline was on one platform. We were standing right at the corner, or intersection of the escalators (kind of hard to describe, but basically we were not very far down the platform). Two guys were standing on the upper level (the platform for people to get from one side of the track from the other) which I didn’t think much of, but thinking back now, there was no reason for them to be up there other than to watch over the crowd. One was older (40’s) with messy gray hair in a black tank top, the other slightly younger, maybe 20’s, in glasses and a nats jersey.

A couple minutes after noticing them, the older one walked over so that he was directly above us on the platform, and called down “hey!” When I looked up, he asked “where’d he get those shorts?” Referring to my boyfriend. My boyfriend answered him with a store and the guy said “thanks…I like them” then walked away. A little random, maybe he was drunk, but we just shrugged off.

For the next few minutes, I kept noticing out of the corner of my eye the two of them staring at us. The same guy came over and said “Hey love?” To which I stupidly looked up, and then asked me for the time. I shook my head no and he walked away. At this point I was uncomfortable and my bf was annoyed so we moved further down the platform. The train came and we didn’t see them again.

Yes this was technically a “harmless” incident. But my boyfriend and I were holding hands, laughing, and I did not appreciate some scraggly old guy calling me “love”. Girls should not be made to feel uncomfortable when they’re just trying to get home. I almost felt like he was harassing me BECAUSE I was with my boyfriend and he wanted to provoke him. Whatever. I hate creeps.

Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 7/21/13 by Anonymous.


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).

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