Q: How Much Street Harassment Can A Woman Face In Just One Block? A: A lot.
Location: 17th & K NW (Farragut North)
Time: Daytime (9:30am-3:30pm)
This is what happened when I walked 1 BLOCK to grab some lunch:
- Exit Pret a Manger: Dude looks at me and says, “hey beautiful.”
- I awkwardly downcast eyes and give a weird, toothless, grimace-smile (working on not reacting this way, but I feel conditioned to respond when someone speaks to me)
- Dude continues, “nice smile.” (It was actually NOT a nice smile, see above)
- I walk past dude with no reaction, he continues, “nice ass, too.”
- I stop, turn and deliberately lock eyes with him, and flick him off.
- -Turn corner-
- A second dude walking towards me gives me the up and down and wonders aloud, “where did you get a body like that?”
Shocked that I have been objectified and presumed as made for nothing more than for random dudes on the street to ingest as woman-meat twice in the space of 15 steps, all I can respond with is, “Dude, what? No.”
Emphases by CASS.
Submitted 8/23/13 by “Sandy.”
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).