Experiencing Public Sexual Harassment is Exhausting
I get sexually harassed on a daily basis in DC, so for me to post here regularly would get laborious. But I recently had one of the worst episodes so far, and I thought it was worth sharing:
It was about 10am in the morning, and I went to my porch to wait for the plumber that was a block away. I was standing in my doorway in casual board shorts and a generic tank top, hair back. Basically my grubby pajamas.
There was a lot of traffic on my street (P & 10th NW), so cars were halted. I noticed a man in a van was trying to get my attention by motioning with his hand that I should come toward him. With the other hand, however, he was making a “V” with his fingers, and very specifically using his tongue to graphically imitate vaginal oral sex. I was in such shock and so horrified that all I could do was stare in disgust rather than simply walking away like I usually do. Moments later, he changed the “V” hand to a fist, and started bobbing his head up and down over it, imitating a blow job, all the while using the other hand to motion me over toward him.
Because I had just filed a police report the night before about someone that sent me a text message of their erection, I was feeling particularly vulnerable and intolerant, so I screamed “Do you want me to call the cops, @sshole?”
To which he laughed and screamed back, “No, I want your p*ssy!” before driving off.
I know people say we should just let these experienced roll off our backs, but when they happen day in and day out, and you are a female alone in the city when they happen, it really wears on you. I was so disgusted, and felt so violated that I simply broke down crying in frustration.
It is truly exhausting how often I experience this type of thing.
Location: P & 10th NW
Submitted by Miss B
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