Mansplaining & victim blaming after lunch
Location: 26th & Pennsylvania NW
Time: Daytime (9:30am-3:30pm)
Two female colleagues and I went for a lunchtime run today. It was a chilly, but beautiful day. On our return to the office, while we were waiting for a light at the crosswalk, a guy walked by and in a nice tone starts commenting “it’s great to see women running in packs. Y’all gotta stick together…can’t be running alone or else bad stuff happens….” I quickly quipped back that “it’s not our fault that things happen to us and we have every right to run alone.”
My colleagues were a little shocked and surprised that I responded that way, I don’t think they even realized what he was saying, but it immediately struck a nerve with me. Even though the comment wasn’t directly harassing us, I think it is very telling how this man’s mind works. It’s the woman’s fault if she runs alone and something happens to her. Absolutely FALSE.
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/