We did it! Today, moved by your stories and your advocacy, the D.C. Council funded the Street Harassment Prevention Act!

Thank you for speaking out, for sharing your #MeToo stories, and for refusing to back down.

Together, we ensured that the first-ever legal definition of street harassment in the U.S. is broad and inclusive of the experiences of women, trans, and nonbinary people of color who experience sexual harassment on top of being misgendered, targeted with homophobic slurs, harassed based on their religious identities, and faced with everyday racism in DC’s public spaces.

According to a 2018 study by Stop Street Harassment, 81% of women and 43% of men have experienced some form of sexual harassment in public spaces. Studies have also shown that rates of harassment and assault are higher among women and LGBTQ people of color whose experiences with sexual harassment are compounded by experiences with harassment based on identities such as race, religion, and sexual orientation.

The bill provides a budget for a citywide study on street harassment in DC as well as a public awareness campaign that may replicate the anti-harassment campaign across DC’s public transit system. Most critically, the legislation creates an advisory council inclusive of majority community representatives that will prescribe training for public-facing government employees and further measures to eradicate street harassment in DC.

But this is just the beginning.

Incidents like last week’s assault of a Black woman by Metro Transit Police over fare evasion and the frequent police harassment of sex workers demonstrate that we still have work to do to build safety for everyone.