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Help Bring RightRides to Washington DC!

October 23, 2009 By HKearl

How much would you love to see safe, free rides for women and LGBTQ individuals on weekends through a partnership with Holla Back DC! and Zipcar? Wouldn’t that be cool? Well, we want to bring a RightRides chapter to the DC metro area.

To make this a reality, Holla Back DC! is asking you to vote for this idea through Ideablob. If we win, half of that $10K would be used to bring RightRides to DC. But we need YOU to make it happen! We urge you to take one minute to register through Ideablob and vote for HBDC! A vote for us is a vote for a safer DC for all. And hey, good ideas spread, so get your friends and family in other places to vote to make our nation’s capital a safe place!

Read about our plans, register, vote, and spread the word.

As always, a heartfelt thank you for your votes and continued support. Holla Back DC! is a community initiative that would not be possible without the loving support from people like you and the DC metro community.

Alright, off our PBS soap box.

– Holla Back DC

"Damn, you're making me hot!"

September 8, 2009 By Contributor

A few days ago, a group of my female friends and I were sitting on a bench in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. It was about 8:30 p.m. and there were about 30 or so people sitting around the fountain just hanging out with friends and significant others. My three friends and I were just talking and laughing when a man came up to us and started talking.

Here’s the conversation:
Man: “You ladies are having too much fun. Are you two sisters?” (Asking me and my friend who had her hand on my shoulder)
Friend: (nervous laugh) “Ha, no. We’re just friends.”
Man: “Well you guys are sexy! Damn, you’re making me hot!” (Talking directly to me) “Mmm big girl, I’d fuck that pussy up! Damn! I have to leave, you are making me hot! Damn!”

As he walked away he kept turning to look back at us. We all sat there in disbelief. One of my friends, who has a blackbelt in Karate, looked like she was about to go beat him up. At the time, I was completely shocked and thrown off guard. In retrospect, I wish I had said something to him or told him to leave. My friends and I felt completely violated, dirty, and uncomfortable. I’ve been cat-called at before but this was definitely the most disgusting and explicit experience I’ve had.

– anonymous

Location: Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

“Damn, you’re making me hot!”

September 8, 2009 By Contributor

– anonymous

Location: Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

Sexist searching for a nutritious meal

August 13, 2009 By HKearl

I am 95 percent sure that a homeless man said either, “I need a wife to cook me a nutritious meal” or “Be my wife and cook me a nutritious meal” while looking right at me. I was walking from my office to the metro station in Washington, DC, this evening.

I noticed he said something to the man walking ahead of me too. I feel 100 percent certain that if he mentioned wanting a meal to him, he didn’t say anything that would suggest that because it was a man passing by, the man should cook him a meal the way he did with me, a woman.

Location: L Street NW and 16th Street NW, Washington, DC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

Weekly Round Up – July 26

July 26, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, contributors submitted stories about getting harassed at a swimming pool in Dubai, being harassed by a man in an SUV in Ohio, and weekly harassment experiences in Portland, OR.
Holla Back Toronto has a new story about a woman getting sexually assaulted on her walk from a bus stop and a contributor discusses getting harassed by male customers at her job.
On Holla Back NYC a woman tells about getting harassed by a several men in one day. Her post includes a photo of some of them.
On Holla Back DC! a woman was groped by a man passing by on his bike, another was harassed by a “serial harasser,” and a third witnessed a man masturbating at a DC metro station.

In the News:

There is a new, thriving women-run taxi business in Beirut, Lebanon, which helps women get around safely and free from male harassment.
A “wolf whistling” contest was held in Ireland this week to see which man can whistle at women the best…disgusting!
In Philadelphia, PA, a man threatened and groped a woman at knife point on the subway. She was holding her baby at the time.

Upcoming Events:

The Young Women’s Action Team is holding a free “Anti-Street Harassment Summer Camp” on August 1, in Chicago, IL. It looks like it will be a great event, so check it out if you’re in the Chicago area.

Announcements:

I’ve been offered a book contract for my proposed book on street harassment! Submit your stories for inclusion.
Enter a photography contest for photographers who capture or depict street harassment, particularly in the DC area. Selected winners will have the chance to show/sell their work at a reception the evening before the Holla Back DC: Make DC Harassment Free Summit.
RightRides in NYC recently has expanded their services of a free ride home from Saturday nights to include Friday nights too! They offer this service from 11:59 p.m. – 3 a.m. in 45 neighborhoods across four boroughs. To call for a ride, the dispatch number is (718) 964-7781 OR (888)215-SAFE (7233).

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

A video by a Penn State student showing the volume of harassment women experience on campus.

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