Over the weekend in the Washington, DC, area, two women survived attacks by male harassers/assailants in public places.

A man with a knife attacked a woman in Rock Creek Park. She was able to fight back and to use his knife against him to stab his hand. Police are looking for any tips about the assailant. Call the U.S. Park Police at (202) 610-8737.

A man with a gun shot a woman in the ankle after the woman refused to give him her phone number. She was on her way home from a party in southeast Washington, DC, walking with her cousin.

In my blog title, I note that I’m glad they didn’t die. I really am. Other women have not fared so well. For example, two of the three teenagers I blogged about in March who were killed by men in public were running in parks when men raped and murdered them. As another example, last fall, a teenager killed another teenager with a gun after the teen girl refused his advances. And here are some other stories about times when men in public have killed women, often after women refused their advances.

When will it end? When will women be safe in public?