Photo by Steve Goldenberg

Liz Gorman’s compelling essay on sexual assault and her own personal experience that recently happened during the day in Dupont Circle has spread throughout the blogosphere.

Originally posted the day after the incident on Collective Action for Safe Spaces, an organization that speaks against gender-based public sexual harassment and assault, Gorman’s piece was then picked by other media outlets such as Jezebel and The Post’s Crime Scene.

The piece first describes the anxiety many women often feel while doing a simple activity such as walking down the street:

No matter the time of day or what you’re wearing. It goes like this: I am walking alone and see a man walking towards me at 10 feet. Maybe instead of looking straight ahead into the distance, I move my eyes to the ground. I slump my shoulders slightly, so maybe my breasts aren’t as prominent. I begin to analyze the width of the sidewalk; am I too close to him? I can’t move too far away, as I might risk offending him. And if I’m too close, well, that may very well be an invitation for something

…

And most of us have to deal with this on a daily basis. We change our routes. Maybe I’ll take a left down this street so I don’t have to walk past That Store or That Bus Stop or That House. Maybe I’ll just take a cab when walking wouldn’t take much longer. Maybe I should have worn something else. Maybe I’ll just stay in tonight. There are a lot of “maybes”.

And then Gorman goes on to describe what happened to her last Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

As Post columnist Petula Dvorak points out, visitors to the Collective Action for Safe Spaces site can also read other similar experiences riding on the Metro or running outside. Sexual harrassment and assault can happen to anyone and anywhere, including areas widely considered “safe.” If you haven’t checked out Gorman’s piece yet and/or other women’s experiences, click here to read the rest of the piece.