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Reston Woman's Goal: Stopping Harassment
Reston's Holly Kearl is fighting to stop catcalls and other street harassment of women.
When Reston resident Holly Kearl spoke to South Lakes High School students last week about the catcalls, leering and gestures women may face when walking in public, she heard one word over and over again in response. “Creepy,” said Kearl, 29. “They all called it creepy.” But this perception is actually what Kearl has devoted her professional life to changing. “It’s not just creepy,” Kearl said. “It’s really harassment.” Since writing her master’s thesis on the topic five years ago, Kearl has seen ballooning interest in her cause, to end what she formally calls street harassment. “I saw there was this great need for information,” about the topic, Kearl said. So she decided to continue to oblige. In the next few years, she published a web …
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Elizabeth Vandenburg
11:21 am on Thursday, March 22, 2012
Many thanks to Reston Patch for covering Holly Kearl's presentation about Stopping Street Harassment at South Lakes High School. I attended the talk and the girls' stories were heartbreaking. While it's hardly a scientific study, approximately 5 of the 8 young women told their own story of being street harassed. One young man in the room described hearing the girls' stories as "eye opening." … more ›