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2 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau

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6 A BILL
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10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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15 To establish an advisory committee for the prevention of street harassment, to create policies and
16 guidelines to identify and educate District employees about street harassment, to fund
17 programs to support the prevention of street harassment and collect data and survey the
18 pervasiveness of street harassment in the District.
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20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

21 act may be cited as the Street Harassment Prevention Act of 2017.

22 Sec. 2. Definitions.
23 (a) Street harassment means unwanted, disrespectful, or threatening comments,
24 gestures, or other actions forced on a stranger in a public place without their consent and
25 directed at someone because of actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender
26 identity or expression, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic
27 identified in the Human Rights Act of 1977, effective December 13, 1977 (D.C. Law 2-38; D.C.
28 Official Code 2-1401.01 et seq.).
29 (b) OHR in this act is Office of Human Rights.
30 (c) High risk area means:
31 (1) Public transportation settings;
32 (2) Cabs and ride-sharing services;
33 (3) Bars, restaurants, night clubs, and other establishments that serve alcohol;
34 (4) Schools, colleges, and other educational settings; and
35 (5) Sidewalks, parks, public rights of way and other public spaces.
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37 Sec 3. Advisory Committee on Street Harassment.
38 (a) There is established an Advisory Committee on Street Harassment (ACSH),
39 which shall be composed of 15 members as follows:
40 (1) The Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia, or the Chairs
41 designee Member of Council;
42 (2) The Director of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,
43 or the Directors designee;
44 (3) The Metropolitan Police Department Chief, or the Chiefs designee;
45 (4) The Director from the Mayors Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
46 Transgender and Questioning Affairs, or the Directors designee;
47 (5) The Director from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulations
48 Administration, or the Directors designee;
49 (6) The Director from the District Department of Transportation, or the
50 Directors designee;
51 (7) The Director of the Office of Human Rights, or the Directors
52 designee.
53 (8)(A) Seven community representatives, appointed by the Mayor, who are
54 District residents or are from organizations that engage in policy, advocacy, or direct service
55 within the District related to:
56 (i) Street harassment;
57 (ii) Gender-based violence, including domestic violence and
58 sexual assault;
59 (iii) Gender-equity;
60 (iv) LGBT rights issues;
61 (v) Racial discrimination and racial justice;
62 (vi) Religious discrimination;
63 (vii) Homelessness; or
64 (viii) Immigrant rights.
65 (B) The community representatives shall be appointed for a term of
66 3 years, with initial staggered appointments of 3 community representatives appointed for 3
67 years, 3 community representatives appointed for 2 years and 1 community representatives

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68 appointed for 1 year. The community representatives to serve the 1-year term, the
69 community representatives to serve the 2-year term, and the community representatives to
70 serve the 3-year term shall be determined by lot at the first ACSH meeting.
71 (b) Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment to
72 the position that became vacant. Community representatives who are appointed to fill
73 vacancies that occur before the expiration of a community representatives full term shall
74 serve only the unexpired portion of the community representatives term.
75 (c)(1) The Director from the Office on Human Rights, or the Directors designee
76 shall serve as chairperson of ACSH.
77 (2) One community representative shall serve as vice-chairperson and be
78 selected by a majority vote of the community members of ACSH. The vice chair will assist
79 the chairperson of ACSH in the performance of the duties of the chairperson.
80 (d) ACSH shall meet on a quarterly basis, and more often as needed, at times to
81 be determined by the chairperson of the committee at the first meeting of the committee.
82 (e)(1) The purpose of ACSH is to provide guidance regarding the implementation of
83 sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 this act;
84 (2) The ACSH shall provide mechanisms for accepting public comments and
85 testimony that is accessible to residents and shall report its findings and recommendations to
86 the Mayor and the Council semi-annually. Such reports shall be made available to the public
87 (f) ACSH meetings shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act, effective March 31,
88 2011 (D.C. Law 18-350; D.C. Official Code 2-571 et seq.), except in instances where
89 confidential information or material that is otherwise personal in nature and would be
90 detrimental to disclose publicly, in which case the ACSH may enter into a closed session. A
91 supermajority of the ACSH is required to invoke a closed session.
92 Sec. 4. Street harassment prevention policy.
93 Within 6 months of the effective date of this act, OHR, with the advice of ACSH, shall
94 develop and publish online written guidelines and procedures to educate District employees
95 on street harassment. The written guidelines shall include model policies for identifying and
96 appropriately addressing street harassment to be adopted by District agencies.

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 97 (1) Within 12 months of establishing the model policies, guidelines and
98 procedures, District agencies shall ensure that all employees who interface with the public
99 shall be trained on identifying and addressing street harassment.
100 (2) Agencies should use the guidelines and procedures developed by ACSH to evaluate
101 and enhance the safety of employees in situations that are at high risk for street harassment.
102 Sec. 5. Funding for grants to prevent street harassment.
103 (a) ASCH shall have grant-making authority for the purpose of providing competitive
104 grants to provide funding for programs to address street harassment in the District. All
105 grants issued pursuant to this section shall be administered pursuant to the requirements set forth
106 in the Grant Administration Act of 2013, effective December 24, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-61; D.C.
107 Official Code 1-328.11 et seq.).

108 (b) Funding for programs to support street harassment prevention shall be subject to
109 the Grant Administration Amendment Act effective May 12, 2016 (D.C. Law 21-110; D.C.
110 Official Code 1-328 et seq.).
111 (1) The purpose of the grants shall be to support programs that use
112 nationally-recognized best practices to address street harassment in public places that are
113 high-risk areas, including but not limited to:
114 (A) Public transportation settings;
115 (B) Private vehicles-for hire;
116 (C) Bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments that
117 serve alcohol;
118 (D) Schools, colleges, and other educational settings; and
119 (E) Sidewalks, parks, public rights of way, and other public spaces.
120 (c) Persons or organizations applying should have relevant expertise in
121 addressing street harassment, and may include:
122 (1) Community-based organizations;
123 (2) Educational institutions;
124 (3) Religious institutions;
125 (4) Artists and creative performers; and
126 (5) Business Improvement Districts.
127 (d) Grants shall be reviewed, evaluated, and awarded by ACSH.

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128 Sec. 6. Street harassment prevention awareness campaign.
129 Within one year of the effective date of this act, the Mayor shall launch a public
130 awareness campaign to raise awareness and educate the public about what constitutes
131 street harassment and resources available in the community for victims. The campaign
132 shall place a particular emphasis on communities that are most at risk for harassment as
133 identified by ACSH.
134 Sec. 7. Recommendations for reporting street harassment.
135 Within 6 months of the effective date of this act, ACSH shall evaluate options and make
136 recommendations whether to establish a process for victims or witnesses of street harassment to
137 report incidents of street harassment.
138 Sec. 8. Data collection.
139 (a) ACSH shall authorize a survey within 3 months of the launch of the public
140 awareness campaign and annually thereafter regarding incidence of street harassment within the
141 District. The specific data elements to be collected shall be established by the ACSH and shall
142 include, at a minimum, incidence of street harassment by demographic of victim.
143 (b) A report shall be made available to the Council and the public within 60 days
144 after the completion of the survey
145 Sec. 9. Reports to the Council.
146 Twelve months following the launch of the public awareness campaign required by
147 section 6, ACSH shall report to Council an evaluation of its findings containing the following
148 information:
149 (1) The number of District employees trained on street harassment per
150 agency;
151 (2) Any protocols for reporting street harassment;
152 (3) Data on any reports of street harassment; and
153 (4) An update of the street harassment prevention campaign to date.
154 Sec. 10. No Private Right of Action.

155 Nothing in this act is intended to, or does, create a private right of action against the
156 government of the District of Columbia and its officers, employees, agents, representatives,
157 contractors, successors, and assigns based upon compliance or noncompliance with its

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158 provisions. No person or entity may assert any claim or right as a beneficiary or protected class
159 under this act in any civil, criminal, or administrative action against the District of Columbia.

160 Sec. 11. Fiscal impact statement.

161 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
162 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
163 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code 1-301.47a).
164 Sec. 12. Effective date.
165 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
166 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as
167 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
168 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
169 Columbia Register.