Success: I reported predators of an organization and they were forced to go through training to stop their behavior!

I went to an addiction support group where I unfortunately experienced some sexualization and racism by three men who leered at my body parts. When I first arrived, two of the men made passive racist comments about my race. One married man lustfully stared at me and got mad/sad when I set a boundary. One man got a boner in the middle of the meeting  (I could tell he was embarrassed about it) as I was passionately talking and later ran to the door with his hands shaking, held the door and stared at my butt (I could tell he was trying not to). One man with an anger and control problem was rude to me during the meeting.. when when we stood up to leave, he all of the sudden, leered at my legs and ran out the door. I decided to not go down the elevator with the men because I didn’t feel safe.. but he waited behind, watching me in the corner while I walked to the elevator and was alone. He then asked where I lived. This was in the evening, too! This was creepy and inappropriate especially at a support group when I had already shared vulnerable information such as my cPTSD diagnosis. I felt traumatized and triggered by the event. 

I stopped going to the organization but several months later, I decided to report the harassment to the organization. This is the first time I received such a positive and supportive response after reporting harassment and abuse! The female leaders of the organization apologized for my experienced, offered help and took my suggestion to have the male leaders to undergo training to correct their behavior! They had to go through implicit bias and trauma informed training so they correct their behavior. I don’t know if the men feel bad but they are going to have to change their behavior now if they want to keep their positions. 

I am proud of myself and feel like a badass feminist in the making! I love that I didn’t take their shit like I have in the past with other men! I have begun the journey of really standing up to sexism, holding these creeps accountable and not blaming myself so much that I don’t report.
These men were predatory leaders preying on women at an addiction recovery group.