By Hannah Krieg, UW News Lab/Special to CHS

In the early hours of a morning in October, Abi heard a familiar voice outside her window.

“He left me with a bodily response,” she said. “If I see him in public or I hear his voice, I’ll go into full panic mode and think I’m dying.”

The voice belonged to an old flame, a skater who frequents Cal Anderson Park who Abi, in her early 20s, claims emotionally abused her during their relationship. When she looked out the window, she saw his graffiti tag sprayed across the wall opposite her.

“I felt like that was a tactic to gain more control over me,” she said. “It had gotten to a point where I couldn’t accept that anymore.”

It was then that Abi decided to share her story online.

The #​MeToo movement​ can also exist at a small scale, in a neighborhood, or in a community like the skaters who meet in Cal Anderson. There, an online document detailing one woman’s experience began collecting stories of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse within the Seattle skate scene. It grew with people adding their own accounts of abuse. Abi transitioned her Instagram feed to post these experiences, out abusers, and ultimately create an avenue for survivors to seek justice. Continue reading →