District Security Officer Prohibited Me from Breastfeeding at DMV, Accusing Me of Indecent Exposure

Anonymous
I am relaying the details of an incident that occurred last week at the DMV to make all of you lactating moms know what we are sometimes up against and publicize what rights we have. I was not aware of the DC law until I faced this situation:

On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, I was waiting with my 4 ½ moth old son in the corridor of the Henry J. Daly (Municipal) Building when a District of Columbia security guard forced me to stop nursing my infant son, accused me of “indecent exposure,” and threatened action against me.


I was sitting on the floor in the corridor of the Municipal Building at 301 C Street, N.W., awaiting a traffic adjudication hearing. Because I did not want to nurse my infant son in the busy waiting room at number 1157 (where the activity might distract him) I decided to nurse him in the much calmer corridor outside room 1143. There were no chairs in the corridor, so I sat on the floor next to my stroller and started nursing my son. There were no signs directing me to the building’s “Breastfeeding Room.”


At that moment, Special Officer xxxx xxxxxx, a security guard who was monitoring the metal detectors at the building’s entrance, yelled at me that I was not allowed to sit on the floor in the corridor and that I needed to get up. I responded, “Okay,” and continued to nurse my son from my position on the floor. Officer xxxx then again yelled that I needed to get up because I was not allowed to sit on the floor. I informed her that I was nursing my son, he was on my breast, and that I would comply with her demand as soon my son finished nursing. She responded that I needed to immediately take him off my breast and stand up because I was not allowed to sit on the floor. I promptly removed my son, buttoned up my shirt, and slowly stood up, still cradling my son in my arms.

At that point, I leaned against the wall and, bracing my right leg on the stroller for support, proceeded to unbutton my shirt and again nurse my son. I then saw Officer xxxxxx communicating with another security guard, whom I later learned was Special Officer xxxx xxxx. After Officer xxxxx conferred with Officer xxxx, Officer xxxx approached me and told me that I was not allowed to nurse my child in the corridor, which was “public,” and she began to extol a barrage of illogical, ill-informed and humiliating statements at me. I looked at her with my eyes big, incredulous, and repeated, “What? I can’t breastfeed my son because this is a public corridor? Are your serious?” She then said, “Well, this is a government building, and you can’t breastfeed in a public corridor of a government building!” I then said, “Wait, let me get this right. You are now saying that I cannot nurse my son because I am in a public corridor of a government building??!! I don’t think that’s right! I am not doing anything wrong!” She then said I was guilty of “indecent exposure,” to which I replied, “So it is indecent exposure for me to breastfeed my son?! This is unbelievable!” I then asked for Special Officer xxxxxxx name. She showed me her name tag and I wrote down her name. I then told her that I wanted her supervisor’s name.


Officer xxxxxxx responded that she was going to call her supervisor, to which I responded, “Good, because I want to talk to him, and I am going to make a phone call of my own—to my lawyer.” I then stood next to her as she supposedly spoke with her supervisor. As she explained the situation to the supervisor, I heard her say that I was exposing my breast. I replied, “I am not exposing my breast! My breast is in my son’s mouth, who is nursing!” Officer xxxxxx motioned for me to be quiet.


I then called my law firm to ask for pro bono assistance and an associate who could immediately research the law regarding breastfeeding in public. Shortly after that Officer xxxxx finished her phone conversation and started to walk away. I hung up my phone and went after her down the hall to where she was standing at the metal detector conferring with Officer xxxxx. I told Officer xxxxx that I wanted her supervisor’s name. She responded that she was “not going to go back and forth with [me] on this.” I told her that I was not going back and forth, but that I was merely asking for her supervisor’s name.


The hearing officer then called me into the hearing and so I turned around to walk back down the corridor to the hearing room. A male security officer, whose name I did not get, gave me a piece of paper with the supposed supervisor’s name on it. After I left the hearing, some fifteen minutes later, I immediately called the supervisor but no one answered the phone. Since this incident I have called the number given to me and no one has ever answered.


The District of Columbia security officers were completely incorrect in telling me that I could not breastfeed in a public corridor in a government building and had no right to stop me from nursing my infant son.

In 2007 Mayor Adrian Fenty signed into law the “Child’s Right to Nurse Human Rights Amendment Act of 2007” (Bill B17-0133) that unanimously passed in City Council. The law amended the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 and ensured a woman’s right to breastfeed in any location where she has the right to be with her child, public or private. Clearly, a public corridor in a government building fits within the statute’s language as a place a child has a right to be. The Federal government has enacted a similar law.

As a result of this incident, on December 2 I filed a complaint with the District’s Office of Human Rights. I hope this matter will be resolved in a manner that not only will right the wrong that was done to me personally, but will ultimately ensure that nursing mothers have the ability to exercise the basic fundamental and natural right to nurse their children whether they be in their home or in the public corridor of a government building.
Anonymous
THANK YOU, OP. You rock!
Anonymous
Your rights and those of your child do not supercede the rights of others. Wonen breastfeeding in public either need to cover up. you were exposing your breast, You may not agree but a lot of people find this just as disgusting as changing your kids dirty diaper in public. Why couldn't have pumped and given him a bottle?
Anonymous
It sounds like you got off on the wrong foot by sitting on the floor of a busy corridor and then being confrontational and defiant when asked to not sit on the floor. I imagine if someone had stepped on your foot or tripped and fallen on you - you'd have also speed dialed your lawyer to sue.

That building is hectic and full of people trying to get to different places so I agree that sitting on the floor in the middle of the busy hallway in order to exercise your rights was a poor choice. Do I think you should be able to breastfeed - absolutely. Does breastfeeding mean you don't have to obey rules or meet expectations - no. It sounds like the security officers and you jointly escalated the situation. It is likely that many women have breastfed in that building in an unassuming way without two female security going off on them.

Anonymous

Wow. You handled it in just the right way to provoke someone rather than educate them. Answering questions with questions? To security agents at the frickin DMV? And you thought this would be constructive?

The security officials had every right to get you to move. Sitting on the floor in the corridor in a government building hasn't made sense since way before 9/11. With all of the increased interest in security you should have known to find a place that where you would not be an obstacle to the flow of people coming into the building. But to basically ignore her when she told you to move. (Oh, I know you were going to move when you felt it was appropriate...but you just sat there after she ordered you to move which was foolish.)

Had you made smart choices in the beginning----both before and after being confronted---you would have had a very different experience.
Anonymous
OP, I would have more sympathy for you if you hadn't 1.) started out by breaking the law (or at least the rules) and refusing to get up off the floor when you were told to and 2.) been belligerant in this exchange. I do think that they were in the wrong to tell you not to breastfeed. You are legally correct on that point. But, they were in the right in telling you not to breatfeed on the floor in a busy corridor and not to breastfeed without covering up (if that is what you were doing. It sounds that way from your description.) I work in a field where there is a lot of interface with the public. I can tell you that when an exchange with a person starts off with them violating the rules ,and then that person refusing to stop violating the rules when asked, I am not really in the mood to listen to their problem and help them find a solution we can agree upon.

I think you should let this go since the facts in this case are not really in your favor. In the future, you might speak to the hearing officer, tell him that you have to breastfeed your son, and ask that if your number comes up while you have stepped away, could you please be bumped until you return in a few moments. Then, go find a quiet, out of the way place to breastfeed. OR, get a cover up and try to breastfeed in the noisy waiting room first and only escalate to leaving your place in line if there is a problem. You are an adult and, like all the other adults in that room who have committed minor traffic violations, you can engage in some basic problem-solving.
Anonymous


PP here.

BTW, I am a breastfeeding mom who has fed her babies on public buses, at museums, in federal and municipal office buildings, at restaurants, university sites, Starbucks, multiple libraries, and once at the post office. I've never once been called out for my actions in any of these settings.

My advice to those who want a similarly trouble-free experience is to: find a good spot and position, ALWAYS use a cover-up, be aware of your rights regarding breastfeeding, and know how to handle people in a way that diffuses potential confrontations.

Most people aren't even aware that I am feeding a baby; although that's probably because I'm typically on my iPhone or sitting with a girlfriend chatting while the baby is at the breast.

In a situation like yours, I very well may have asked the security people where a good spot might be if I couldn't locate one on my own. That way they would have been brought into the process productively.

You just handled it poorly, OP, at every turn. I hear that you're indignant, but I wish you'd separate out your right to feed your baby from the behavior you exhibited in that situation. As a PP mentioned, you helped to escalate the situation.
Anonymous
Agreed that it may not be appropriate to nurse everywhere for safety reasons, etc (i.e., a crowded hallway), but there's absolutely no reason to "cover up" as if you were doing something shameful. What ignorant comments.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Agreed that it may not be appropriate to nurse everywhere for safety reasons, etc (i.e., a crowded hallway), but there's absolutely no reason to "cover up" as if you were doing something shameful. What ignorant comments.


I don't think they are ignorant comments. You might be comfortable breastfeeding in public, but it doesn't take a huge stretch to imagine that others might not be comfortable if they are trapped in your presence by the circumstances of public places. You don't have to agree that it is necessary for them to be bothered, but ignoring the reality of other people's feelings is pointless and short-sighted.
Anonymous
OP-You sound like a real piece of work.

Signed,

A breastfeeding mother
Anonymous
I am confused. I have never breastfed in public, but why are previous posters saying you have to cover up? Is it the law that you have to cover up when breastfeeding? I have never heard of this. I always assumed that the law protected women to breastfeed anywhere at any time. What is the deal here? Are you all telling me that women can be arrested for indecent exposure when breastfeeding in public? Or that they can be told my officials to stop? Is this a police state? WTF????
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am confused. I have never breastfed in public, but why are previous posters saying you have to cover up? Is it the law that you have to cover up when breastfeeding? I have never heard of this. I always assumed that the law protected women to breastfeed anywhere at any time. What is the deal here? Are you all telling me that women can be arrested for indecent exposure when breastfeeding in public? Or that they can be told my officials to stop? Is this a police state? WTF????


No. No one has said that it is the law to cover up or that the official was right when telling her that she could be charged with indecent exposure. The frustrated security guard overstepped in doing so.

However, there are plenty of things that we all do everyday to get along in society that are not codified as law but are common cultural practices. There are countries where having exposed breasts in public is considered standard, but we do not live in one of those places. We live in a culture where people have the expectation that they will not see certain parts of other people in public. So, is it so hard to throw on a cover while breastfeeding to conform with this common cultural expectation? Not really. Rights are good and should be protected. But, sensitivity to other's preferences is also a cornerstone of civil society.
Anonymous
I think the OP was just looking for a battle.
Anonymous
Other people's sensitivity is not written into the law. No cover up is necessary. People can turn their heads if they don't want to see a peek of a nursing breast. Problem solved!

OP should have not sat on the floor and/or gotten up when asked.
Anonymous
Well, why didn't the security guards direct her to the breastfeeding room, if they wanted to be constructive instead of going on a power trip?
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