We’ve all read about it – the Trump administration recently rescinded the protections granted during the Obama administration protecting trans students’ rights to use bathrooms of their choice. We’ve seen repeatedly that one of conservative politicians' main arguments for opposing trans-friendly is that they are concerned that allowing trans women to use women’s restrooms will result in higher rates of women being sexually assaulted in public restrooms.
While I’m glad that conservative white men seem to have found religion on the issues of sexual assault, there have literally been zero instances of trans people entering restrooms to assault anybody. Ever. But since the current administration suddenly seems so passionate about women’s rights, I thought I might give them some better ideas of how to protect our country’s women and girls.
1. Pressure colleges and universities to better support student victims/survivors
College campuses seem to be a breeding ground for sexual assault, particularly against women (though for people of all genders as well) – 1 in 5 women are assaulted during their college years and are given extraordinarily little support by their school’s administrations. If conservative families are really concerned about making this country safer for young women, we will surely soon see them lobbying for colleges to support students who have experienced sexual assault.
2. Support comprehensive, content-based high school sex education
One of the main reasons why rape and sexual assault could be so common at colleges and universities is that students come in with radically different ideas of what consent even is. A Washington Post-Kaiser Family survey revealed that college students across the country are deeply divided – and confused – about what constitutes consent. Many states do not require any form of sex education, and those that do oftentimes focus on preventing pregnancies and abstinence-only curriculum. If teenagers were consistently taught the rules of consent, then our future college students and adults (and maybe even presidents!) would likely have much better track records when it comes to sexual assault.
3. Speak out against police brutality
We often hear about young black men being killed by the police – namely because it happens far, far too often. But women of color are also targeted by police and destructive “War on Drug” policies, though their strife hardly gets the same level of national attention. This has prompted the #SayHerName campaign, which is aimed to create important conversation and advocacy around the police violence that black women face. Not only do women of color suffer when the men in their lives are killed, but they far too often are sexually assaulted and murdered by police officers themselves. Anyone who is supposedly passionate about protecting women should be as concerned about this issue as those white women have to face.
4. Literally ban male Republican politicians
Since people are so concerned about a group of people who have zero instances of sexually assaulting women in bathrooms, it seems natural to me that these folks would be enraged to find out that republican politicians are still allowed to use public restrooms. After all, there have been several instances of male republican politicians being arrested for sexual misconduct in bathrooms, which greatly outnumbers the nonexistent number of sexual assaults that have occurred from trans people using women’s restrooms. That’s right – you’re literally at a higher risk of being assaulted by a Republican politician (e.g. our actual president) than a trans person, so I’m assuming conservatives will want to address this issue immediately.
Right?
5. Protect students' rights to use their bathroom of choice
After all, trans women are…women. When girls in public schools are denied the right to use the restroom which aligns with their gender, it puts them at higher risks for bullying and promotes insecurity. If this issue is truly about protecting women, then we should ensure that trans women and girls are included in this conversation and allowed to use the restrooms which make them feel safest, both physically and emotionally.
Glad to clear that up – I’m sure this was all just a big misunderstanding and that once presented with the facts, conservatives will start speaking out against these recent attempts to undo the freedoms protected during the Obama administration. Right??
But if you’re touting women’s safety as your reasoning behind opposing trans-friendly bathrooms while acting ambivalent on all of these other issues (you know, the ones that actually affect women), then maybe – just maybe – you’re actually just using women’s safety as an empty excuse to legislate your bigotry.
As a woman, let me say: no thank you.
