A coalition of different national and local domestic violence and sexual assault organizations have recently released a consensus statement advocating for full and equal access for the transgender community, specifically targeting North Carolina’s trans discrimination bathroom law.
The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women consists of over 200 organizations that work to end gender-based violence and provide support for victims.
If organizations that are intimately involved in anti-sexual violence efforts are speaking out against the North Carolina “bathroom bill” and others like it, it seems clear that HB2 and others like it are, at best, missing the point, and at worst, masks for hate and discrimination.
In case you missed it, North Carolina passed HB2 on March 24th. This law only allows for discrimination against trans people, but also requires them to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate.
HB2 was only one of many proposed bathroom bills that have sprouted up across the United States. It has sparked a larger conversation around trans rights and discrimination.
Many of us may have already had some frustrating conversations with people who support these asinine bathroom bills, usually with little success.
So, we in Liberal America decided to make a handy list of ways to debunk common arguments that proponents of legislation like HB2 may make.
1. You’ve Already Shared A Bathroom With A Trans Person
Transgender people just want to pee, guys. They have the same biological needs as everyone else, and have been peeing (!!) all of their lives since before this was even an issue.
A trans person may or may not be someone that you can point out of a crowd, because there is no right or wrong way to present as trans.
Estimates have placed the transgender population between.1% and .5% of the United States population, though those studies are likely under representing the number of trans individuals. This is because, due to the discrimination many trans people face, many trans people say that they hide their gender transition from others.
So if you’ve shared a bathroom with more than 200 people in your life, you’ve already shared a bathroom with a trans person.
2. These Laws Is Not Enforceable
North Carolina police officers have no idea how to enforce this law, as most people do not carry their birth certificate with them. This law is both unenforceable and a vast waste of government resources.
When Mother Jones called up police departments of many of the major cities in North Carolina, they had similar sentiments. Here are some of the highlights:
“We’re not checking birth certificates. We just don’t have the police power to be able to do that in bathrooms,” Asheville Police.
“We don’t have police officers sitting at public bathrooms all day long,” Raleigh Police.
“So that means people have to go to the bathroom with birth certificates? Yeah, that was curious to me,” Wilmington Police.
Also, you know, actual crimes are being committed while a police officer has to respond to the scene of a women’s bathroom.
3. States/Municipalities That Have Non-Discrimination Laws For Trans People Have Not Had An Increase In Violence
One of the main arguments that those in favor of HB2 have stated is that non-discrimination laws allow sexual predators to dress as that a woman to gain access to assault women and children. There are a lot of things I have to say about this, but first and foremost, is it factually incorrect. This simply does not happen after non-discrimination laws are passed.
The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women explains,
“Over 200 municipalities and 18 states have nondiscrimination laws protecting transgender people’s access to facilities consistent with the gender they live every day. In some cases, these protections have been in place for decades. These laws have protected people from discrimination without creating harm.
None of those jurisdictions have seen a rise in sexual violence or other public safety issues due to nondiscrimination laws. Assaulting another person in a restroom or changing room remains against the law in every single state.
We operate and advocate for rape crisis centers and shelters all over the country, including in cities and states with non-discrimination protections for transgender people. Those protections have not weakened public safety or criminal laws, nor have they compromised their enforcement.”
4. Trans People Are More Likely To Be Victims Of Violence Than Perpetrators
Statistics show that transgender individuals are at an extremely high risk of being victims of violence, including hate crimes, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
Fact: The majority of victims of hate violence homicides is transgender women.
Fact: Transgender women are 1.8x more likely to experience sexual violence.
Fact: Transgender people are 7x more likely to experience police violence and physical violence from law enforcement.
Fact: An alarming 78 percent of trans people reported being harassed by teachers and staff during grades K-12, and about half had been harassed at work.
Fact: 1 in 5 trans people have experienced domestic violence by an intimate partner because of their gender identity.
Fact: Trans youth often face homeless after families disown them, leaving them vulnerable to sex trafficking, violence, and substance abuse.
The trans population is one of the most marginalized populations in the United States, and stigma and hate produced by HB2 only serve to increase the vulnerability of trans people.
5. Gender Non-Conforming People Are Targeted, Have Been Targeted All Along
During the entire HB2 debate, most of the focus was on the trans community. But this bill, and others like it, have a huge effect on anyone who does not conform neatly to one gender.
Jamie Lamkin, a North Carolina native, recently spoke out about this issue.
Lamkin stated, “People have all these misconceptions about gender, a very narrow view of what a boy or girl should look like.”
Due to her height, short hair, and clothing choices Lamkin says that she’s been called “sir” more often than she can count, but she identifies as a woman. Women like her have already been victimized by discrimination before these laws became news.
Lamkin explains that she’s seen “folks being questioned about their gender identity, simply being looked at funny, or being thrown out of places because they don’t match a norm for the bathroom they’re entering.”
A video (see below) shows how in November of last year a lesbian woman was forcibly removed from a bathroom for not “looking like a woman.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_qbaYvk_Q&feature=youtu.be
If bathroom bills continue to be passed around the country, get ready to see more of the same.
6. Most Sexual Assaults Occur By Someone The Victim Knows
The idea that sexual assault often looks like a stranger hiding in the bushes waiting to sexually assault passersby has long been discredited as a myth.
The facts point to an entirely different likelihood:
The U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Study: 2009-2013, finds that most victims of rape know their perpetrator. Some of the statistics that it has produced:
- Around 4/5 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim.
- 82% of sexual assaults are perpetrated by a non-stranger.
- 47% of rapists are either a friend or acquaintance.
- 25% of rapists are an intimate partner.
The idea of a man dressing up to rape a woman in the women’s restroom is a similarly outlandish myth.
Additionally, rape is a crime, and no matter where it is committed it will already be a crime. The argument of HB2 is that is keeps women and girls safe, but it seems highly unlikely that a person willing to break the law to commit rape will somehow be unwilling to break a law like HB2.
7. But Really, Just Don’t Be A D*ick
Listen, everyone is going through their own stuff. We all have struggles and deserve to be loved and supported. But going to the bathroom should not be a struggle, nor a political statement. Just let people pee. It doesn’t affect you!
[Featured image: Mike Luckovich via Cafe Babylon]
