Monday 14th March 2016

InsideOUT Responds to Family First on Gender Neutral Bathrooms

“We are disappointed to see Family First continuing to spread harmful and false messages about trans young people,” says Tabby Besley, National Coordinator of InsideOUT. “We know that almost 4% of students in New Zealand identify as trans or questioning their gender and that they experience bullying at a rate five times higher than their peers. It is imperative that every school provides a safe environment that accepts and accommodates the needs of trans and gender diverse students.”

“Legally schools are required to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for all students. Amongst other things, this includes allowing trans students to identify with their chosen gender without being discriminated or harassed. This means ensuring trans students have access to safe bathrooms and private changing rooms, which in many cases is as simple as providing a gender neutral option. Many schools are implementing this with no issues.

“However, we believe trans students should also have access to the toilet that corresponds with their gender if they wish, and forcing them to use a toilet based on the sex they were assigned at birth can be harmful in a number of ways;

including putting them at further risk of experiencing bullying and violence.

“We’re talking about a group of vulnerable young people here who just want their identities to be respected and to be able to go to the toilet without being harassed. Many of the young people we work with are in situations where they won’t go to the toilet at school at all, because they fear for their safety, which also puts them at risk of further health issues. Family First making out as if trans people are dangerous in these situations is harmful and untrue.”

In regards to participation in sports teams, InsideOUT suggests that schools should have mixed teams available for as many sports as possible, and that competitive sports should also be inclusive. “When entering competitive sports,
trans students should be allowed to participate in sports as their chosen gender and the school should go into bat for them with the relevant sports association if required. If a student is on hormone blockers or undergoing hormone replacement therapy, there is no reason why they should not be able to take part as their chosen gender as there would be no competitive advantage,” says Tabby. “Ideally sports associations will allow trans students to participate regardless of whether or not they are having hormone treatment, as the student’s identity being respected should be the most important thing.”

InsideOUT will soon be releasing a guide for schools, ‘Making Schools Safer For Trans and Gender Diverse Students’, as well as a legal faq guide for sexuality and gender diverse students on their rights at school.

“We hope these resources will support schools to make decisions on how to best care for their trans and gender diverse students,” says Tabby. “Unfortunately we have only received funding for an initial print of the resource and still need to find funds to be able to get it out to schools across the country. Anyone wanting to stand up for the right to safety of our trans young people in schools can make a donation towards the resource via our Givealittle page.”

https://givealittle.co.nz/org/insideout

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