In his first weeks in office, President Trump issued a series of executive actions aimed at limiting transgender people’s access to public restrooms and other gendered facilities. These include a set of executive orders that seek to define sex as only male and female as determined “at conception,” prohibit federally funded schools from allowing transgender youth to use restrooms that align with their gender identity, and ban transgender girls and women from playing on women’s sports team or accessing women’s locker rooms.
A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that transgender people face increased risks when required to use bathrooms according to their sex assigned at birth.
The results show that transgender respondents to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey who consistently live according to their gender identity were significantly more likely to be denied restroom access or to experience verbal harassment when they used restrooms that aligned with their sex assigned at birth.
- Among transgender men who used women’s restrooms (i.e., according to their sex assigned at birth), about 10% were denied access, and nearly 11% experienced verbal harassment in the past year, compared to those who used men’s restrooms (5% and 7%, respectively).
- Among transgender women who used men’s restrooms (i.e., according to their sex assigned at birth), 7% were denied access, and nearly 9% experienced verbal harassment in the past year, compared to those who used women’s restrooms (5% and 7%, respectively).
“Current policy debates about transgender people’s access to restrooms are based on a narrative, asserted without evidence, that safety and privacy in women’s spaces are at risk,” said lead author Jody Herman, Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “However, research shows that transgender people are the ones who face harm from others in these spaces, including being denied access, verbal harassment, and physical assault. Moreover, they are at greater risk of harm when laws require them to use restrooms according to their assigned sex at birth.”
The report also reviewed existing research on the risks to occupants when transgender people are permitted to use gendered facilities that align with their gender identity. Additionally, it examines studies regarding the experiences of transgender people accessing restrooms and the impact on their lives when they are unable to safely use these facilities.
Overall Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms and Gendered Facilities
A 2018 report by the Williams Institute used criminal report data from several Massachusetts localities to assess differences in the rates of crime in areas with and without nondiscrimination laws that protect transgender people’s ability to use restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms according to their gender identity.
- Overall, incidents of safety and privacy violations in these gendered spaces were rare.
- There was no evidence that privacy and safety changed when transgender people were legally able to access restrooms and other facilities according to their gender identity.
In another nationwide study, there was no evidence that violent victimization by strangers increased as a result of transgender people having, by law, access to restrooms that accord with their gender identity.
Experiences of Transgender People When Using Restrooms and Other Gendered Facilities
Research consistently finds that transgender people report being denied access to restrooms and other facilities and experience verbal harassment and physical assault in these spaces. These experiences can have further negative impacts on transgender people in other areas of life.
- In a 2008 survey of transgender people in Washington, D.C., 18% reported being denied access to a public restroom at least once in D.C. In addition, 68% said they’d been verbally harassed, and 9% reported they had been physically assaulted in a D.C. public restroom.
- In the same survey, 58% of respondents indicated that they had avoided going out in public due to a lack of access to safe bathrooms, while 38% stated they had avoided specific public places because they lacked safe bathroom options.
- In the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 55% of respondents reported not using the restroom when they needed to go, and 32% avoided eating or drinking so they would not have to use the restroom. Eight percent (8%) reported a urinary tract infection or a kidney-related health problem due to avoiding using restrooms in the last year.
“Not going to the restroom when necessary can harm a person’s health,” said study author Andrew R. Flores, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Williams Institute. “A lack of safe restroom facilities can have negative impacts in a variety of areas, such as education, employment, and engagement in public life.”