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Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms

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Amira Hasenbush at Law Office of Amira Hasenbush
Amira Hasenbush
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Andrew Ryan Flores at American University
Andrew Ryan Flores
Jody L. Herman
Jody L. Herman
Jody L. Herman
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Abstract and Figures

Legislation, regulations, litigation, and ballot propositions affecting public restroom access for transgender people increased drastically in the last three years. Opponents of gender identity inclusive public accommodations nondiscrimination laws often cite fear of safety and privacy violations in public restrooms if such laws are passed, while proponents argue that such laws are needed to protect transgender people and concerns regarding safety and privacy violations are unfounded. No empirical evidence has been gathered to test such laws’ effects. This study presents findings from matched pairs analyses of localities in Massachusetts with and without gender identity inclusive public accommodation nondiscrimination ordinances. Data come from public record requests of criminal incident reports related to assault, sex crimes, and voyeurism in public restrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms to measure safety and privacy violations in these spaces. This study finds that the passage of such laws is not related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents in these spaces. Additionally, the study finds that reports of privacy and safety violations in public restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms are exceedingly rare. This study provides evidence that fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded.
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Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations:
a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms,
Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms
Amira Hasenbush
1
&Andrew R. Flores
1,2
&Jody L. Herman
1
Published online: 23 July 2018
#Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Legislation, regulations, litigation, and ballot propositions affecting public restroom access for transgender people increased
drastically in the last three years. Opponents of gender identity inclusive public accommodations nondiscrimination laws often
cite fear of safety and privacy violations in public restrooms if such laws are passed, while proponents argue that such laws are
needed to protect transgender peopleand concerns regarding safety and privacy violations are unfounded. No empirical evidence
has been gathered to test such laws’effects. This study presents findings from matched pairs analyses of localities in
Massachusetts with and without gender identity inclusive public accommodation nondiscrimination ordinances. Data come from
public record requests of criminal incident reports related to assault, sex crimes, and voyeurism in public restrooms, locker rooms,
and dressing rooms to measure safety and privacy violations in these spaces. This study finds that the passage of such laws is not
related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents in these spaces. Additionally, the study finds that reports of privacy and
safety violations in public restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms are exceedingly rare. This study provides evidence that
fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded.
Keywords Transgender .Gender identity .Discrimination .Safety .Restroom .Public accommodations .Law
Introduction
North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also
known as H.B. 2, introduced much of the United States to a
debate regarding the use of public restrooms that had previously
largely gone unnoticed. In an emergency session, the
North Carolina legislature passed H.B. 2 in one day, legally
requiring sex-segregated restrooms and changing facilities to
be limited to use based on the sex on a person’s birth certificate
(Philipps, 2016). While this law would have no legal impact on
restroom use among cisgender (i.e., nontransgender) people, it
meant that transgender people who had transitioned from their
sex assigned at birth to a different gender would be required to
use the restroom of their sex assigned at birth unless they had
legally changed their birth certificate. The new law also opened
up the possibility of increased harassment and policing, both
social and actual, of gender nonconforming people in public
restrooms, whether they were transgender or not. H.B. 2 was
passed as a direct reaction to a local nondiscrimination ordi-
nance that the City of Charlotte passed that included gender
identity as one of the protected classifications in public accom-
modations, legally codifying the rights of individuals to use the
public restroom that corresponded to their gender identity, even
if that did not match their sex assigned at birth (Philipps, 2016).
The primary argument levied against the passage of public
accommodations nondiscrimination policies that protect trans-
gender people is that the policy creates a loophole for sexual
predators to access women’s public restrooms and locker
rooms, thus decreasing women’s and girls’safety and privacy
in such spaces. For example, at a floor hearing on H.B. 2,
Senator E. S. BBuck^Newton stated:
[T]he City Council of Charlotte lost their mind, and
decided to embark upon a very radical course …of
radical political correctness. And in so doing, created a
*Amira Hasenbush
hasenbush@law.ucla.edu
1
UCLA School of Law, The Williams Institute, Box 951476, Los
Angeles, CA 90095-1476, USA
2
Department of Public Policy & Political Science, Mills College,
Oakland, CA, USA
Sexuality Research and Social Policy (2019) 16:70–83
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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