Phoenix A. Matthews is a professor of clinical psychology and the Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion in the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a 2019-2020 Public Voices Fellow with the Op-Ed Project.
Infographic by Elizabeth Breen The data is clear: bathroom bills are needed to ensure the safety of women; however, it is transwomen who are most in need of legislative protections. For this population, sex-segregated public restrooms are contested spaces and obstacles to simply “peeing in peace.” In 2015, survey data collected by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that a quarter of respondents had been questioned, harassed, or assaulted while trying to access gender-segregated public restrooms. Of those, 60 percent reported avoiding public restrooms due to fear.
