Trans women are not predators

The argument

The predator objection to letting transgender people use the bathroom matching their identity is an empirical claim, and this argument answers it on empirical grounds: the policy has already been tried, and the predicted harm has not appeared. In places where transgender people are already allowed to use the restroom of the gender they self-identify with, there has been no rise in sexual assaults. In Massachusetts there was no difference in sexual assault rates between cities that allowed trans citizens to self-identify and those that did not — a comparison drawn between communities inside a single state. A similar study by the UCLA School of Law produced similar findings. Beyond the rates, there is the absence of the cases themselves: as of June 2017 there had been no reported instances of a trans woman sexually assaulting a cis woman in a public restroom. The second half of the argument addresses why that result should be expected rather than surprising. Sexual assault remains illegal whatever the bathroom policy says. A predator intent on gaining access to a women's restroom is not deterred by a rule about which door he may use, and does not require one in order to walk through it; the offence he intends is already a serious crime, and the signage is the least of what he is prepared to disregard. Abusers have done awful things regardless of the law, as they have since the beginning of civilisation, and whether trans people may use the bathroom of their identified gender has no bearing on that. On this reasoning the fear is directed at the wrong people. Trans women are not predators, and since the predator objection is unfounded, the argument concludes that transgender people should use the bathroom that matches their identity.

Context

The advocates of the various “bathroom bills” have adopted the stance that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom they identify with would lead to more sexual assaults. Proponents of prohibitive restroom policies argue that trans women pose a threat to cis women and children in a shared bathroom environment. They assert trans women are more dangerous and cis men could assume the guise of a trans woman to gain access to public bathrooms and commit sexual crimes.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Allowing men who identify as women into women’s bathrooms will lead to voyeuristic offences, sexual assaults, and rapes. If we let transgender people choose to use the restroom they feel most comfortable with, we are essentially inviting males, born with male genitalia to use a female restroom. It provides an opportunity for them to commit sexual assault or harassment. Other men may also claim to be trans to gain access to female restrooms. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, when he spoke on the issue of trans people using the bathroom that matches their gender identity, said, “I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE,” adding, “I’m pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, ‘Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today’”.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] We need to give women a safe space. By allowing men in the women's bathroom, we pose a risk to women's safety.