Studies confirm need to support transgender

The Gender & Sex Development Program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance are responding to a recent front-page essay in the Daily Herald regarding the transgender debate.

Gender impacts all students and in 2016, our organizations drafted a model policy to provide direction for districts regarding gender identity. This policy outlines how schools can support all students, including those who are transgender. This policy addresses the importance of providing all students access to facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that allowing individuals to use gender-segregated facilities poses a risk to others, including sexual assault victims. Conversely, research demonstrates that transgender students face violence and harassment in their schools. Statistics from GLSEN and the National Transgender Discrimination Survey show that schools are one of the most unsafe environments for transgender students.

These studies indicate that: 89.5 percent of transgender students don't feel safe in school and almost 50 percent of transgender students report regularly skipping school because of safety concerns.

Gender inclusion is not a social experiment. Transgender youth have the same developmental needs as other adolescents. Failure to protect them and isolating them from their peers is extremely harmful and puts them at increased risk of significant negative health outcomes that can have a lasting impact on the rest of their lives.

All students deserve a district where they are given the same opportunities to thrive and learn in a safe environment.

Robert Garofalo, Director, Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention

Lurie's Children's Hospital

Owen Daniel-McCarter, Executive Director

Illinois Safe Schools Alliance