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A message from the Trans Collective, supported by C3SVS:
The recent incidents of sexual violence on campus is incredibly distressing and the TMU community at large needs to come together to work towards a safer campus community. One of the responses that has been posed to help with this problem is to increase the presence of campus security officers outside of washrooms and, while the impulse to do this is understandable, the consequences will be dangerous for many TMU community members. In many ways it will especially harm those it sets out to protect.
The impulse to make public washrooms a place where people feel safe is one that the Trans* community is familiar with - in fact Trans* activists and allies have been fighting to make washrooms a safe place for Trans* people for decades. Unfortunately, for many genderqueer individuals we aren’t there yet and following the proposed plan will only make it worse. According to a report from Trans Pulse Canada conducted in 2021, 54% of Trans* Canadians worry about being harassed or stopped by police or security with 75% of Indigenous Trans* Canadians and 94% of Black Trans* Canadians fearing the same. With entering and using public washrooms already a daunting task, these fears present a much higher barrier to use if security officers are stood by the doors. Unfortunately Trans* individuals and especially Trans* individuals who use female bathrooms are at a much higher risk of being stopped by security due to harmful stereotypes and, even with the best of intentions, security officers often have unconscious bias against Trans* individuals in gendered spaces.
A large percentage of these same individuals who are often targeted by security are also the survivors of sexual violence that the response is aiming to protect. A Statistics Canada study in 2018 found that Trans* people were twice as likely to have experienced unwanted physical touch and 24% more likely to have experienced unwanted sexual attention over the previous year. Other data from the Human Rights Campaign suggests that these rates of violence against Trans* people have only increased since then.
Even if survivors aren’t members of the Trans* community, this planned action will be unhelpful at best and harmful at worst. Statistically, most survivors of sexual violence experience this violence in a place they feel safe with someone they know. The stereotype perpetuated by media representations of sexual violence does not fit the reality, however, which often results in the most common type of survivor not being believed when they don't fit 'conventional narratives.' Survivors also often have negative experiences with police and security, and for the majority of survivors those types of authority are more associated with harm and trauma than safety. While we never want to discount the experiences of survivors who have been harmed by strangers or those who feel safer when supported by security guards, we know that focusing preventative efforts on guarding against strangers who actively want to do harm rarely works. A lot more good can be done by putting that energy into creating consent culture, educating folks about sexual violence realities, and building safer spaces for all. We are here to support any survivors or students who are now feeling more afraid to be on campus, and welcome anyone who would like to join us in fighting for a stronger consent culture at TMU.
We understand and encourage the desire to help make the TMU a safer campus. Nobody should have to fear sexual violence in the halls or in washrooms. However, good-intentioned actions can still be harmful. So, instead we can work together to make campus safer for everyone by being supportive, open, and caring and following these actions. Issues like this need a mixed response - both larger community-scale action and individual action. Rather than use a portion of the school’s budget to increase the presence of security officers, TMU should include emergency buttons in each stall of multi-stall bathrooms to give users a sense of security. Additionally, creating more single-occupancy gender neutral washrooms across the school would decrease the possibility of violence in washrooms while at the same time supporting genderqueer individuals who are not able to use men’s or women’s washrooms. For individual action, familiarize yourself with the Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence Support and the Consent Comes First office and the services they offer so that you can offer resources to those in your community that may tell you they are in need. Engage with the Consent Comes First course on D2L to learn how you can help to create a culture of consent on campus. Trust and listen to survivors who display the bravery and self-love it requires to disclose their experiences to you and support them in the ways they ask for. Never assume what a survivor may be feeling, wanting, or needing. Finally, spread awareness about how placing campus security officers will really harm many in the TMU community - especially those it sets out to protect.