Jul 24, 2009  |  By: Rhodes Perry and Jason Terry  | COMMENTS     

IMAGINE YOU ARE out on the town with friends, enjoying a few drinks after a long, hard day of work. There’s a break in conversation and you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. Just as you’re about to open the door to the restroom, you are roughly jerked by the collar of your shirt and pulled away from the door. A tall security guard is yelling at you, rudely explaining that you’ve made a terrible mistake and are heading into the “wrong” bathroom. You protest and are suddenly being physically escorted out of the bar.

Chances are most folks likely will never experience such cruel treatment because they have the privilege of always knowing they can access the bathroom whenever and wherever necessary. The story, however, is not the same for those who are transgender, transsexual or gender non-conforming, who often experience severe difficulty accessing safe bathrooms, jeopardizing their health and basic human dignity.

Even with the District’s comprehensive Human Rights Act, which includes protections for gender identity or expression, trans and gender non-conforming people continue to experience verbal and physical harassment ranging from being attacked and thrown out to even being arrested for simply trying to use the bathroom. 

In fact, according to a recent citywide survey of trans and gender non-conforming people, 70 percent of respondents indicated that they had experienced problems accessing or using public, gender-segregated bathrooms.

UNDER DISTRICT LAW, all residents have the right to use a bathroom consistent with their gender identity or expression, regardless of others’ perceptions. The regulations also specify that all single occupancy restrooms (any restroom intended for use by one person at a time) in any public or commercial space, like a restaurant, should only use gender-neutral signage. For example, signs reading “Men” and “Women” must be replaced with signs that read “Restroom,” or another non-gendered label.

Despite these regulations, many businesses all over D.C. are not in compliance with the law, which is why the D.C. Trans Coalition along with the D.C. Office of Human Rights recently launched the Bathroom Access & Safety Campaign, otherwise known as the “Pee in Peace Campaign” — a community mobilization project designed to ensure bathroom access and safety for all District residents, including trans and gender non-conforming individuals.

The groups are developing a list of all non-compliant businesses throughout D.C. OHR will notify the businesses about the law and provide guidance on what steps to take to ensure that bathrooms are safe and accessible for all District residents. If a business does not cooperate within 30 days of receiving this notice, DCTC and OHR will file formal discrimination complaints.

THE DCTC AND OHR have asked that community members do their part by identifying restaurants, coffee shops or any other public or commercial spaces that are not in compliance with the law. Residents should send the name of the business, the address and the date they noticed the establishment violating the law to DCTCBathrooms@gmail.com, or call 202-557-1951. 

Tomorrow, July 25, the group will host a rally in support of bathroom safety and access at 2 p.m. in Adams Morgan on the corner of 18th Street and Columbia Road, N.W. All concerned residents are urged to join in this effort to ensure appropriate enforcement of the law. 

For more information about the Bathroom Access & Safety Campaign, check out the DCTC web site at www.dctranscoalition.org under the heading “Campaigns.”