Coinciding with June's LGBT Pride month, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Commission on Human Rights recently launched a $265,000 ad campaign that promotes transgender people’s right to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
The “Be You” campaign was initiated in response to complaints about open discrimination in restrooms and other public places. The new ads will appear on the subway, inside phone booths and inside ethnic newspapers in various languages, such as Chinese and Bengali.
A poster, hanging in front of the bathrooms in New York City’s Washington Square Park, states the consequences of not abiding by the gender identity protections. According to the ad, any person who interferes with an individual’s rights under the policy will be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law” as outlined by the 2002 Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA).
In March, de Blasio signed an executive order requiring city agencies to provide access to single-sex facilities without requiring a person to show identification or any other form of gender verification.
"No one deserves to be denied access to bathrooms or discriminated against for being who they are," de Blasio said in a statement.
In the same month, however, 11 states sued the Obama administration over a mandate allowing transgender students to use restrooms they identified with. Opponents of the policy feared that the regulations would create a dangerous environment inside the facilities.
Yet, according to a 2016 Time article (time.com/4314896/transgender-bathroom-bill-male-predators-argument), state leaders and members of law enforcement have not seen any increases in sexual assault or rape after passing such laws. It has been proven, on the other hand, that transgender people are highly likely to face sexual harassment when using single-sex facilities that conflict with their gender identity.
“Bathroom discrimination is a regular occurrence for the transgender community,” Alisha King, who is featured on the ads, said. "We just want to use the restroom safely and be treated with respect.”
Ad Photos Courtesy of the City of New York/NYCCHR
