By Anonymous | Contributor
*This article was written by a student who requests anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the content.
It's impossible to go online without seeing something about Target's new policy concerning their bathrooms. It has saturated our media, and I am constantly seeing arguments for or against the policy. My opinion on this matter does not stem from my views regarding transgender people. It comes from the fact that I was sexually abused.
No, it wasn't in Target by a man who pretended to be transgender to enter the women's bathroom. It was years ago by a family member, but the repercussions of this abuse stick with me today. Men intimidate me-even men I have known for years and trust. No matter who he is, there is a seed of fear and distrust. I know I speak for other sexual abuse victims when I say this: when I first heard about Target's new policy, this fear was amplified.
I am not saying that I believe transgender men and women are a threat. I am against this policy and afraid of what it means because I know what some men will do to hurt children. I know what my uncle did and the lies he told to get away with abusing me for as long as he did. Men and women who are intent on abusing will stop at almost nothing to do so.
Many people have argued that the lack of this policy has never stopped a predator from hurting someone before. But this policy also makes it a lot easier for a man to follow me into the restroom, claiming he is a transgender woman, and hurt me. If he claims to be a woman, what is stopping him from entering the bathroom I'm in? Or if a woman claims to be a man simply to enter a men's restroom, what stops her from entering?
Again, I am not saying transgender people are the problem. The problem is the sick men and women who will exploit this policy to hurt people. It has already happened. I repeat: these people will stop at almost nothing and take any advantage they can to hurt people.
I work at a water park during the summer, and we do not allow sexual offenders to enter our facility-we scan ID's on a database that alerts us if someone has a sexual offense record. During this past summer, in seven days we had eight sexual predators attempt to enter the park. The things that I have seen these predators do to try to enter our water park are astounding. I have had to call the police several times because these people have tried climbing the fence, sneaking in through our other gates, having someone buy them a ticket and slip it to them, etc. I have experienced sexual predators' perseverance firsthand.
I write this not to start an argument or to talk about my personal opinions about transgender people but as a sexual abuse survivor speaking out about why Target's new policy scares me. Why this policy hurts me and takes me back to the fear that began when my innocence and childhood were ripped from me. Why this policy hurts.
