Tips if you're being hassled in a restroom about your gender expression...

  1. Stay calm so that you can read the situation and figure out whether or not you’re safe. You can always leave the scene if you feel threatened and come back later with a friend to file a complaint.
  2. Report the incident to a manager, owner or someone in charge. Explain to them that you are using the restroom that matches who you are.
  3. Educate. Show them this toolkit! Explain that transgender people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and are harmed by being denied access to appropriate restroom facilities.
  4. If you are still denied access to the appropriate restroom, you can file a complaint with your local or state anti-discrimination agency. Denial of access to the appropriate restroom for transgender people could be considered sex discrimination under the law. You may also live in one of the dozen or so states or over 125 cities and counties where there are specific protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
  5. Let us know. Lambda Legal’s Help Desk (www.lambdalegal.org/help) takes calls from transgender and gender-nonconforming people who have experienced discrimination.