From The Chronicle/Herald Ca: http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1143684-williams-don-t-transform-transgender-bill-into-safety-issue
By EMILY WILLIAMS
July 22, 2013
In light of the Senate’s discussion of Bill C-279, Calgary MP Rob Anders had some choice words on the issue of transgender rights this month.
On his website, Anders chooses to paint his opposition to the recognition of transgender rights as being an issue of women’s safety, saying that his feelings are rooted in the need to protect women and children from men lurking in their public washrooms.
As a woman, I am perfectly aware that I am less safe in my daily life than the average man. However, if Anders is really as concerned about my safety and well-being as he claims to be, then I would suggest that there are any number of alternative topics (domestic violence initiatives, education about consent or the fight against street harassment, to name a few) upon which he could focus his attention.
Stigmatizing and painting transgender people as implicitly dangerous sexual deviants does absolutely nothing to make women safer, and I would appreciate it if he did not use my gender as an excuse behind which to hide his ignorance and bigotry.
Unfortunately, this is a recurrent theme when it comes to this debate. Ontario MP Dean Allison has said the bill means that, “The door would be open to sexual predators having a legal defence to charges of being caught in a women’s washroom or locker room.”
Statements like these, where transgender people are explicitly linked to sexual predators are incredibly irresponsible and harmful, particularly when made by a public figure. Society still has a long way to go where the understanding of transgender people is concerned, and comments like these do absolutely nothing to help encourage greater education and awareness. To claim linear association between transgender people and rapists and pedophiles is fear-mongering, plain and simple.
This sort of rhetoric is particularly disheartening coming from elected officials, who have a voice in policy-making and and therefore help to shape the public perception of this issue. Statements to this effect will influence how the greater public sees — and, in turn, treats — transgender people in their own lives.
Continue reading at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1143684-williams-don-t-transform-transgender-bill-into-safety-issue
