On July 29th, 2015, KETV 7, a leading news source in Omaha, reported that Stephen Thompson, a 45 year old man, had been charged with hate crime after he had assaulted transgender woman Kara Jeslyn Barone when she tried to enter the women’s restroom at a local bar. This is just one of many hate crime cases in which a trans* person has been harassed for simply going to the bathroom.

Trans* people are being yelled at, insulted, assaulted, and sometimes even murdered. According to ThinkProgress.org, a study was conducted in Washington, DC that showed that 70 percent of the trans* participants had faced some sort of negative reaction when trying to use the bathroom. But why is this happening to them?

All trans* people are trying to do is use the restroom that corresponds with the gender they identify with, and sadly, some people just can’t accept that. These same people may suggest that trans* people simply use the restroom that corresponds with the gender to which they were assigned at birth. Either way is not a completely healthy option for these individuals. If they use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender, they may face harassment. If they use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender to which they were assigned at birth, they may face the emotional trauma of going against their true gender.

The solution? Gender neutral bathrooms—everywhere. It’s the easy way to make sure everyone is not only comfortable, but safe.

With gender neutral bathrooms, there is no confusion over which bathroom trans* people should use. Cisgender people cannot be mad at these individuals for going to the “wrong bathroom” because there is no “wrong bathroom”.  In addition to this, people wouldn’t have to worry about looking “feminine enough” or “masculine enough” to go to the bathroom. University of Chicago law professor, Mary Ann Case, argues, “Without a unisex restroom, all who do not clearly read as male or female are faced with the prospect of challenge, even of assault or arrest, no matter which door they walk through, with the result that many report that they do their best to forego use of public toilets altogether.”

It can be argued that these gender neutral bathrooms would become a playground for rapists attracted to a gender different than theirs. But the hard truth is: bathrooms are already playgrounds for rapists. An example of this would be the case of Jeremy Strohmeyer. According to Murderpedia.org, on May 25th, 1997, Strohmeyer raped and murdered 7 year old girl Sherrice Iverson after he followed her into the women’s restroom, a place where she probably thought she’d be safe. Newsflash: Rapists are bad people, and they’re not going to stay away from a specific bathroom because it doesn’t correspond with their gender. Rape will continue to occur in bathrooms, and whether or not the bathroom is gender-neutral will not change this. Fear of rape should not used as an argument against gender-neutral bathrooms because to speak frankly, it’s irrelevant. These facilities may even provide more protection for those in danger of getting raped due to a higher likelihood of people being in the room.

Gender neutral bathrooms wouldn’t just be a win for the trans* community, either. For example, cisgender parents would be able to feel comfortable taking their children of a gender differing from theirs to the bathroom. Personally speaking, I remember that when I was too young to go to the bathroom by myself, my mother had to go out of her way to take me. This was simply because my dad couldn’t. In addition to helping parents out, people with mental or physical disabilities who have opposite gender caretakers would be able to go to the bathroom with their caretaker without facing any harassment.

Yahoo user, Amiko-Gabriel, says, “Many gender neutral bathrooms are single stall ‘family’ bathrooms for people with children and people who utilize wheelchairs. This is another reason that I am in support of these facilities in all public buildings. I was a caretaker for 2 years and I worked with a person who utilized a wheelchair. At times there were (no) bathroom facilities which cause (awkward) situations because if a (catheter) bag is full and needs to be emptied, it can be dangerous if one's system starts backing up. Some caretakers have resorted to (parking lots) and this can likely be a humiliating experience for people who utilize wheelchairs….Public places without accessible single stall restrooms do not take into account that a person who utilizes a wheelchair might have a caregiver of a different sex or other gender orientation than themselves and they still might want or need assistance in restroom facilities.”

I’m not saying everyone is completely ready to jump into one, multi-stall bathroom for all genders (though that’s something we could work towards), but at least a single-stall room in every public building would be a good place to start.

*This commentary uses trans* as an umbrella term for all non-cisgender identities on the gender spectrum, not just transgender.