(CNN)Transgender and gender-nonbinary US teens -- those whose sexual identity falls outside the traditional male and female -- are at greater risk of sexual assault at schools that deny them access to bathrooms or locker rooms that match their sexual identity, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from 3,673 adolescents in the LGBTQ Teen Study, an anonymous web-based survey of US kids ages 13 to 17. Students who reported being told by teachers or staff that they could not use restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their sexual identity at school were classified as having "restrictive access."Just over 1 out of every 4 students in the study, or 25.9%, reported being a victim of sexual assault in the past 12 months. Transgender and gender-nonbinary teens who were subject to restroom or locker room restrictions had an even higher prevalence of sexual assault, at 36%, according to the findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The rates of sexual assault for nontrans US teens, those whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, is 15% for girls and 4% for boys, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey administered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Unfortunately, kids' access to restrooms and locker rooms has become very politicized in some communities," said Gabriel Murchison, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and lead author of the study. Read MoreResearch has shown that restrictive policies draw unwanted negative attention to trans and gender-nonbinary teens, but until this study, it wasn't clear whether there was a connection to sexual violence, Murchison said.He explained that the study can only establish an association, not whether the restrictions themselves caused the sexual assault. "But they are certainly a strong indicator of environments where kids are at risk," he added. The bathroom debate came to the national consciousness with a few recent cases. High-profile cases spark debateIn 2018, a federal court ruled against a Virginia school district that prohibited Gavin Grimm, a transgender male student, from using the boys' bathroom at school. The ruling came four years after Grimm's initial complaint. Meet Gavin Grimm, the transgender student at the center of bathroom debateLater that year, federal courts ruled in favor of a trans student in Florida and another in Pennsylvania who were prohibited by school staff from using restrooms consistent with their sexual identities. In 2016, North Carolina lawmakers passed HB2, which banned people from using public bathrooms that didn't correspond to their biological sex, as listed on their birth certificates. It became the first state to pass what came to be known as a "bathroom bill." Backlash caused huge economic losses for the state, such as businesses canceling expansion plans and the NBA moving its all-star game from Charlotte. The law was repealed in 2017. Also that year, 19 othe
health,Transgender teens in schools with bathroom restrictions are at higher risk of sexual assault,study says - CNN,
(CNN)Transgender and gender-nonbinary US teens -- those whose sexual identity falls outside the traditional male and female -- are at greater risk of sexual assault at schools that deny them access to bathrooms or locker rooms that match their sexual identity, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from 3,673 adolescents in the LGBTQ Teen Study, an anonymous web-based survey of US kids ages 13 to 17. Students who reported being told by teachers or staff that they could not use restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their sexual identity at school were classified as having "restrictive access."Just over 1 out of every 4 students in the study, or 25.9%, reported being a victim of sexual assault in the past 12 months. Transgender and gender-nonbinary teens who were subject to restroom or locker room restrictions had an even higher prevalence of sexual assault, at 36%, according to the findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The rates of sexual assault for nontrans US teens, those whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, is 15% for girls and 4% for boys, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey administered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Unfortunately, kids' access to restrooms and locker rooms has become very politicized in some communities," said Gabriel Murchison, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and lead author of the study. Read MoreResearch has shown that restrictive policies draw unwanted negative attention to trans and gender-nonbinary teens, but until this study, it wasn't clear whether there was a connection to sexual violence, Murchison said.He explained that the study can only establish an association, not whether the restrictions themselves caused the sexual assault. "But they are certainly a strong indicator of environments where kids are at risk," he added. The bathroom debate came to the national consciousness with a few recent cases. High-profile cases spark debateIn 2018, a federal court ruled against a Virginia school district that prohibited Gavin Grimm, a transgender male student, from using the boys' bathroom at school. The ruling came four years after Grimm's initial complaint. Meet Gavin Grimm, the transgender student at the center of bathroom debateLater that year, federal courts ruled in favor of a trans student in Florida and another in Pennsylvania who were prohibited by school staff from using restrooms consistent with their sexual identities. In 2016, North Carolina lawmakers passed HB2, which banned people from using public bathrooms that didn't correspond to their biological sex, as listed on their birth certificates. It became the first state to pass what came to be known as a "bathroom bill." Backlash caused huge economic losses for the state, such as businesses canceling expansion plans and the NBA moving its all-star game from Charlotte. The law was repealed in 2017. Also that year, 19 othe
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