Transgender Children’s Right to Non-discrimination in Schools: The Case of Changing-room Facilities

Abstract

Transgender people’s access to gender-binary facilities has recently become hotly debated. Those opposed argue that giving transgender people access to facilities corresponding to their gender identity creates a safety risk and discomforts others. This article addresses this controversy from the transgender children’s perspectives as reported by their parents. The findings on the arrangement of transgender children’s access to changing rooms in Norwegian schools show to what extent ways of accommodating transgender children’s use of changing and shower facilities at Norwegian schools accord with the right to non-discrimination. It is argued that the gender-binary organisation of facilities and the lack of private curtains in schools create inequality and exclude transgender children.