‘Kind of scary’: More Utah students feel unsafe in school restrooms, state data shows

At Jay’s high school, it can feel uncomfortable inside the school’s restrooms, they said.

Groups of students like to congregate there, the Sanpete County student said — sometimes to vape, sometimes just to hang out without teacher supervision.

“It’s not like there’s any cameras in there, so if something goes down, there’s not any records except for whatever people say,” said Jay, whose full name is known to The Salt Lake Tribune and whose parents confirmed their enrollment. “That’s kind of scary.”

Jay, who The Tribune is not identifying to protect their privacy, is one of about 30% of students across the state who said they felt “somewhat” or “very” unsafe in school restrooms last year, according to the latest Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey, released in October.

That marks a nearly 12 percentage point increase compared to 2019. About 30% of survey participants are also feeling unsafe in school parking lots, according to the 2023 survey.

The survey doesn’t identify why more students may be feeling unsafe in school restrooms. But the survey also reported that 20% of all 2023 participants had been picked on or bullied by a student at school on more than one occasion.

LGBTQ+ students report higher rates

LGBTQ+ students in particular are reporting higher rates of restroom safety concerns, the survey indicates.

About 46% of gay or lesbian students last year said they were feeling “somewhat” or “very” unsafe in school restrooms. That’s about 16 percentage points higher than the state average, and marked a 16 percentage point increase when compared to 2019 SHARP survey results.

More straight students are also feeling unsafe in school restrooms, the survey indicates — last year’s survey results saw a 10 percentage point spike since 2019.

The 2023 survey results didn’t reflect a significant spike of transgender students feeling unsafe in school restrooms compared to previous years. But the rate still sat around 26 percentage points higher than all survey participants across the state.

Utah therapist Lisa Dame said she fears the transgender public restroom ban that state lawmakers passed this year will exacerbate the issue.

Dame, who works with LGBTQ+ teens at Flourish Therapy, said even before the ban passed, some of her clients were already limiting their food and water intake during school hours to avoid having to use the restroom.

“They’re unclear about how to navigate a world that tells them they should be worried about how to navigate this world,” Dame said.

‘A very real possibility’

Jay, who identifies as nonbinary, said they have LGBTQ+ friends who’ve shared that they have experienced verbal abuse from classmates.

Jay has also been harassed at school, they said, including after they did a presentation in class on issues that transgender people face around the country.

They specifically worry about a friend who is a transgender girl. “For her, especially to be using the men’s restroom, is kind of a scary thought,” Jay said.

Jay pointed to the recent death of Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student who died in early February after an alleged altercation with three girls in their school bathroom.

Nex told police in an interview that they had blacked out after being beaten by their classmates. The next day, they died after experiencing medical issues. A medical examiner determined on March 13 that Nex died by suicide, The Associated Press reported.

Dame said that for parents with transgender children whom she has talked to, Nex’s death has “hit them very hard, and has felt like a very real possibility to them for their children.”

She recommends that her clients create safety plans — where a student can go if they don’t feel safe — and identify teachers and administrators who they feel comfortable approaching if they are in danger.

“They really struggle with the feeling that they have to have another level of safety just because of who they are,” Dame said. “It’s very hard for them to feel that that’s the reality.”

What recommendations and resources are there?

Though the SHARP survey doesn’t ask students why they may be feeling unsafe in unsupervised places like school restrooms, the data can be used to shape safety guidance for parents, students and school districts, said Heidi Peterson Dutson, with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.

For example, if students are feeling unsafe in school restrooms, “it might prompt [schools] to say, we need more hall monitors; teachers need to stand out in the hallways between classes,” said Dutson, who works as the regional prevention director with the Office of Substance Use and Mental Health.

A resource that kids can use to report bullying is SafeUT, the state’s crisis chat and tip line that can provide real-time intervention not just for students, but families, guardians and educators.

SafeUT program manager Denia-Marie Wright said the organization has “a really integrated relationship” with schools across Utah, which has been “crucial” in addressing tip line reports.

Dame suggested that school districts consider installing more single-stall bathrooms for students in their buildings, or making sure each school has student organizations that support LGBTQ+ students, such as a Gender & Sexualities Alliance club.

Despite safety concerns, Jay said they are cautious about having more eyes on school restrooms, which they said could lead to more questions about a student’s identity, and potentially harassment.

“That’s kind of a slippery slope to have more monitoring or surveillance around bathrooms,” they said, “because that’s part of what people are trying to fight against.”