Harvard University is developing a new app for “Gender Inclusive Restroom Mapping,” which the school says will help ease “anxiety” for “gender nonbinary and gender nonconforming” students when it comes to finding “gender inclusive” restrooms on campus.
Simply having “gender inclusive” restrooms on Harvard’s campus apparently isn’t enough, as the Ivy League institution now finds it necessary to create an app that will map out the locations of such restrooms in order to ease anxiety for students. The university has also deemed this issue a “public health concern.”
“The Gender Inclusive Restroom Mapping project for Harvard University seeks to ensure that all Harvard community members, including those who are transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming, have accurate and inclusive means of locating restrooms at Harvard,” Harvard explains in its project summary.
The university goes on to explain that the “intended impact” of the project is to provide students access to “safe restrooms,” as well as reduce “anxiety.”
“Discrimination against transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people in public restrooms often leads to experiences of anxiety around restroom use, restroom avoidance, and lack of restroom access,” the university states.
“Deemed a public health concern, these issues can lead to various health problems,” Harvard continued. “Members of the Harvard community are often required to travel to multiple buildings for meetings, classes, and events, which can exacerbate this risk.”
“It is critical that Harvard community members and guests have the tools to easily navigate the campus and experience the Harvard community as inclusive and respectful to all,” the university added. “A single, web-based application will offer specific, practical, and discreet access to safe restrooms, no matter where they are at Harvard.”
This app, the university added, will reduce the time it takes for students to search for such facilities, alleviate “fears surrounding exclusion or harassment,” as well as be a “signal” to everyone else that Harvard “is a community in which we not only celebrate diversity — we honor it.”
Some of the groups responsible for bringing to life the “Gender Inclusive Restroom Mapping project” include the Office of the President and Provost, the Title IX Office, Harvard Medical School, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, and “university allies,” among several others.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler @alana, and on Instagram.
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