The Reeves Center now has an all-gender restroom located on the first floor of the building. The new sign outside the restroom states in part:
“All Gender Restroom. Transgender and gender non-conforming people often face stress, anxiety and mistreatment when accessing the gendered bathroom that is appropriate for them. Providing access to a private non-gendered stall can reduce or even eliminate this burden.”
For several years now, District of Columbia law has required single stall restrooms to be all-gender. For many government buildings like the Reeves Center, however, all public restrooms are multi-stall and therefore were not covered by the law.
It is our hope that every DC Government Building with at six or more public restrooms will go ahead and designate at least one restroom as an all-gender restroom. The State Board of Education recently unanimously passed a ceremonial resolution to this effect. Protecting and Supporting all District Students Ceremonial Resolution, includes this and other initiatives to make DC Schools safe and welcoming to all. Thanks to Jack Jacobson (Vice President, Ward 2) for his leadership on this effort.
Thank you to the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs for their work on this, as well as the DC Office of Human Rights. Thanks also to Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, who recently raised this issue at the oversight hearing for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
