Op-ed: Our government is going backward on Title IX, but we don't have to

This article mentions sexual violence. Please use caution. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, help is available at rainn.org.

The Trump administration has done it again: Recently, it officially rescinded Biden-era protections for LGBTQ+ students, student survivors of sexual harassment and assault, and students who are pregnant, parenting, or lactating. These regulations were already blocked nationwide by federal courts, but the Trump administration’s action formally removes them from the federal regulations and reinstates the 2020 Title IX framework, weakening protections for all students in public K-12 schools and colleges and putting all our kids at increased risk.

This rule is heartbreaking for our community at a base level: By outright removing explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, the Trump administration has taken a deliberate step backward in the movement for LGBTQ+ equality, putting a target on LGBTQ+ students and families. But the rule’s weakened protections for survivors of sexual harassment and assault, as well as students who are pregnant, parenting, or lactating, also disproportionately affect our community.

For one, the isolation of parental rejection, bullying, and harassment — coupled with a lack of inclusive sexual education — means that young lesbian and bisexual women are twice as likely to have a teen pregnancy compared to their heterosexual peers. For another, LGBTQ+ youth are also more likely to experience sexual violence and harassment, with 49% of LGBTQ+ youth ages 13–18 reporting being forced to do “sexual things” that they did not want to do in the past 12 months, compared to just 11% of the general teen population in the US.

At a time when LGBTQ+ youth are already under attack in the classroom — from “Don’t Say Gay and Trans” bills across the country to bills banning access to bathrooms and participation in school athletic programs — furthering the harm done to the most vulnerable of our community is unconscionable. Further, at a time when the whole nation is tuned into devastating headlines about the Cornell University case, which highlights just how pervasive sexual harassment and assault are in schools, softening the enforcement of Title IX instead of strengthening it is cruel.

Like all young people, LGBTQ+ youth, pregnant or parenting youth, and youth who have survived assault and harassment deserve the opportunity to learn and grow in safe, supportive environments — and when violence and harassment do occur, survivors, LGBTQ+ youth, and young parents or prospective parents shouldn’t be forced to re-traumatize themselves or subject themselves to severe and pervasive harm just to be taken seriously.

It’s as simple as that.

So what do we do now?

First, it’s essential that you know that despite these changes, Title IX is still intact. LGBTQ+ students — including and in addition to pregnant and parenting students and student survivors of harassment and assault — still have protections under the law.

Second, the strength of this community lies in part in its ability to protect one another when the government will not. We’ve done it for centuries, and the work continues today. Here are four tangible ways to make an impact:

1. Start a conversation with your local school — Advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and families in your local school district.
2. Teach your kids about sexuality and consent — Talk to your children about sex, sexuality, and safer sex practicesas well as appropriate boundaries regarding their bodies and consent.
3. Believe your kids and get support — Check in with your children and ask questions when they talk about being bullied or harassed at school. Believe them if they share about inappropriate sexual contact or harassment and seek out support from your local community or online.
4. Get out and vote — Decisions like these, which affect our families, are made by our elected officials at every level of the government, and every few years, we have the right and opportunity to give them a progress report by voting! Check your voter registration and make a plan to vote in the midterm elections this year.

While headlines like these are heartbreaking, there are still reasons to hope. As the vice president of programs and the director of archives, storytelling, and brand at Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, we see every day how LGBTQ+ movement leaders, parents and families, and allies are working hard to fulfill the mission of creating a “more perfect union”... even if the federal government is not.

As a community, we've built our own support networks, created our own resources, and established organizations like Family Equality. We've never waited for someone else to build the future our families deserve. We've built it together, and we'll keep building toward a world where every family is valued and supported. We won't go backwards.

Ted Lewis is the vice president of programs, and Anna Santa Maria is the director of archives, storytelling, and brand at Family Equality, a national nonprofit that protects and advances freedoms for LGBTQ+ families.

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