2014年5月22日
关于2014年的修订草案政策法规：性取向和性别认同（ ACB和ACB R- 1 ）
各位委员：
我的名字是王真,是温哥华居民。［我不是医生、不是律师、不是政客，不是基督徒、不是女同志也不是自行决定性别的人。］我有两个年幼的孩子(包括一个极可爱但害羞又敏感的女儿)，是UBC的教授。我没有同性恋恐惧症，相反我个人所认识的LGBTQ+的人都是有智慧爱心且迷人的。我尊重人如其面各有不同。我们都是父母，可怜天下父母心，我们做父母的都只是要尽全力保护自己的孩子。我以一颗做母亲的心在这里呼吁委员会能够广泛咨询，并确保没有学生会受到此修订政策的负面影响。
此ACB修订草案没有正确而且透明的咨询就要付诸表决。 温哥华教育局(VSB)至今对下列三个关键合理的、父母共同关心的问题未能提供可信的解答：
1.为什么新法规(比如G部分)是对跨性别学生最好的做法，以及如何证明这些新法规足以解决跨性别学生的困境(例如骚扰、自杀率和精神健康方面的问题)？
2.基于修订草案所提出的学生自择性别和保密条款，这些新新法规如何同样可以保护在校的其他学生？
3.基于修订草案所提出的学生自择性别和保密条款， 父母对孩子的监护权和知情权将受何影响？
很遗憾五月14日的会议对这些关键问题没有提供可信的答案，所以我想今天再度寻求解答。
因为我只有五分钟的时间，所以我想先谈谈我最关注的第二项-所有的学生将会受何影响。我手边有一份由教育局发布的关于ACB修订草案常见问题解答（FAQ）。对这一问题：“这项政策将如何影响我的孩子？” 解答是：“绝大多数的学生不会感觉到他们的学校生活有任何区别。” 然而，修订草案的G部分（一共四页）是全新的并几乎涉及学生在学校的所有活动。我认为这个答案要不是有点太天真、不正确就是故意误导家长。
我姑且以G.7的B条款(自由使用洗手间和更衣室)为例：它指出“跨性别学生可基于自择的性别使用相应的洗手间和更衣室”。请注意，这是学生自择的性别认同。此B条款将如何影响其他学生，可以保障所有学生的隐私及安全，特别是女学生吗？事实胜于雄辩。让我们来看看两个实例吧：
第一个是前不久在美国发生的一个真实案例：在2014年3月25日，亚利桑那州Tucson学区通过了一类似政策。（注：详情请点击以下网址）
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/25085673/parents-fired-up-over-bathroom-incident-at-tusd-school
最近的Tucson新闻刊载了以下真实的事件，“Susan Wright说他10岁大的儿子正在上厕所时，他发现一个女性正走来和他一起使用。另一位同样关注此事件的母亲Danya Ayers提到另一起事件：一个小男孩发现一个女孩在他面前褪下她的内裤时他真的会觉得不舒服。”
许多在意的家长都对学校提出了这个保护隐私的问题。“学校的负责人说，他们已经暂时关闭了男厕所里的小便池，请学生改使用隔间厕所如厕。”我的问题是：温哥华教育局（VSB)是否有方法解决类似的隐忧/事件？VSB是否打算封闭所有学校的男性小便池？还是教育局打算惩罚/管教那些对类似事件同样会感觉不舒服的学生，那怕是就像我的女儿一样的一个六岁害羞而且敏感的女孩，她只知道应该根据性别（SEX）使用属于自己性别的男或女洗手间或是更衣室？(我女儿从不允许她八岁的哥哥出现在她正在使用中的洗手间)。如果真是如此，教育局的FAQ如何能说“绝大多数的学生不会感觉到他们的学校生活有任何区别”，当它显而易见的会影响使用洗手间的所有学生？
对于第二个案例，请容许我吹毛求疵地问：VSB有甚么方式可以阻止一个男人或是一个男孩只是改变他们的穿着并自称是个女孩就可以使用女孩的洗手间或是更衣室？教育局是否有任何计画以确保该政策不会被有心人士假装成跨性别人士滥用？如何让一个像我女儿一样害羞而且敏感的女孩能够受到保护？
也许你会认为我是杞人忧天且思想黑暗。我也希望如此。然而，不幸的是，这样的事已真真实实的发生在多伦多！在2012年，一名男性克里斯多福 汉柏克（Christopher Hambrook）自称是一名叫洁西卡的变性女人，他使用类似的法律获得了女性庇护所的居住权利。但他在住房内性侵两名女子，其中一名是位无家可归的聋哑人士。(他是个有性犯罪纪录的人，而他犯罪的对象就是—无家可归者、残疾人、以及居住在庇护所的人。他甚至还侵犯了一名五岁的女孩。)
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/15/shocking-case-proves-tobys-law-is-flawed 该案件后来对他的医生鉴定报告指出他并非是真的跨性别人士。2014年2月25日，他被判是个需要终身监禁的危险罪犯。法官说，我在这儿引述 “他已经证明从他12岁到现在都没有能力控制自己的性冲动”。所以，如果目前的ACB政策实施之后，面临这样的有心人士我们的孩子将能够获得甚么样的保护？为什么可以不需要有任何医生或是心理学专家鉴定他们是跨性别的人们就可以自由地使用任何洗手间或是更衣室？依照自择的性别认定就允许使用任何一个洗手间或是更衣室？允许只需要自行决定性别而不需要专家或是医生认定真实性的人任意使用洗手间或是更衣室，是将我们的孩子置于险境。作为一个母亲，任何会让大多数学生置于险境的政策都是不负责任的，坦白讲，是不可接受的。
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/15/a-sex-predators-sick-deception
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/26/predator-who-claimed-to-be-transgender-declared-dangerous-offender
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/sexual-predator-jailed-after-claiming-to-be-transgender-in-order-to-assault
每个读过这些新闻文章的人都会理解母亲的心，理解我们为什么不能认同现在的条款。我们是否非要等这样的事情发生在自己女儿的身上才会重新考虑修订ACB法案？这是温哥华教育局的选择吗？
(如果还有时间，我会继续说明下个部分)
我所剩的时间不多，但我仍想指出我所发现FAQ里有许多误导性的回答。
举例来说，P-2的一个问题”其他教育局局是否也有类似法案？”答案是”至少有32个BC省的校区有相关的LGBTQ +学生的反歧视性政策”
–但实际上问题指的是“类似的”法案！事实上是BC省没有任何一个校区有类似于此ACB修订草案的法案。
–在BC省的60个校区当中，有29个校区的政策和ACB有关。最后一个是在2014年2月25日被57号乔治王子区通过。但无论如何，没有任何一个政策和G条款相同(性别认同和性别表示)，在这个政策的任何部分，没有任何一个政策有如此详细的规定(像是洗手间的字眼只出现在VSB的此ACB修订草案中)。如果你问我，BC所有的政策都和VSB的2004年的旧政策相同，而非此ACB修订草案。
-在BC省，你可以上BCTF的网站查询所有相关学区的政策和法规：
https://www.bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17994
(如果还有时间的话，我会继续补充)
无论如何，加州和温哥华有不少相似的地方(例如社会结构、多元文化的氛围等)。 温哥华教育局应该很清楚，这项法案一旦提出，将会引起社会强烈不满，应当预见温哥华会发生类似加州的事。对于教育局处理ACB法案的方式，我真的极为失望(例如，缺乏信息和过程的透明度，协商不足，仓促而且隐密的决议议程)。让我们来看看我们的邻居加州的法案AB1266(学生的权利：依照性别区分学校课程和学校活动－－加州跨性别学生平等法)吧：
-在2013年4月改进；2013年8月12日通过； 2014年1月1日生效。“这项AB1266法案将允许一个未成年人参加依照性别区分的学校活动或是计画，包括运动队或是比赛，以及使用与他或她性别认同一致的设施，不论该未成年人的出生性别纪录。”
http://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1266/2013
-一个提出异议的组织叫 PFAS,
http://privacyforallstudents.com/
在90天收集签名的时间里，PFAS需收集到504,760位的签名，以图在2014年公投企图推翻AB1266。
– PFAS在2013年11月收集到619,000签名。在2014年2月，加州国务卿宣布其中有487,484签名是有效的，而131,857是无效的。因此， 距504,760的门槛还少17,276票 （～3.4％）。
-2014年 3月14日，PFAS提起诉讼，声称超过17,000个签名被加州官方统计司“非法不合格”。所以……加州关于AB1266法案的战斗还正在进行！
我们不要让温哥华的ACB法案变成加州的AB1266！
[如果温哥华教育局一意孤行仓促批准ACB R-1法案，众多家長都已經準備好要收集簽名去尋求法律途徑推翻此政策。我们也準備好了在法庭上一决胜负。]
总之：
由于时间的限制，我不得不就此打住。我再次呼吁：作为一名普通的家长，我完全支持ACB政策修订的苦心。然而，很明显地仍有许多工作要做，以确保ACB政策能够适用于全体学生并且能完全保证所有孩子的隐私和安全。
请切记最简单的原则：第一，不伤害！请不要再让孩子做一个会失败的社会实验的牺牲品。
对于此ACB，让我们不要求快，而要求正确。请不要在6月11日表决此ACB法案。
————————————————————————————————－
在回答委员会问题时，我添加了以下的内容：
对我来说，这个G-7的项目B(自择性别后就可使用符合自择性别的厕所、更衣室的条款)是一个不合理的工程问题。当前的学校洗手间和更衣室系统是依照两性（SEX）设计的(man和woman)，因此目前的系统从本质上无法满足基于gender的需求（gender有性别谱，包括男，女，非男非女，男女间等等）。解决的办法是针对需求提供专用/不分性别/中性的洗手间或是更衣室。允许自行决定性别的学生自由使用符合自择性别的洗手间和更衣室不是一个实际可行的方案。
参考文献：
1 ， 2004年ACB政策（女同性恋者，男同性恋者，双性恋者，变性者，变性，双灵，质疑政策），可在http://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-policy/acb-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-transsexual-two-spirit-questioning
2， 2014年经修订的草案和政策法规：性取向和性别认同（ ACB和ACB R- 1）可在http://www.vsb.bc.ca/sites/default/files/C3%20%20item%202%20ACB%20draft%20policy%20and%20reg%20memo%20all.pdf
3，在公元前，可在BCTF网站的相关学区的政策和法规的清单： https://www.bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17994
4问题与解答家长和性别变异及跨性别青少年（温哥华学校局， 2011年）： http://www.pflagsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/qanda_for_parents_and_family_of_transgender_2011-english1.pdf
Original English Version:
May 22, 2014
Regarding the 2014 Draft Revised Policy and Regulations: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (ACB and ACB R-1)
Dear Committee Members,
My name is Jane Wang and I am a Vancouver resident. [I am not a medical doctor, not a lawyer, not a politician, not a Christian, not a lesbian or trans]. I am a busy mom of two young kids (including a lovely but shy and sensitive daughter) and work as an Engineering professor at UBC. I am also not homophobic (indeed the LGBTQ+ people I personally know are all intelligent, caring and charming).I respect the fact that everyone is different, and I want to acknowledge that we are all parents, and we all just want to better protect our kids. In this sense, it’s no different for parents of trans* kids or not.
I am here to urge the committee to consult widely and ensure that no students will be negatively impacted by the proposed revision. I believe that the ACB revision is being rushed through without proper/transparent consultation when there are critical concerns to address.
I came to these meetings to seek clear, straightforward answers to reasonable concerns:
1) Why are the proposed NEW changes (e.g., Section G) considered the best practices for supporting trans* students, and how will such changes solve the difficulties of trans* students (e.g. harassment, suicide rate and mental health issues) and make them feel safe and included at school?
2) With the proposed self-identification and confidentiality regulations, how will the proposed NEW changes affect other kids at school?
3) With the proposed self-identification and confidentiality regulations, how will it affect the role and rights of parents regarding their own kids?
I didn’t get the answers to these concerns from the May 14 meeting. I am trying to seek answers again today.
Since I only have 5-min, I want to talk first about my concern-2 and simply play the role of an everyday mom.
[ Regarding 2) –how will the new changes affect all students– I found it hard to get a convincing answer. ] Here I have this VSB released FAQ (regarding the ACB policy revision): For the question “ How will this policy affect my child?” The FAQ says “The vast majority of students will not notice any difference in their school life.” However, considering that Section G is a completely new section that touches almost all aspects of a student’s school activities, I think this answer is either too naïve, incorrect or purposely misleading.
Let me use item-b of G.7 (washroom and change room accessibility) as an example: It states ‘Trans* students shall have access to the washroom and change room that corresponds to their gender identity’. Please note that it is self-identified gender identity. How will this affect other students, and how will the PRIVACY and SECURITY of all students, especially female students, be protected? Let us look at two recent scenarios:
– The 1st one is a real case that happened not long ago in the US: On Mar. 25, 2014, the Tucson Unified School District of Arizona passed a similar policy revision. http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/25085673/parents-fired-up-over-bathroom-incident-at-tusd-school
In a recent article in the Tucson News Now, it states, “Susan Wright said her 10-year old son was using the urinal when a student he identified as a female walked in on him. Concerned parent Danya Ayers said she knew of another incident where a boy was very uncomfortable after a child he knew as a girl removed her underpants in front of him.”
Many concerned parents raised this PRIVACY issue to the School,
“ School officials said, they had temporarily addressed the issue by blocking off all the male urinals in the boys bathrooms, telling students to use the stalls.” My questions are: Does VSB have plans to address similar concerns/incidents? Does VSB plan to block off all the male urinals in every VSB school? Or does VSB plan to punish/discipline the kids who don’t feel comfortable, even if it is a 6-yr old shy & sensitive girl like my daughter who used to understand that washrooms/change rooms are based on SEX? [My daughter doesn’t allow her 8-yr old brother in the washroom if she is on the toilet]. If so, how can VSB possibly claim in the FAQ “The vast majority of students will not notice any difference in their school life” when this will affect EVERY student who uses the washroom?
– For the 2nd scenario, let me play devil’s advocate: What will prevent a straight boy or man changes his clothes and claims self-identity as a girl and then uses the girl’s washroom/change room? Does VSB have any plan to ensure that this policy will not be abused by people who pretend to be transgender intentionally for other purposes? How will a shy & sensitive girl like my daughter be protected?
Perhaps you think my scenario is implausible. However, unfortunately this has happened already in Toronto! In 2012, a man Christopher Hambrook self-claimed to be a transgender woman named Jessica, and he then used laws similar to the proposed one to gain access to Women’s Shelters where he sexually assaulted 2 women in the shelter, one of whom was deaf and homeless. [He was a sexual predator who preyed on the most vulnerable women in our midst — the homeless, the disabled and people living in shelters! He also sexually assaulted a 5-yr old girl.]
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/15/shocking-case-proves-tobys-law-is-flawed
Later psychiatric reports concluded Hambrook was NOT transgender. On February 25, 2014, he was jailed indefinitely as a dangerous offender. The judge said, and I quote: “He has demonstrated from the age of 12 until the present an inability to control his sexual impulses”. So if the current policy is implemented, what protection is going to be provided for our children in schools from similar predators? Why can people use the washrooms/change rooms of the opposite gender without any medical doctor or psychologist saying they are actually transgendered? To allow access to the washrooms/change rooms based only on a person’s self-identification without any medical doctor or psychologist saying they are actually transgendered, is putting our children at risk of harm. As a mom, putting a large body of students at risk is poor policy, and frankly, unacceptable.
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/15/a-sex-predators-sick-deception
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/26/predator-who-claimed-to-be-transgender-declared-dangerous-offender
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/sexual-predator-jailed-after-claiming-to-be-transgender-in-order-to-assault
Some related information: “Toby’s Law” passed in 2012 http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2574&detailPage=bills_detail_the_bill
Everyone should read these news articles and then people will better understand why moms of daughters, like me, are so concerned by the proposed regulations. Are we waiting until such things happen to our daughters to re-think the proposed ACB revision? Is that VSB’s choice?
If have time, address this point next
Since I have some more time left, I want to point out that I found quite a few places where the FAQs are misleading.
For example, A question on p-2 ‘Do other school boards have policies like this?’ The answer is ‘At least 32 school districts in BC have policies related to non-discrimination of LGBTQ+ students’
— But the answer is not to the question of ‘like this’ – the ACB revision! The truth is there are zero school boards in BC that have a policy like this ACB revision.
— Among 60 school districts in BC, there are 29 School district policies and regulations related to ACB. The latest one was approved on Feb. 25, 2014 by SD no. 57 Prince George. However, none of these policies has any section similar to the section G (Gender Identity and Gender Expression) in this “Policy” (the ACB revision draft). None of these policies have regulations in such detail (e.g., words like washroom only appear in this “Policy”). If you ask me, all the other policies are more like the OLD VSB 2004 policy, not the currently proposed revised one.
– Within BC, a list of related School district policies and regulations is available at BCTF’s website: https://www.bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17994
Then, only if have time, try to add:
At any sense, considering the similarities between CA and Vancouver (e.g., in terms of society structure, multicultural atmosphere etc), by seeing what is going on in our neighbor CA for AB1266 (Pupil rights: sex-segregated school programs and activities, California’s Transgender Student Equality Law), VSB should be aware that there are, as expected, different strong views on the subject and should foresee what would happen in Vancouver. I was very disappointed by how VSB has handled this ACB revision issue (e.g., lack of information/process transparency, insufficient consultation, and rush/secret agenda):
— Amended in Apr. 2013; passed in Aug. 12, 2013; and in effect Jan. 1, 2014: “This bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
http://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1266/2013
— An opposition group, Privacy For All Students (PFAS), http://privacyforallstudents.com/
had 90 days to collect signatures, to meet the 504,760 signature threshold, for a referendum on the 2014 ballot as an attempt to overturn AB1266.
— PFAS submitted about 619,000 signatures in Nov. 2013. In Feb 2014, the Secretary of State declared that 487,484 signatures were valid and that 131, 857 were invalid. Therefore it was 17,276 short of the 504,760 threshold (~3.4%).
— On March 14, 2014, PFAS filed a lawsuit, claiming that more than 17,000 signatures were “unlawfully disqualified” from the Secretary of State’s official count. … So the fight is not over yet.
Let us not make the ACB case in Vancouver another AB1266 in CA!
[If VSB plans to approve this ACB R-1 in its current form in a rush way, as ordinary parents, we are ready to knock door by door to collect signatures to overturn the policy and we are ready to challenge it in the court. ]
In conclusion:
Due to the time limit, I have to stop here. Let me conclude: As an ordinary parent, I fully support the good intention behind the ACB revision. However, it is very clear that more work needs to be done to ensure that the proposed changes in ACB are the best for all students, and can ensure the Privacy and Security of all our children.
Let us keep the simple rule in mind: first, do no harm! Please don’t use my kids for an ill-fated social experiment that is already causing problems in other jurisdictions!
For this policy revision, let us not do it fast, let us do it right. Please NOT vote this on June 11!
In Q&A: I have added the following:
To me, this item-b of G.7 (washroom and change room accessibility) is an ill-posed engineering problem. The current washroom/change room system is designed based on sex (which is bi-polar), thus the current system simply doesn’t have the capacity to satisfy the needs based on gender (which happens to have a spectrum). The solution is to increase the bandwidth – by providing private/all-gender/gender neutral washroom/change rooms. Allowing free access to the washroom and change room that corresponds to the students self-identified gender identity is not a feasible solution in practice.
References:
1. The 2004 ACB policy (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Two-Spirit, Questioning POLICY) is available at http://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-policy/acb-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-transsexual-two-spirit-questioning
2. The 2014 draft of Revised Policy and Regulations: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (ACB and ACB R-1) is available at http://www.vsb.bc.ca/sites/default/files/C3%20%20item%202%20ACB%20draft%20policy%20and%20reg%20memo%20all.pdf
3. Within BC, a list of related School district policies and regulations is available at BCTF’s website: https://www.bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17994
4. Questions & Answers for Parents and Family Members of Gender Variant and Transgendered Youth (Vancouver School Board, 2011): http://www.pflagsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/qanda_for_parents_and_family_of_transgender_2011-english1.pdf
本文发布于： 2014-5-27 12:21
