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Diabierna 25 Maart 2022

Arizona lawmakers vote to restrict trans athletes, surgeries

ers to play on teams that align law is now blocked in court, Similar legislation passed
with their gender identities along with another in West the Idaho House earlier this
out of about 170,000 high Virginia. month but it died in the Sen-
school athletes in the state, ate amid concerns from some
according to the Arizona In- “This bill is creating a point- Republicans about restricting
terscholastic Association. less and harmful solution to parental rights.
a non-existent issue,” Sky-
“This bill to me is all about bi- ler Morrison, a 13-year-old Supporters of the Arizona
ology,” said Republican Rep. transgender girl, told law- bill said it would prevent
Shawnna Bolick, who said makers during a committee children from making per-
she played on a coed team in hearing earlier this month. manent decisions that they
the 1980s but could not have “It’s obvious this bill is just might later come to regret.
made the high school boys an excuse to discriminate Republican Rep. John Kava-
team. “In my opinion, its un- against transgender girls.” nagh compared the vote to
fair to allow biological males the Legislature’s unanimous
to compete with biological Republicans around the decision in 2014 to ban geni-
girls sports.” country have leaned into tal mutilation.
(AP) — The Arizona teams. culture war issues including
Legislature passed bills Critics said the legislation transgender rights. The de- “We should stand the same
Thursday to prohibit gen- Republicans have said block- dehumanizes trans youth to bate and vote on the trans- way today because this is mu-
der reassignment surgery ing transgender athletes from address an issue that hasn’t gender sports legislation tilation of children,” Kavana-
for minors and ban trans- girls sports teams would pro- been a problem. came the same morning the gh said. “It is irreversible. It is
gender athletes from play- tect the integrity of women’s Arizona House passed a ban horrific.”
ing on girls sports teams, sports, claiming that trans “We’re talking about legislat- on abortions after 15 weeks
joining a growing list of athletes would have an ad- ing bullying against children of pregnancy. Republicans Critics said the decision
Republican-controlled vantage. who are already struggling said little during debates on should be left to parents,
states attempting to re- just to get by,” said Demo- all three bills. their children and the health
strict transgender rights Many point to the transgen- cratic Rep. Kelli Butler, fight- care team caring for them.
as they gain more visibil- der collegiate swimmer Lia ing back tears. Arizona is one of 20 states They said surgeries are only
ity in culture and society. Thomas, who won an in- that have considered legis- performed after extensive
dividual title at the NCAA Until two years ago, no state lation to restrict gender-af- care and therapy.
Republican Gov. Doug Du- Women’s Division I Swim- had passed a law regulat- firming health care. The bill
cey has not said whether ming and Diving Champion- ing gender-designated youth originally would have banned “We’re talking about our kids,
he will sign either bill. Two ship last week. sports. But the issue has be- all such care for minors but who are already going to be
GOP governors this week come front and center in was scaled back to restrict taking the proper steps with
bucked conservatives in their But there are few trans ath- Republican-led statehouses only irreversible procedures, their parents to be able to be
party and vetoed bills in Indi- letes in Arizona schools. since Idaho lawmakers passed such as surgeries related to who they are,” said Demo-
ana and Utah requiring trans Since 2017, about 16 trans the nation’s first sports par- gender reassignment. cratic Rep. Andres Cano.
girls to play on boys sports athletes have received waiv- ticipation law in 2020. That

U. of Michigan agrees to settle students’ sex-abuse lawsuit

(AP) - The University of Michi- concerns and their needs,” Cantalupo school,” said Graham, whose suit,
gan has reached an agreement to said in a videoconferencing call with filed in 2021, did not seek monetary “Many that we found which had
settle a lawsuit brought by stu- reporters announcing the settlement. relief. CCRTs were smaller, and Berkeley
dents who sought to force chang- was a very comparable, we thought,
es in how the school protects the The school has been rocked by alle- The core of the settlement, which still institution to look at,” Strickman
campus from sexual misconduct. gations that began to publicly surface requires the approval of U.S. District said. “So, spent a lot of time learning
in 2020 from hundreds of men who Court Judge Victoria Roberts, is the about their CCRT.”
As part of the deal, which was filed said they were sexually assaulted by creation of the CCRT, which plain-
in federal court on Thursday, the Ann the late Robert Anderson, a campus tiffs’ attorneys said are widely recog- “There are a lot of untapped areas that
Arbor school will create and pay for doctor who spent nearly 40 years at nized by experts as an indispensable we can really capitalize upon with the
a multidisciplinary standing commit- Michigan. He died in 2008. In Janu- tool in the fight to prevent campus CCRT,” she said.
tee designed to protect the university ary, the school announced a $490 sexual violence.
community from and prevent sexual million settlement with Anderson’s Strickman said the team could “take
abuse. accusers — a separate legal action Michigan’s full CCRT will meet at a deeper dive into” academic re-
from the class-action suit brought by least three times a year to “assess, search and “use that information to
The Coordinated Community Re- Josephine Graham, a University of plan, monitor and evaluate sexual strengthen resources across campus.”
sponse Team will be comprised of Michigan senior. Both agreements misconduct prevention and response
about 30 members, including Title were reached under the supervision efforts,” the university said in a state- For example, she said, the CCRT
IX and campus sexual misconduct of a court-appointed mediator, the ment. might examine studies on why un-
experts, community members and school said. der-represented people are less like-
select members of the administration It will be co-chaired by an external ly to report sexual misconduct and
and faculty. In addition, Mark Schlissel was re- adviser, a faculty member and the perhaps recommend to Michigan’s
moved earlier this year as university university’s executive director of the administration that a therapist be em-
“But I think most importantly, it has president after emails detailing an al- Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Of- bedded within residence halls.
representation from students and leged inappropriate sexual relation- fice.
survivors,” said Nancy Cantalupo, ship between him and a subordinate
an assistant professor of law at Wayne were discovered. And the university The latter, Tamiko Strickman, who
State University. “They will all have paid $9.25 million to eight women also serves as a special adviser to
a seat at the table alongside the other who reported emotional or sexual school President Mary Sue Coleman,
experts that are on the CCRT. abuse by Martin Philbert, who over said a review of existing Coordinated
25 years rose from professor to pro- Community Response Teams else-
“And that will give them a direct line vost, Michigan’s senior academic of- where led her to one at the Univer-
into the administration — and the ficial. He was removed in 2020. sity of California, Berkeley, which
upper levels of the administration she views as a model for University
— in terms of communicating their “We know there is broken trust at this of Michigan.