Trans Woman Who Works for the University of Kansas Was Reported to HR for Using the Restroom

A transgender woman who works for the University of Kansas was reported after she used the women’s restroom on campus. 

Siobhán Kirchstein is a janitor at the university’s Kansas Geological Survey, according to the Lawrence Times.

“My immediate reaction was complete shock that anyone in the Kansas Geological Survey would do that to me in the first place,” Kirchstein told the paper. “And then I was furious about it.” 

Kirchstein said she’d used the women’s bathroom at the University of Kansas for years. However, that was before a bill was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature that now bars trans people from using restrooms that fit their gender identity in public facilities. Instead, they have to use the restrooms that are designated for the same gender as their gender assigned at birth. 

An email from Katie Varner, the university’s director of employee relations, to Kirchstein said, “I am reaching out to you from Human Resources in response to a report received that I have an obligation to follow up on.”

It continued: “I wish to preface this email by acknowledging this is a sensitive matter and my intention in reaching out is to provide awareness of the report and the law, extend to you an opportunity to be heard, and if helpful, share resources.”

Related: “The Persecution Is The Point”: Kansas Voids Trans Residents’ IDs

According to the Times, after a report is made about a person’s restroom use, the new law requires an institution, like the university, to notify the person of the date and location of the restroom use, plus additional information about the law and potential fines. 

Those fines could find the university paying $25,000 for the first violation, $125,000 for each additional violation, the paper reports. 

Those reported to be using a bathroom that the law forbids them to use can face a $1,000 fine after the second violation. If caught using the so-called “wrong” bathroom after that, they could face a misdemeanor charge. 

“It does not matter whether or not KU says they’re not going to enforce SB 244 because all it takes is one person to freak out in the bathroom and report me, and that is exactly what happened,” Kirchstein told the paper. 

In the email, Varner told Kirchstein she could be reassigned to a different area to work. 

“Why should I move myself to a building just so I can use a bathroom that would make other people more comfortable?” she asked in the interview with the Times. “I’m just going to keep using the bathrooms that make me comfortable because I’m a human being. I have dignity, and telling me that I can’t use a particular bathroom because it makes other people uncomfortable, that takes away from that.”

Since receiving the email, Kirchstein said she’s reached out to some advocacy groups, according to the paper. 

For now, Kirchstein said she plans to stay in her job. 

“I’ll stay until they basically fire me,” Kirchstein said. “If that’s what they want to do, that’s what I’ll do. But I have no intention of complying. No intention at all.”

Kirchstein, who is with Lawrence PRIDE, said she will fight for her rights and is confident of the support from her community in Lawrence, Kansas. 

“I remain positive because, regardless of what they do, this community right here in Lawrence is amazing because we show up. And we show up in these safe places with joy and vibrancy,” she explained to the paper. “We can be exactly who we want to be, and we’re accepted for exactly who we want to be, and we stand up for each other because we believe in mutual aid, which is beautiful.”