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by sexual violence, help is available at rainn.org.The Trump administration has done it again: Recently, it officially rescinded Biden-era protections for LGBTQ+ students, student survivors of sexual harassment and assault, and students who are pregnant, parenting, or lactating.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 th