+ Mission: Ahead + Upstarts + Work Transformed + Innovative Cities * Style -- * Transgender teens in schools with bathroom restrictions are at higher risk of sexual assault, study says -- Updated 0617 GMT (1417 HKT) May 6, 2019 At the center of the transgender bathroom debate At the center of the transgender bathroom debate JUST WATCHED At the center of the transgender bathroom debate Replay -- MUST WATCH At the center of the transgender bathroom debate 01:34 (CNN)Transgender and gender-nonbinary US teens -- those whose sexual identity falls outside the traditional male and female -- are at greater risk of sexual assault at schools that deny them access to -- school were classified as having "restrictive access." Just over 1 out of every 4 students in the study, or 25.9%, reported being a victim of sexual assault in the past 12 months. Transgender and gender-nonbinary teens who were subject to restroom or locker room restrictions had an even higher prevalence of sexual assault, at 36%, according to the findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The rates of sexual assault for nontrans US teens, those whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, is 15% for girls and 4% for boys, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey -- Read More Research has shown that restrictive policies draw unwanted negative attention to trans and gender-nonbinary teens, but until this study, it wasn't clear whether there was a connection to sexual violence, Murchison said. -- In 2018, a federal court ruled against a Virginia school district that prohibited Gavin Grimm, a transgender male student, from using the boys' bathroom at school. The ruling came four years after Grimm's initial complaint. Meet Gavin Grimm, the transgender student at the center of bathroom debate Meet Gavin Grimm, the transgender student at the center of bathroom debate Meet Gavin Grimm, the transgender student at the center of bathroom debate Later that year, federal courts ruled in favor of a trans student in Florida and another in Pennsylvania who were prohibited by school staff from using restrooms consistent with their sexual identities. -- Stephen Rosenthal, medical director of the clinic, in the editorial. All the ways the Trump administration has rolled back protections for transgender people All the ways the Trump administration has rolled back protections for transgender people All the ways the Trump administration has rolled back protections for transgender people Non-transgender students are mistakenly thought to be the ones at risk of sexual assault by "transgender intruders" or by predators posing as transgender students, they wrote. "Sometimes it is the school personnel who hold this attitude. Sometimes it is anxious and angry parents who do not want their children exposed to or 'damaged by' the gender-minority youth at their school." The new study, Ehrensaft and Rosenthal explain, demonstrates that sexual harm is done to -- rather than by -- trans and gender-nonbinary students. -- teens' status as a gender minority, the authors explain, which may in turn make them more likely to become victims of abuse. 3 myths that shape the transgender bathroom debate 3 myths that shape the transgender bathroom debate 3 myths that shape the transgender bathroom debate The policies may also be indicators of a hostile school environment. "Not surprisingly, some will avoid using restrooms altogether," -- Some schools have designated all-gender restrooms that can be used by any student. Although this can be useful, Murchison warns that it should not be the only option available for trans and gender-nonbinary students. -- + Mission: Ahead + Upstarts + Work Transformed + Innovative Cities * Style -- * CNN Store * Newsletters * Transcripts * License Footage * CNN Newsource