Right now, single-sex spaces and opportunities, including dormitories, athletics, locker rooms, rape crisis centers, and prisons, remain unprotected in Nebraska. The Stand with Women Act (LB89) would fix this. 

I, Amie Ichikawa, have personally seen the effects of allowing men in women’s prisons in California, and without passing the Stand with Women Act, Nebraska could become the next California. 

I served nearly five years in the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, one of the largest women’s prisons in the country. During that time, I experienced how vital it is to have single-sex spaces for the safety, privacy, and rehabilitation of incarcerated women. When California passed Senate Bill 132—the so-called “Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act”—in 2020, it allowed male inmates to transfer into women’s prisons, even if they had not undergone any “gender-affirming” treatment. I began receiving desperate calls, letters, and emails from women still in prison, begging for help as men were being placed in their cells and their lives were turned upside down. Many of these had violent criminal histories. I know of a male inmate who was isolated in a men’s prison for assaulting his bunkmates but was transferred directly into a women’s general population cell with seven women. I have now dedicated my life to fighting for the rights of those who can’t speak for themselves, like these seven women. 

I, Abigail New, moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in 2005, and I spent the rest of my formative years in this great state. Growing up in Nebraska, I never could have imagined we would be debating what a woman is or questioning whether women deserve their own spaces and opportunities. I’ve heard the stories of women who have suffered emotional, psychological, sexual, and/or physical trauma experience the jarring effect of having males in their locker rooms and prison cells without their consent. Having experienced domestic violence, I know firsthand how distressing and debilitating it is to be forced to re-live trauma, even when I thought I was safe. 

We all want to ensure the rights of every man and woman are defended, but when men have unfettered access to women’s spaces, like prisons, women are always disproportionately harmed, and their rights are discarded in the name of inclusion. 

The Stand With Women Act is a necessary step to ensure the problems evident from policy in California do not happen here in Nebraska. The Stand with Women Act accomplishes two common-sense things. First, it defines widely understood terms such as “female” and “male” already used in Nebraska law. Without clear definitions, policies that prioritize ideology over reality will continue to endanger the safety, privacy, and rights of women. When these words aren’t defined, women always suffer the consequences. Second, this bill ensures the preservation of single-sex spaces, which is critical for the dignity and well-being of women. 

Please do not misinterpret the Stand with Women Act to be something it is not. Merely codifying widely understood definitions to existing terms and protecting women’s hard-earned rights is not controversial. And rest assured, you can be both for equality and single-sex spaces. 

Together, we ask the Nebraska lawmakers to preserve women’s rights and restore fairness, safety, and dignity to spaces where women are most vulnerable by saying yes to the Stand with Women Act.