TOKYO -- More than 80% of school nurses in a recent survey said they feel that gender-segregated uniforms for students are problematic, according to a Tokyo-based pro-LGBTQ nonprofit organization.

Pride House Tokyo on Dec. 5 released the results of a survey asking school nurses about their awareness regarding sexual minorities and their experiences with such students. In recent years, there has been a movement across Japan to make school uniforms gender neutral, and the survey revealed that the vast majority of school nurses think there should be flexible options.

Commissioned by Pride House Tokyo, social epidemiology professor Yasuharu Hidaka at Takarazuka University conducted the survey between January and March. Through teacher study groups, the survey called on nurses at elementary, junior high and high schools in nine local bodies in Japan, and received valid responses from 2,172 people.

For transgender students, gendered uniforms tend to cause difficulties in school life. Asked if they think there were no problems with conventional uniforms where items are determined by gender, 85% of school nurses responded, "I disagree." Ninety-six percent said that a system where students can choose between different combinations, such as pants, skirts, ties or ribbons, is better.

The survey also asked school nurses who had experience working with sexual minority students about organizational information-sharing. Some 90% of respondents said that they had shared information with other teachers when they were consulted by those students, but only about half of these nurses had obtained consent from the students. Communicating someone's sexual orientation or gender identity to others without their consent is called "outing," which goes against the usual requirement of obtaining their consent.

Basic knowledge about sexual minorities was widespread, with more than 90% of the respondents stating that they did not think homosexuality is a mental illness. On the other hand, there was a certain amount of misunderstanding about sexual orientation, which is not regarded as a matter of individual choice, with about 40% of respondents saying that they thought people can choose whether to be homosexual or heterosexual according to their own wishes.

Regarding information-sharing within the organization, Hidaka pointed out, "I think there is a culture in schools to share information without asking the person's wishes. I want school staff to understand that it is crucial to carefully explain to the person and confirm their intention." He added, "The entire school, not just the nurse's office, should be involved in the issue, based on the premise that those people (of sexual minorities) are in the school."

(Japanese original by Miyuki Fujisawa, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)