The transgender locker room policy in Wisconsin schools is under scrutiny after high school athlete Ella Frei expressed safety concerns. Frei, a proponent of women’s sports, voiced her discomfort about sharing private spaces with a male student in 2022. Despite taking her issues to the school board, they were dismissed, leading her to publicly contest the policy.

Meanwhile, in Norfolk, Virginia, a former police officer sued the city and its police chief. The lawsuit, filed this August, arose from a 2024 incident involving former officer Meghan Grabow. She reported feeling uncomfortable when a recruit, described as a ‘biological male who identifies as a woman,’ entered the women’s locker room while she changed.

Grabow claimed her discomfort was dismissed by superiors, who suggested she should either ‘learn to deal with it’ or use a different locker room. Police chief Mark Talbot reportedly instructed the department to address the recruit as ‘she’ and to let her use the bathroom for her identified gender. Talbot conceded that there could have been better communication about sharing the facilities.

Grabow faced an indefinite suspension for a minor traffic incident from before the locker room event, after attempting to raise her concerns. She seeks $15 million in damages for emotional distress and violation of religious freedoms.

Attorney Scott Lloyd, representing Grabow, emphasized the need to defend female-only spaces, stating that her courage shouldn’t have been necessary.

The Norfolk Police Department declined to comment on ongoing litigation and personnel matters. Their 2020 guidelines instruct employees not to question a transgender person’s identity unless linked to a crime, expecting respect for their gender identity and expression.