Two women were asked to leave a women's shelter in Canada on Thursday because they objected to rooming with a transgender individual claiming to be a woman.
Tracey and Blaine were asked to leave the women's shelter after they talked to the media, which "broke the confidentiality agreement," Global News reports. The shelter in Kelowna, British Columbia is run by the NOW Canada Society, which provides services for abused women.
Tracey said she was uncomfortable sharing a room with a man transitioning towards being a woman, while Blaine had fled an abusive relationship and was concerned with a man being at a facility which only houses women.
"He wants to become a woman, I mean that is his choice but when a man comes into a women’s shelter who still has a penis and genitals he has more rights than we do," Tracey said.
"Some women have had bad experiences with men so they are fleeing men and now we have a man living there," Blaine said.
Tracey told Global News what the shelter employees told her when she raised her concerns.
"They told me, 'sorry, if a person identifies themselves with female, then we have to go with that,'" Tracey said.
NOW Canada would not speak to the media on this specific case.
Tracey and Blaine are now afraid that their safety has been compromised since they were forced to leave the shelter. But they said that they have no regrets about speaking up, even though they were kicked out.
"Hopefully we will stay safe," Blaine said.
Blaine added that more needs to be done to help the trans population and give them access to their own shelters.
"We need to make a fine line between the distinction of male, female, and transgender. I think it's all three different groups," she said. "I feel bad for this person. They're transitioning, but they need to be in a place where they can associate with other people like them."