Unisex toilets in new office - dread going into work

Her employer decided to move to a location which had no toilets under its direct control.

This means that the employer has no way of vetting the staff or random stranger who used the toilets. Th employer has no way of stoppimg this so the OP is using a mixed sex public toilet.

Her employer decided to move to a location which fails to provided a woman only toilet space so the men who want to harrass the OP are given a point of access.

They dont work for the OPs company if there were no shared toilets the OP would have much less or no contact with these men.

Could women staff members talk to the boss / head of loos and get your company to have a meeting with the boss / head of loos of the other company and formally request more considerate behaviour when using the loos. It sounds quite an uncomfortable space for women. They are your neighbours after all.

The men can make inappropriate comments in other places too. Separate toilets don't do away with ignorant, sexist men.

Ironically, if the OP tried to gather photographic or video evidence in the bathrooms she might well find herself in a lot of trouble.

They might have single-sex provision for perfectly valid reasons (not just cost) and it's not reasonable to assume anything.

Yes! This

I'm not sure why washing your hands at a sink in a room with men is any worse than sharing a work kitchen with men. If the toilets are floor to ceiling then the issue is the spotty guy.

Where on earth do you work? My work has had unisex toilets for years and never had anything even remotely like that happen.

@99bottlesofkombuchabut the male colleagues aren’t going to change their personalities because of 2 toilets? Even if there were 2 toilets it still appears she works with creepy and predatory men.

You think a building owner who skimped on build costs by not providing single sex provision would decide to put in two washing areas?

She wouldn’t be in toilets with them if there were women’s and men’s?

@LillyPJit was not obvious at all that you read the first post!

This is official complaint level- I am regularly faced with harassment in the toilets we share with men including another company, some recent examples are… you need to provide a harassment free work environment. I will be working from home until the office is a harassment free environment with a suitable toilet facility.

actually I would also read/ask the feminism and women’s rights topic about the legal requirements on toilets being single sex at work and send that too. So they are culpable on two counts and putting you at risk.

I don’t understand the connection between the toilets and the inappropriate colleagues. You think they are only being inappropriate because of the unisex toilet and they would behave acceptably if there were male and female loos? You think the unisex loos give green light for them
to behave like that?

I'd be heading next door to the other company and telling them I was en route to the police to make a complaint of sexual harassment against spotty oik. That is like his name for my complaint, or would they rather the police come down and find out/make enquiries themselves?

I don’t think the problem is the toilet, the problem is you work with inappropriate sexual predators. Why did the spotty lad saw that? Did you ask him to repeat it? I don’t think the toilets had influence on that, as he is clearly a creep

I had read the first post, obviously, but I thought there could also be basins in the cubicles which is something I've come across.

You could try to read the first post.

It’s not costly to change this surely… are there two sets of toilets? All they would have to do is change the signs back to Male and Female.

Put in an official complaint about sexual harassment /threats in the workplace on the basis of today’s interaction.

Complain to the other company about sexual harassment by their employees and demand action. Put signs up in the toilet area saying any inappropriate comments or behaviour will be reported and do it. Log all the incidents and present it to the other company.

Right? I mean at least she isn’t being raped or sexually assaulted, she should be so grateful. Silly little woman!

Do the managers use the same toilets?

Either you're a man or a very stupid woman who just hasn't got a clue. Do you also think women who are raped just hadn't got a grip? Sexual assault is sometimes a crime of opportunity and a loo with no CCTV and open to men to use OOH makes women very vulnerable. Just look at the stats for India where in rural areas there aren't separate safe facilities. If you are a biological woman you should be ashamed of yourself trying to shame a woman from keeping herself safe.

Just deal with sexual harassment because you’re a grown woman? Thankfully, women no longer have to put up with this shit and are legally protected. If it’s been reported and the OP’s company are failing to take action to protect their female staff from this harassment they can be taken to an employment tribunal. If OP leaves the company as a result it’s constructive dismissal.

There's nothing ridiculous about unisex toilets with individual floor-to-ceiling facilities.

If someone in the workplace makes an inappropriate comment to you in a common area, you either deal with it if you're able, or you report it to someone who can.

A man making an inappropriate comment at a sink is no different to me than a woman making an inappropriate comment in the stationary cupboard.

A 'spotty young lad' saying something so cartoonish to me would be followed back to his office and asked to explain what he meant in front of his colleagues.