Dads using female communal changing room

Mate. I have proven all I need to prove to a sufficient standard.

Technically its legal for me to give my 5yo child a gin and tonic.

Doesn't mean its sensible for me to do it... and I'm pretty sure would trigger a safeguarding referral if my 5yo told someone I did it. (Please note... I don't have a 5yo and I have never given one alcohol)

It may not be Technically illegal for a man to enter, but it doesn't mean they can't get o trouble for doing so. (Such as being banned from the venue).

Equality act 2010.

the onus is on the provider but the law as clarified by FWS 2025 makes it clear that men are not allowed in women’s single sex spaces.

I don’t how else to explain it to you.

the SC judges didn’t say “he’s allowed if he’s a nice man”. “He’s allowed in if he didn’t know”. “It’s ok if he’s changing his daughter”

they said. Sex means sex.

single sex spaces must be single sex.

which means. No men in the women’s and no women in the men’s. Where those spaces are exempt spaces, as changing rooms are.

If you don’t want to speak to him directly I would speak to a worker and get them to chat with him!

You claimed superior legal knowledge, claimed it was illegal for a man simply to be present in a single sex space - but are unable to cite the relevant law?

I don't have to.

I've illustrated my point.

Thank you.

You still haven't been able to point to the law that you claimed exists.

This is exactly the argument I had to make when there were people questioning the rules at my DDs swim school.

Their rule is we go in the changing room of the sex of the adult obviously. But people were still disagreeing, even when I said if my DH takes DD9 and she wants to go in the ladies on her own then there should not be the risk of a male adult in there! This is a basic right surely. I couldn't believe people didn't get this

That makes absolutely no sense in relation to the comment you're replying to.

Well no, but in theory yes. A young girl will be safe in the men's changing room because she's being accompanied by her father, a 9yo girl getting changed unaccompanied in the female changing rooms is unsafe if random men are allowed in there.

But it’s ok @RedToothBrush never mind the law if the man was a nice man and didn’t mean it.

You have just become a man arguing about what safeguarding is and isn't on a thread about men in women's changing rooms in the presence of children.

Congratulations.

It's not MY approach to safeguarding.

It IS safeguarding.

HTH.

If you keep all men out of female single sex spaces then you keep out those who can genuinely cause harm but are clever enough to conceal their intent as well as the obvious creeps who can cause harm

Your approach to safeguarding puts children at risk - because you simply focus on the obvious problems. Safeguarding 101 is really: "It could happen here."

It's very easy to find those who behave oddly - but those who genuinely cause harm are very often clever enough to conceal their intend. They celebrate people like you who help to draw attention away from them.

OP has said that in this slot there are only primary school children, 3-11yo and that the only options are women's changing rooms, men's changing rooms or a few cubicles that are always busy.

She hasn't said about age limit for either changing room, even when others have mentioned this, which suggests it might not apply in this slot, when only children are changing with the help of their parents or carers.

Presumably, this is a little girl, as otherwise she could change by herself. So the option would be to take her to the men's, where there are mostly boys up to 11yo and adult men supervising these, or take her to the women's, where most are girls and their mums. If I had sent my DH to the swimming pool with my then 6yo DD (for example), I'm not sure I'd be happy knowing he changed her in the men's communal area in front of all the dads and 3-11yo boys. But for that reason I might have suggested to wait for the cubicle or put a robe and get back home, if that's a choice. I think the complaint in the pool has to be about not enough cubicles.

Safeguarding 101

You treat everyone who engaged in behaviour that's problematic as a safeguarding risk and treat them as having failed to meet safeguarding standards.

There is no 'giving the benefit of the doubt'

Why?

Because that behaviour puts children at risk and you can't tell the intent of an individual.

Anyone engaging in behaviour that breaks safeguarding puts ALL children at risk of you start making exceptions and going "well I know Joe, he's a good guy, just feckless". Because you then set a precedent for others to exploit this logic and your good will.

Anyone who behaves in a manner that a creep would has to be treated like a creep to stop creeps.

When mine did swimming lessons the swim school sent out a message that children over 8 needed to use the correct changing room without an adult.
Children under 8 needed to go to the changing room that matched the sex of the parent changing them, so if I took my children they would come to the women's but if my husband took them they would have to go to the men's (I have a boy and girl).

You're both not completely wrong. It affects probability. More people drink tea than coffee, so if I meet a stranger, I can expect that they would prefer tea - it doesn't mean they do.

The same would apply to the example by @Liquoriceallsortsmadear:
if A is a random person unknown to the child and B a random person known to the child, statistically it is more likely that B would cause harm. As it is overall not likely that either causes harm, it's very unlikely on an individual level - but that doesn't change the relationship.

There is no reason a man should be in the women’s changing room. If there are cubicles he should use those if he doesn’t want to use the men’s. And the same with women going in the men’s. The gender of the adult dictates which room they use.

If there are boys in the ladies they presumably will be young. An 11 yo girl is far less likely to be bothered by a 5 yo boy being changed by their mum presence than an adult man

Why on earth would a dad be changing an 11 year old girl or any 11 yo for that matter? Outside of asn where disabled facilities would be more appropriate. Most dc by age 6 can manage this independently

Of course it’s not ok. The older girls could be in there without an adult who could feel very uncomfortable . Parents having sent them in in good faith to a female changing room. No man should be in there for any reason outside of a staff member who may need to enter if no female available, in which case they would knock and announce

NRTFT, but at our swimming lessons boys over the age of eight are not allowed in the ladies changing room and vice versa, anyone who has an issue with it is given shirt shrift by the organisers.