Is this legal?

"Have you not been on holiday abroad? Unisex loos are everywhere."

We go on holiday a couple of times a year, driving through France, Germany, Italy and Austria and haven't come across any unisex loos, they are all clearly marked "Male"/"Female".
This includes hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, museums, art galleries, motorway services, even the little motorway stops with a few benches and tables, there are clearly designated loos for both sexes.

Let the organisers know, so many think that no-one minds because nobody complains. The guy looking for the cleaning cupboard was probably embarrassed - he probably thought he'd accidentally gone in the ladies, so quickly made an excuse. Most men don't want this either, it's mad.

Pinkpanther473

First of all, unisex toilets are perfectly legal but the toilets as described by you are not unisex toilets. Unisex toilets are self-contained rooms with floor to ceiling walls and a lockable door where both the toilet and the washbasin are behind said lockable door for use by just one person at a time and opening directly onto a circulation space like a corridor.

As you've correctly surmised, what you have there are previously single-sex toilets that have been declared mixed-sex. So you could ask to see their equality impact assessment. Women from certain cultural or religious backgrounds cannot use sanitary facilities that are mixed-sex, so they are being discriminated against here.

And because race and religion are protected characteristics under the Equality Act just like sex, anyone who provides services to the public should do Equality Impact Assessments and companies who are not public sector or offering services to the public should have equality policies in place that ensure no one with a protected characteristic is discriminated against.

So you could ask where the toilets are for use by these women, too.

What kind of company is it?

Koomoo I’m currently in a Muslim country. Only single sex toilets here and only single sex toilets in the UK airport I flew from. I’ve travelled to Spain several times in the past few years, never seen a gender neutral there either.
The only time I come across them is in my favourite pub that only has room for one loo and the local arts centre - all of them are single enclosed cubicles and have usually got male pee everywhere (especially towards the end of the night).

It's illegal lweji

I think you have a point about the gaps, particularly at the top, but I think that may be a legal requirement to prevent people from being locked up in cubicles.

The toilets I use at work are only partially separated and there's effectively only a thin partition between the male and female cubicles.
It kind of feels mixed.
It can feel slightly uncomfortable but not much more than being next to other women in cubicle rows.

I suppose it can feel less safe in a place with mostly strangers.

oh, x post with GCA.

Due respect to other people's views, but the old 'do you have sex segregated toilets at home' argument is a bit daft. Your home is private. Plus, you're unlikely to have a large bathroom with multiple cubicles and urinals. It's one person at a time, usually.

I'm ignoring the idiot and will focus on the question at hand.

OP, as I understand it, unisex toilets have to be fully enclosed (ie not a cubicle with a gap) and have a basin inside the cubicle. But please check, don't take that as gospel!

I would ask the organisers if a risk and equality impact assessment have been carried out (they won't, I can almost guarantee it).

I thought unisex cubicles had to be floor to ceiling without gaps above or below the door - but could be wrong.

This is correct. The toilets the OP describes are in breach of the legislation that states separate rooms (which could be fully enclosed cubicles) must be provided for men and women:

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/regulation/20/made

lucasthecat the only comparison I made was would you expect seperate loos for men and women at home. I never said it was an open house for strangers to use.

In op post she said it was in a work setting. Therefore I consider co- users colleagues rather than strangers (although depends on how large the organisation is).

As you were. Wasn’t meant to derail

Same old mn contradiction. Meant to be a place to debate and share differing views but actually your contribution is only valid if it supports the op.

I’m out.

KooMoo - It’s you who started the false equivalence between what’s fine at home is fine at work - That’s how logic works -

This isn’t about being happy to allow your own private loos at home to be used by strangers.

It isn’t the same at all.

This is about everyone whatever their gender being able to use a public\work toilet facility. Two different things although for the same end.

Yeah, I think we've covered all angles in response to KooMoo, and they clearly don't have a clue about the importance of single sex provision, so I'd suggest either posting some links to show the evidence for that or save your energy. Unless you're in the mood for combat with some GFery which I know can be cathartic. I'm off to do something more interesting, like cleaning the bins.

Understanding the difference between private personal space and public space is not^^ "precious"

Having boundaries is healthy and afaic having them as a woman is now a political act since so many seem to want females to have no boundaries at all.

To answer the OP, and ignore the derailer...

OP, are you able to ask the course provider / reception etc where the single sex toilets are?

And of course make sure you feedback about the lack of toilets in the inevitable end of course survey...

I bet there's piss everywhere and so it doesn't come as a big shock when using the public ones.

Hmm?

If koomoo's reasoning is used a lot it's handy to know if there are people around the country who are happy to open their bathrooms to people who are unable to use public toilets due to safety concerns. That's assuming that koomoo's bathroom is the usual self contained room that locks from the inside with a door that has no gaps.

Fgs, you’re using a loo! Not having sex, walking around naked, leaving cash and valuables around.

It’s not difficult. Go in. Close door. Use loo. Come out. Wash hands. Done.

Have you not been on holiday abroad? Unisex loos are everywhere.

Precious lot.

God, they really do think that's a devastating gotcha, don't they?

Not trying to derail this thread, but the bathroom at home analogy is so irrelevant, whatever you think about single sex/mixed loos, as EL2019 & terryleather say. I could almost do a AIBU about it.

Oh, the do you have seperate toilets at home thing again?

You’d have thought people would’ve got tired of using that one by now on account of how blatantly stupid it is.

Stupid clings to stupid I guess.