So I got a bit dragged in by a puppy over on the Peggie case.
I am just taking a wee gander at the appealable points.
The judgment says at 312
The 1992 Regs do not distinguish between a man and a woman’s human right to bodily privacy. The requirement for separate facilities is for moral propriety between the sexes i.e. of both sexes relative to each other. Both women and men have privacy needs when using the toilet. [Moral propriety is shoe horned in here. It has nothing to do with Reg 20]
The 1992 Regs do not give any primacy to a woman’s bodily privacy over a man’s. A woman in the female toilets would be using a toilet within a cubicle but a man in the male toilets might be using a urinal rather than a cubicle and the presence of a trans man may have greater impact on their privacy.
It cannot reasonably be said the presence of a trans woman in the female toilets would cause a greater violation of a woman’s bodily privacy than the presence of a trans man in the male toilets would cause to a man’s bodily privacy. There was no basis for concluding that the toilets were less suitable for a woman than a man.
Yes a trans identified male, i.e. a biological man does have a greater impact upon a woman. The reasons for this are many.
The Judge bangs on a fair bit about how the cubicles are private but sinks can be mixed sex.
My view is this an appealable point as men do not require the level of privacy women do.
Consider men actually use public urinals. There is no equivalent for women.
Women need privacy from men while washing their hands while using the toilet or in the general space of the toilet room. Womens bodies and functions are markedly different to mens.
Men use the loos mostly to pee, otherwise to poop. Its a binary use. Any other use isn't suitable for work.
Women at work will be managing menstruation, bleeding during pregnacy, concerns re managing a miscarriage, pregnancy related vomiting and hyper emesis, maternity related issues including management of post birth bleeding, re-dressing ceaserean scars, expressing milk, managing breast engorgement when returning to work while still breastfeeding, age related menopausal flooding. In many of these cases women need privacy to change their clothes and need privacy to navigate between toilets and sinks.
If women use menstrual cups, empting in toilet and rinsing in the sink is common.
Statistically women are more likely to urinary tract infections (UTIs) due to anatomy, leading to frequent urination and discomfort. thenewfeminist.co.uk.
The Workplace Regs ensure that sanitary disposal in stalls but they didn't consider impact of moon cups/ re-usable sanitary wear. Sinks are required for this use.
This is why women suffer direct disrcrimination if bio men are allowed to use the ladies, compared to bio women using the mens. And why the sinks need to be included in the envelope of the toilet space as they are essential to women's privacy.