To think secondary schools should not have unisex toilets?

[seriouslylong]

So my daughter started secondary school this year in a temporary sight and yesterday moved to the permanent sight. She came home and told me they only have unisex toilets in the school

I looked on a local Facebook page this morning and there was a parent on there asking for opinions.

I don't think boys and girls should have to share a toilet! They need their privacy at this age!

What are your thoughts? Also would be interested to hear if your children have unisex toilets at school?

Arkos did the school you worked in do risk and equality impact assessments and consult with the school community first? Obvioudkycreducubg bullying and vandalism are important they are not the only things to consider, particularly when a quarter if girls are leaving school reporting sexual harassment and assault and the stars tell us that assaults are much more likely in unisex facilities.

Argh, on train, don't know what happened there!

I prefer a truly unisex toilet than a 'stall' toilet with 30cm above and below the door and gas in the side.

From my time at an all girls school and now in the workplace, women are equally as capable of leaving toilets in a disgusting state as men.

Yes absolutely...consultation with pupils was carried out. It was overwhelming positive. The toilets before were a no go zone for many...now pupils are able to use the facilities without fear. It's been very positive.
They have nicer facilities than staff... Dyson handdriers and everything.

I can't see how assaults would happen tbh... it's an open plan arrangement onto corridors or social areas. The pupils are never alone in the toilet. It actually means staff can supervise without feeling awkward about going into a toilet space as well.

I would have hated it. I wonder if it's to stop loitering. We used to spend ages doing our makeup and gossiping in the loos.

I don't think I could poo in unisex toilets. I also think it's one space without boys.

Such a shame.

In an elementary school a sixth grader who is a natal male but identifies as "gender fluid" went into a girls' washroom and sexually molested a first grade girl.

Unisex toilets, unless they are private, are really not appropriate for children.

I think it depends how they are set out.
Does each toilet have a full door, without gaps.
Do they have a sink and bin in the cubicle?

I do think they can work but only if they are fully enclosed toilet cubicles with full doors and ideally each with their own sink and sanitary bin, and opening onto a corridor - so no hidden areas for loitering or hiding possible.

I don't think unisex toilets are bad per say. Many places have them - cafes, work places, disabled toilets, etc. But they have to be a safe place for everyone using them.

Just something that hasn't been thrown into the mix yet, what about hygiene?

Are boys and girls having to lift and put down toilet seats that hundreds of other people have used? or are boys just not bothering to lift the toilet seat and then (inevitably) pissing on it, either on purpose or due to bad aim. I personally am very sensitive down there and have caught many UTI's and other nasty infections from sitting on a sear in a uni sex toilet which has been pissed on and then either left or hastily wiped off with toilet paper which doesn't eliminate the germs.

Just from this point of view I think they're a bad idea.

I didn't even like walking past the boys toilets in high school. Really intimidating

I Don't understand the hysteria. All public toilets are nasty.. I've certainly found wee all over the seats in ladies toilets befor me due to hoverers. As I said we have accrual girl and boy cubicles. The girls have sanny bins in them. No one bats and eyelid and it's certainly not scarring kids for life. An attack wouldn't happen as the area is open plan.... there are no walls enclosing the toilet area. The cubicles are far more private... no chance of anyone looking under the door for example.
No smoking. No taking drugs. No spending ages on make up. It's simple and it works.

Our same sex work toilets were pretty foul - professional offices - until they started having facilities doing checks 6 times a day on them. I would far prefer nice, open toilets with shared common area and one side for me one side for women that you get in public spaces.

To the PP that say we have unisex toilets st home. True but it’s only the three of using them and funny enough I know the three people well. Now if I was to put a sign outside my toilet that said gender neutral toilet available then it would be equivalent to public toilets as I wouldn’t know who would be using them and actually I wouldn’t feel safe either.

I would totally have preferred them at school but then I didnt go to the sort of school where people felt comfortable to rinse their pants in the sink, or walk around with hands covered in blood, even in the girls.

I would have preferred self enclosed unisex toilets when i was at school because one reason I didn't like going was the groups of bitchy girls having make up parties and holding court in there, sniggering at people going to the loo. Even if they weren't being unkind, I hated the paranoia feeling of being heard.

Fully enclosed toilet and basin would have been much much better for me and as a member of staff I actually think a couple of fully enclosed unisex toilets in each block would be better all round than what lots of schools do which is have large toilet areas where people congregate.

Like this... look there's a photocopier... maybe a classroom or two. Or a large social area with seating. Unisex yes but much safer than an enclosed space where bullying can happen without staff being aware. It's modern and it's reduced a lot of issues.

Seriously pollard? You've caught lots of infections from dirty toilet seats? How are on earth are you sitting on the loo that stuffs getting up your urethra? And you've only caught stuff from unisex toilets, cos women never piss on the seats?

I agree, how do you get a UTI from a toilet seat?

i would much prefer unisex open toilet

• female loos are usually much worse than male in terms of being soiled (interesting job when i was a student...)
• much less chance of being assaulted in big unisex (girls can be evil as well - more witnesses is better)
• properly closed doors rather than flimsy stalls with more gap than door means you csm change if necessary without everyone knowing

open plan layout, not open toilets!

Hysteria? Nice misogynistic slur there. Concern that the safety, dignity and privacy of girls isn't being addressed. Girls that, in the school in question, will come from a variety of cultures.

That's good they consulted with the school body (did they carry out those assessments too?). Like I said, when this company I know consulted their mainly female staff they were told the exact opposite, that unisex loos were deeply unpopular.

Girls, boys and unisex. Open plan if they must but kept separate. Anyone would think that single sex spaces were something to be discouraged, instead of being proven to be beneficial to girls, who, it seems, can't even pee away from boys anymore.

Actually I think all toilets should be like this, everywhere. This is what I have at work.
Will stop the senseless lines to female toilets.

Stop indoctrinating your daughters that they are some weak creatures in need of special protection from the boys during the shameful and vulnerable acts of defecation urination and tampon changing. And if the boys are “groupy” anywhere report them to the teacher ffs. This is sexual assault wherever it happens...

I would have absolutely hated this as a teenage girl. If they poll the pupils & all agree, then fine but blanket imposition without consultation is not on.

It is hysteria... because the girls peeing in these toilets have privacy. No one can hear what's going on in thr cubicles. They are also safe as no one can assault them in an open area where there can be surveillance.
No one is taking away girls rights or boys rights for that matter. They get privacy to do what they need and then they go off in safety to get on with their day. It's not a rights issue if the toilets are presented as shown.