RE: Mixed-sex changing. Please help me write a letter to my local swimming pool/MP

[GeordieGenes]

As the title says really...

My town opened a new leisure center a few years ago. I visited for the first time today.

The changing room was open plan with no designated changing areas for men/women. There were four sex-specific rooms, but these were only for school groups. Everyone else has to get changed in the " hanging village" (hate that phrase). Some of the cubicles had bars on the top, but the bigger ones (for family changing) didn't. Also, the doors did not go to the bottom, so a head could have easily fit under.

There were separate shower facilities. However, these were in a room with no door, just a wall. The showers themselves were open plan, with no doors or curtains. Thus, I didn't feel safe at all. I felt very vulnerable.

I ended up changing in the toilet. The one area for women only, it seems.

I'm not sure I'll go back, and I want them to know why. Does anyone have a good template letter for this? I will CC my (very good) MP too.

There are some good legal pointers here on the fairplayforwomen website

fairplayforwomen.com/changing_rooms/

Also the risk and possibility of being made liable for any incidents that might occur. Put a worse case scenario to them. Ask what they would say in court to any judge regarding steps they have taken to prevent that scenario taking place. Why should they not be held responsible? They are leaving themselves open

(Maybe self interest and risk aversion will work if they don't care about women)

I've been swimming in pools with mixed changing areas a couple of hundred times in the last few years. Nobody has put their head under the door of any changing cubicle I have used. Nor have I see anyone naked in the showers other than toddlers.

If something untoward did happen, I would presumably be able to alert other swimmers and probably staff to the matter.

You're worrying about something that probably won't happen. Is that a good use of your time?

You're worrying about something that probably won't happen. Is that a good use of your time?

1)Do you have smoke alarms in your house?
2) Do you lock the door when you go out?
3) Do you wear a seat belt?
All things that safeguard against stuff that probably won't happen.

On the other hand 30 women a day report being raped.

It’s open a few years, have you heard of any assaults taking place in that time?

"The vast majority of reported sexual assaults at public swimming pools in the UK take place in unisex changing rooms, new statistics reveal."

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/sexual-assault-unisex-changing-rooms-sunday-times-women-risk-a8519086.html

Most of my local pools have mixed changing villages. I can only think of one that doesn't and its our local hotel pool where there are no changing rooms at all, just an area for each gender. I think mixed changing rooms are becoming the norm. In my experience there is a nice family atmosphere to it. You can write to your mp but if its been going a couple of years with no problems I'm not sure how far you will get.

My swimming pool has had mixed changing since it was built. I love it -it makes life so much easier being able to change and get ready as a family.

I don’t even like getting changed in communal, same-sex facilities. You’ll always find me in the loo!

It's the norm where I live. And yes quite recently a man was caught trying to film teenagers under the cubicle wall. Turned out he'd often been spotted showering at the same time as school groups (mixed showers) and had even installed cameras in the ladies loos at the soft play centre that he was the boss of. I think what I took from this is that men like this are very committed to preying upon women and children. And opportunities like mixed changing (and owning a soft play centre ) are safeguarding weaknesses that make it very much easier for them.

Oh, here come the "I'm fine with it, you therefore should be too" crowd. Why don't you accept that many women have absolutely legitimate and very real concerns, and your personal feelings / experience are not in the slightest bit relevant to how other women feel / their own experiences?

@Geordie I would include this research that shows that mixed sex changing rooms increases the risk of sexual assault massively. This is is being forced on a very reluctant public. They should provide single-sex services for those who want them.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sex-pests-target-women-in-mixed-changing-rooms-x3vw2lnv8

and www.thetimes.co.uk/article/unisex-changing-rooms-put-women-in-danger-8lwbp8kgk

I think it’s okay to have a mixed-sex area, but there needs to be single-sex spaces too.

Also, I do like to shower naked. I’m not sure how others shower whilst wearing clothing?

I also don’t know why people are mentioning gender? I want a single-sex space, not single-gender. What on earth would be the point in segregating changing facilities via gender?

If I were you I’d ask specifically for more single sexed spaces, rather than no mixed sex spaces, as they are extremely useful for people with young DC as parents can help get everyone ready together in the same place. Also most swimming baths I’ve been to have one big shower wall, where there’s shower heads poking out of a wall and everyone can see everyone. I usually just wash with my costume on as everyone else does.

The pools round here have been like this as long as I can remember and tbh it doesn't bother me.

However, report about sex offences mostly happening in these types of changing areas is pertinent.

They could designate one side for men and one women that was a suggestion from that report I think or a thread about it.

I think it's unusual to take all clothes off to shower at a pool?

Usually they provide a lockable shower room or 2, at least round here they do, these are unisex as well though.

The pool has three sets of showers.

1. One set by the main pool to shower in before you enter the pool

1. Women’s showers where you’re allowed to use shampoo/ body wash. These are behind a wall. The showers have no curtains or doors.

1. Men’s showers, presumably as above

After swimming I like to shampoo my hair, etc., so I used the women’s showers yesterday. My costume was quite foamy by the end!

I can understand your reservations about the shower set up, I use a few different pools, all which have 'changing villages'

1. Poolside showers, then 3 locked shower cubicles within the ladies toilets (I presume the men's are the same)
2. Poolside showers, then locked shower cubicles within the changing village.

They all have different set ups (I use a couple more but can't remember the exact lay out of them)

I do think the shower set up is worth a mention, but this design does seem to be what is becoming more and more common.

Used to go swimming three times a week in our old swimming pool which had single-sex changing rooms with showers and toilets. New pool has very badly designed mixed-sex changing room, number of showers reduced to a third, now directly off the pool and single-sex toilets.

Within a week or two of it opening, harassment was so bad, that there was a member of staff permanently tasked with supervising the changing room. Cubicles have a large gap at top and bottom, no bars or anything up top and are very small, which weirdly enough makes it harder to spot the assholes holding phones under/over the wall.

The thing that strikes me in hindsight about my own reaction is that I felt extremely uncomfortable. It seemed a very male-dominated space, ie all of the women and girls disappearing into cubicles as fast as possible, men and boys strutting their stuff, hanging around chatting, watching all the women and girls and being very obvious about it. I was aware but not consciously so of the harassment, making a few complaints especially about boys harassing girls. I just never thought of it as sexual harassment, just you know, boys making a nuisance of themselves or whatever we tell ourselves to minimise this kind of behaviour.

I stopped going completely, haven't gone back to swim for years, but still accompanied my kids to their training sessions. Which left plenty of time to observe what's happening. Ongoing problem at that point, marginally curbed by staff supervising the changing room.

Frankly, it's a fucking awful atmosphere to be female in and I still feel resentful that they've taken one of my favourite sports away from me (of which there are only two). Maybe I'll go back now that I look at all this in a different light and make a bloody fuss...

I agree Charlie. Swimming is one of my favourite activities, but I don't feel comfortable doing it in these mixed-sex facilities.

Your point about women getting changed as quickly as possible really rings true for me.