Risk assessments regarding clothing shop changing rooms

[finnmcool]

I'm bloody frustrated! I've phoned New Look, Topshop, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer asking for information about what risk assessments they did when they decided to allow males who self id as females into the changing rooms.

Not one of them could give me an answer, they're all getting back to me.
Marks and Spencer have to be highlighted for their aggressive stance though.
I was talked over, interrupted and told they aren't changing their policy. I was told that I can't even put a freedom of information request in, because their policy 'comes under business model'
This was a woman in the management team
.
GLL, haven't got back to me yet, regarding their gym/swim changing room policy.
How is it not a breach of law to allow males into women's spaces without consent and risk assessing?
Sorry, I'm a lurker who occasionally comments, but I quietly fight our battles in my area.
Thank you if you've read my rant.

Sorry about the SPAG. 😳

I got a disengeuos response from Marks and Spencer. I know for a fact that my local store just had curtains until it closed down in February, this was after they rolled out self sex ID into their changing rooms.

This is the response I got from GLL which I find concerning.
I have posted the emails that are being responded to, further up the the thread.

I don't really know how to proceed, any suggestions will be gratefully recieved.

Hi OP, can you list the number of times a man has been caught in a changing room doing horrible things and it's been reported in the news? Their response sounds like "go ahead, try me" to me. They haven't done a risk assessment so basically their customers don't matter. I bet the majority of their customer are female.

Please keep going. Would you consider going to the local media?

OhHoly going to the press wouldn't be an option for me I'm afraid. I'm very much a hidden person.

This is really highlighting to me, how little regard for women these companies have.

I simply cannot understand why they wouldn't carry out a risk assessment for these circumstances, it's blind misogyny.

I totally understand why you cannot go public so maybe there is something that can be done anonymously. Please do write to the insurers and write to them with the numerous examples of where women and girls have been at risk in similar circumstances with the recent Uk examples, there's hardly a shortage of examples to raise.

You've inspired me OP, earliest opportunity I get will write similar emails to the high street shops I frequent. I'll borrow your text and post any replies I receive.

You are not alone.

What I want the high street to do is create three changing areas: Male,
Female, Unisex (for the above and for anyone else who isn't sure what they are). If you go into Unisex then you enter knowing it's a mixed sex space and no one is under any illusions of it being single sex.

This. The thing I object to most is the lying. Changing rooms labelled 'mens' and 'womens' when they are in fact unisex. I want single sex spaces, it has been shown time and again that these are necessary to encourage girls to go to school and for women to participate in public life, but I think tricking women into mixed sex spaces which are labelled single sex is worse - this is what M&S etc are doing. And I hope that one of the people who suffers filming or indecent exposure in an inaccurately labelled mixed sex space has deep pockets and sues.

I hope that one of the people who suffers filming or indecent exposure in an inaccurately labelled mixed sex space has deep pockets and sues.

I wish for this too, not that I would want anyone to suffer but I do think it will take an extreme and very public incident to happen and for mainstream media to cover it before anyone sits up and takes notice. Some pretty horrible things have happened already and still no one cares.

In the meantime, let's write lots of angry letters to catalogue our warnings.

I emailed Nicola Williams for advice and she very kindly took time out to respond to me quickly.

The crux of it is, is that we need to vote with our feet and be vocal about our displeasure.

The work you are doing to hold GLL to account is very worthwhile. It reminds them that there are people who object to their policy and that not everyone supports trans-inclusion for quite legitimate reasons.

There's not much more you can do legally here because potential breaches of Equality law can only decided upon by the courts, and that's not something an individual can reasonably take on.

Risk assessments aren't mandatory for a private company like GLL. But if they were taken to court for discrimination or harassment because of their policy I expect the court would look disapprovingly if they hadn't done a risk assessment. They have a duty of care to all their customers and risk assessments are a way of protecting them as much as anything.

However, the trans guidance you have attached is something we're currently evaluating and I'm in contact with the publishers. So look out for future articles from us that provide more info on this.

So much advice is to continue to make it clear to service providers that you are unhappy with their trans policies. There's little we can force them to do but in the end as customers, they not want to alienate their female customer base so eventually as more and more women make their discontent known then I hope this will being to shift policy direction.

Best wishes,
Nicola

OhHoly thanks for the back up

I've already had quite an unproductive / unpleasant exchange with someone from M&S about this. They kept on going on about being 'inclusive' and I kept pointing out that their policies were not inclusive of women like me and my young daughters, and that the number of women and girls who feel that way probably outnumber the people they're trying to be 'inclusive' to.

Also, why not a unisex changing room as well as single sex, that would be inclusive of everyone, but no that's no good. It has to be a mixed sex space masquerading as women only - but it seems to me the ONLY people this helps are those who get off on violating female boundaries. Why isn't a third space an option? There is never any answer. That tells you a lot, I think. The lack of critical thinking is quite depressing.

Ineedacupoftea I feel your pain!
Thank you for contacting M&S I hope that if enough of us make our feelings clear, maybe the companies will rethink their safeguarding for women and girls.