Single sex toilets for men, and mixed sex.....nothing for women only.

[centrifugal]

My local town has installed a set of public toilets; men, and mixed. Nothing for women. I called up to question it/complain, and got a man who got cross and defensive, telling me that men who 'just want to spend a penny' (they are urinals only) use them, and save adding to the queues. So, men can jump the queue, women have to wait with anyone else who wants access to the mixed loos.
Does anybody know if this is allowed? It seems so wrong.

This is discrimination on the grounds of sex, belief and religion, and prohibited by the Equality Act. It places women at a disadvantage compared to men, and some women wont have access to toilets at all.

how are the mixed loos set up? Are they fully self contained?

Oh, I should have added that they are individual stalls so only one occupant at a time, but still, why make extra for men!? Why not have another mixed one?

This is unthinking appalling sexism.

Womens needs have simply not been considered.

Really angering. I had similar Europe recently the gents could piss for free women had to pay. Justification would be well obviously cubicles more expensive to upkeep than urinals. But result is, women have to pay more, possibly get caught short if no change, remember to take change, women more often have kids with them so that's more money etc etc

It's the outcomes that need to be measured. Women have larger queues and reduced privacy from men. Men have no queues and privacy from women.

The acceptance of this as womens lot, needs to end.

That they are building new stuff like this is fucking ridiculous.

Centrifugal do the stalls all contain sanitary bin, hand wash and dry?

To be valid under law they need to fully enclosed and contain hand washing.

Sanitary bins for practical reasons.

of course they're individual stalls - but do they have the sink and the sanitary bin inside, behind the door? That's the important bit.

I didn't go in, turns out I can hold a wee out of pure spite and indignation for a long time!
I think that they probably do have sanitary bins, but it's the fact that men get a perk, and women nothing. As. Per. Fucking. Usual.

The stalls do not need to have the sink inside them. They do, however, need to be fully enclosed, no gaps between floor and ceiling:

www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/welfare/toilets-and-washing.htm

This is outrageous and unbelievable!

Where is this OP can you give us the details of your local council? I think lots of us need to make the council aware of their unthinking crassness. They might be surprised how many people might ‘just have been passing’ through your local town...

North norfolk council. It's the toilets in cromer, on the front. I spoke to Russel Tanner, I'm sure he would love a few more uppity women on his line

Our local leisure centre changed the womens loos to 'all genders' and left the mens as they were. Was like that for a whole day before they were overran with complaints and it went back to normal. Why on earth they think this is acceptable, I don't know.

I have noticed this in Cromer too when we were on holiday there and was pretty baffled by the decision not to have one female only cubicle aswell.

GC that link is about facilities for construction workers?

Are they the same as for council provision for the public?

I thought couldn't have just a normal room with cubicles in and shared sinks and have it mixed?

Russel wouldn't log my complaint, I have to email him. Can anyone with good articles, or links to laws on the subject please help to enlighten him?

[email protected]

It's the same on the seafront in Sheringham, as far as I can see (I thought I'd just gone even more shortsighted than usual while bumbling along past men's, disabled, parent and child, etc, etc, saying 'So where's the Ladies, then? Have I gone past it?')

Actually, given my memory and geography, maybe I was in Cromer.

Get a she-wee and use the urinal!

womansplaceuk.org/gender-neutral-toilets-dont-work-for-women-2/

fairplayforwomen.com/equality-act-2010_womens-rights/

These two links might be useful. Have alook at the FPFW link under the "public sector equality duty" section (it's quite a way down the page) . Your council needs to be able to provide an EIA, the criteria for EIA are outlined in the para I mentioned above. I'd start by asking for that. Might require a FOI request.

There's another poster here who is very well versed in the provisions and requirements of the EA 2010, maybe she'll see your thread and have better suggestions.

Fraggling - sorry, it’s the wrong link. The HSE seem to have changed their website and I’m finding it hard to navigate. You can have shared (for both sexes) basins in the same room, outside the toilet cubicles, as long it’s just for hand washing. Workplaces where more extensive washing is required have to provide separate facilities.

Here are the correct links:

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

and paragraph 3 of the following:

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/regulation/21/made

Going to send a complaint for you OP

OP is there baby change in the mixed toilets?

Links don't work!

This means they are all fine to change the ladies to everyone, and leave the mens as mens then, no probs :/

Great.

There are out of hours "unisex" toilets in Old Hunstanton, but I didn't go in to check if they were cubicles or enclosed rooms, I just thought there's no bloody way I'm going in those late in the evening with hardly anyone around. I saw it somewhere else asking there too. Obviously a widespread change along there.

They are simply not thinking of women and our specific needs / vulnerabilities at all.

Man as default strikes back.

Email above is wrong! Two 'l's in Russell.
[email protected]

Thanks Butter, I'm sending mine now......it's a bit garbled, but, hope it makes sense