Parents rejecting gender neutral (unisex) toilets

[NotTerfNorCis]

Here's a ray of light. This is what most people really think.

Hundreds of people have signed a petition against gender-neutral toilets at a school in Leicester.

The toilets were introduced at New College in New Parks, Leicester after the school's Christmas holidays.

Around 500 people have signed the petition, which is against the introduction of the toilets.

www.itv.com/news/central/2020-01-13/hundreds-sign-petition-against-gender-neutral-toilets-in-leicester-school/

As an aside, I think it would be useful to avoid the terms "gender neutral" and "unisex".

Much clearer to simply say "mixed sex".

What could possibly make young girls feel more comfortable at school than not even being able to go pee without being filmed, eh?

I'm torn between "the people behind this are misogynistic sadists" and "the people behind this are too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time".

@ScapaFlo no theres no CCTV in the toilet cubicles - that would be seriously wrong! There is CCTV that can see the sink line. There is no way at all to see into the cubicles I promise!

Consider that if your sink area design requires CCTV then that may be a sign that it's not a very clever design at all.

I feel so sorry for the students and parents who're worried about all this and who have to deal with smug "reassurances".

So there's CCTV recording girls washing menstrual blood off their hands and out of their clothing if they don't have time whilst doing their hair, health and social studies (I imagine the hair studies will be popular with girls) to get over to the other building? You obviously are happy to throw teenage girls under the bus and that attitude stinks.

Consider that if your sink area design requires CCTV then that may be a sign that it's not a very clever design at all

Yy I mean its often trotted out that it reduces bullying and its supervised etc

Where were these staff supervising when it was single sex given thAt these are all apparently more dangerous.

If they can get these staff to supervise and keep mixed toilets safe then get can do the same with the others?

Otherwise doubling the amount of people using a facility does not reduce the risk of anything? U less of course the girls are your "security" ? Wny is it always their responsibility to put themselves at risk and make.everyone else behave ?

And please stop @-ing me, I'm already on the thread.

Its one building. I've put my views across and the facts I have from personal experience and my friend who works there. I'm not throwing anyone under a bus how rude especially when my daughter attends there also. This is meant to be about debate not insulting someone who doesn't have the same view point.

Staff have always been there supervising. CCTV has always been there. The only change is the classifying of the toilets.

Changing the toilets to be mixed sex does not benefit girls in any way. So it shouldn't have been done.

Hang on, so the girls rinsing moon cups are a) in an area with boys and b) being filmed? Please tell me I’m wrong 😧

Changing the toilets to be mixed sex does not benefit girls in any way. So it shouldn't have been done.

< this!

8 girls' toilets were converted to mixed sex. This is detrimental to the girls.

Had additional unisex toilets been built, such that the (literally!) 'bums on seats' ratio of girls' toilets to girls was preserved, fair enough.

But this is taking away provision for the girls. There is no advantage to them in this. Not ok.

It's one building yes..one building that has no safe single sex toilets for girls at all. It's all.mixed. I sincerely hope girls arent told off for being late to class should they have to make a dash to the other toilets or spend half the time.in the mixed sex ones cleaning the.piss off the seats.

It's also sexual harassment of the teachers too imo. The adults dont get a toilet either.

Sounds like a school to avoid

Hang on, so the girls rinsing moon cups are a) in an area with boys and b) being filmed? Please tell me I’m wrong 😧

Sexual harassment and assaults are at unprecedented levels in schools.

So what does the school do? Make toilets mixed sex.

But lower the walls so no one can film, and make them taller so no one can peer over, and put in CCTV.

And they can't even see the misogyny.

Mixed sex facilities are responsible for 90% of all the assaults in facilities.

Sex segregation is the single most effective control of risk that you can have. But not only do they refuse to do that, they realise they are putting the girls at risk and so try to take sticking plaster steps.

Furthermore, I was under the impression that if the facility is mixed sex, the basin must be inside the cubicle.

Furthermore, I was under the impression that if the facility is mixed sex, the basinmustbe inside the cubicle

So was I. Over 8 years old isn't it?

And are sanitary bins inside every cubicle now?

My memory is a little hazy, but some time ago, maybe six years back, I was doing some research on barriers to "gender equality" around the globe. (Gender was commonly used term, though sex would be more fitting imo). From what I can remember all of the big global charities named lack of access to single sex toilet facilities as being one of the key barriers for women and girls in education and in the workplace. This was for safety, privacy and dignity reasons. I read back then about the history of women's toilets in the UK, how and why they were introduced and the pushback against them.

What I cannot understand now is how that could be noted, understood and accepted as a barrier to inequality that must be overcome in developing parts of the world, and then just a few years later we are now saying that mixed sex toilets are what is needed in the UK?

I haven't looked into it recently, but I wonder if it is still recognised that single sex facilities are needed. Are the two contradictory points both being argued for by the same groups of people? Or are we saying it was wrong, all that prior research was incorrect and lack of single sex toilets are no longer recognised as a barrier to women and girls? Or are we being racist or imperialistic or something like that and saying that it's fine for us to have mixed sex but not for those lot over there? Or is it entirely different groups arguing for two different things and only one voice being really heard?

What I cannot understand now is how that could be noted, understood and accepted as a barrier to inequality that must be overcome in developing parts of the world, and then just a few years later we are now saying that mixed sex toilets are what is needed in the UK?

In the teeth of rising levels of sexual harassment and assault, and in the climate of #metoo.

I've an update on Dd's school.
They saw my very polite message before school started today, and she checked the girl toilets in the blocks she used today. They were open! So now she is going to ask her girlfriends to keep checking they are open as they go through the day, wander in, wash hands and check their hair/makeup just so they are being used even if they don't need a wee.
If I get a report of them re locking then I'll be on it again.
I don't think they wanted to start an argument with load of angsty teen girls and their mothers.
I hope the school in the OP starts to see sense. Dd and I had a talk about how women could go out far from home or family or friends home due to public toilet being men only back in the late 1800's and how they protested to get these safe spaces for women. And about the 1992 health and safety act (I think that was it) about toilets.
So thank you for the links ladies, all very helpful.

Well if they opened then they knew they were behaving in an inappropriate manner.

Or theyd have replied politely telling you how wrong you were and left them.locked.

They know. Which makes.it worse.

That’s what’s puzzling me too Datun. We’ve heard so many first person accounts of abuse, including rape and child sex abuse and we (as a society) react with horror and sympathise with the victims. But what happens then? Not only do we do feck all to prevent it happening again, we actually facilitate it.

When will the majority of people realise what sort of future they are sleepwalking towards? What legacy will we leave our children?

@SarahTancredi I agree, they knew.
I was discussing it with Dh in the car this afternoon. He's quite horrified they had locked them too. Even he gets that girls (and boys) need a safe single sex area.

Did the school do an equality impact assessment? Which I believe is recommended under the equality act.

And The Sun are reporting on a doll for children, where when you lift its dress, it has a penis. A transgender doll.

At what point did anyone believe that children's toys should constitute lifting dresses and finding penises?

Why is this being normalised? Why are our daughters' boundaries being erased.

You really couldn’t make this stuff up! I’m hoping that it will eventually implode and good sense will prevail. How many children of both sexes and women will have to be harmed first though? 😟

That doll is the face of an old man. That would have scared me to death as a child (it’s not doing much for me right now actually).