Women’s toilets now gender neutral in Northampton Park

[bloodyhamabeads]

I noticed this today while walking in Abington Park in Northampton. Only the women’s has changed, the men’s is still labelled ‘gentlemen’.

Is this actually legal? I’ve heard the equality act mentioned and had a quick google but I wondered whether anyone can point me in the right direction of some legislation I can quote when I write to the council.

Is anyone tweeting about this? Try copying Caroline Criado Perez in.

I didn't know this could be challenged thanks OP.

Sorry to hijack, though might apply to your case too?

If there is only 1 illegal mixed sex facility with gaps in cubicles, plus 1 disabled loo which is self contained and has own basin, can they point to the disabled loo and say women and children must use that one if they don't want to use the mixed sex facility?

A council run facility has recently done this. Can I challenge it?

I did tweet about it princessconsuela but I am new to Twitter and have no followers so no one saw it I don’t think. If anyone with a greater twitter presence would like to, I’m happy to send over more pics/ details.

So women and men can use the previously women's only toilets! Outrageous. I give up.

Men's toilets are always traditionally fairly disgusting. Make sure you complain every time when it is in a state - if it costs them money sending out a cleaner each time it will help when they review it. I'm assuming men are used to the condition and don't complain often!

I had an email back from Marion Goodman.

Why use it safe to open one set of toilets and not the other?

Well that's a passive aggressive email isnt it.

If toilets are open what is the danger difference in 1 toilet being used by 50 people and 2 being used by 25 each? Surely that is a decrease of risk not an increase as I'd rather touch something touched by fewer people.

And and that's not even mentioning the fact that gender neutral toilets are illegal if they arent fully enclosed self contained units.

Yes very passive aggressive. I also didn’t like the implication that it’s either mixed sex toilets or no toilets. Felt like it would then be my fault if they got shut down.

I’ve also just had a call from the local paper. They’ve had a few calls apparently, including one from a Muslim lady who simply won’t be able to use them 😢

Surely the only "alternative " is following the law? Toilets dont have to be provided at all In some cases.

But if they are then they have to be lawful surely?

Awful letter - they couldn’t bring in some added mobile toilet provision for the duration?

There seem to be lots of bears with very little brain

Has anyone tweeted this to the Baroness?

It's a fairly plain game isn't it? Tolerate mixed sex and swallow the inconvenience (if you have the privilege of race, able bodied, lack of sexual abuse etc and can actually use them) and then in a few months when you've got used to it, we'll make all facilities mixed sex.

This really has to be stood up to now. It is not ok to exclude females on the basis of protected characteristics, to manage the fact that they don't want to open the male toilets. Fgs, close off the urinals and just use the male cubicles. Put up a portaloo.

This whole agenda is based on the cummings strategy of brazen it out, let people be as pissed off as they want, ignore everything and wait until they give up.

In particular, wait until the excluded females just give up. They're an already marginalised bunch, they don't have much of a voice or any power to worry about.

michelleoftheresietance good idea about the Baroness. I tagged her on twitter, but I don’t have much of a twitter presence so I don’t think she saw it. Is anyone else on twitter that could?

What's your twitter handle? I can retweet it (I can offer 3.5k followers).

I would not feel at all comfortable using those toilets by myself in a park and I'm not a terribly risk averse person.

Children and teens often use toilet in park by themselves. Have the council thought this through?

Parks were always rife with weirdy men and flashers when I was young.

The gents still being the gents gives me the rate. It's just a straight up, up yours to women and girls.

Thanks doris can i pm you?

shinycombo yes I agree. The park is full of teenagers drinking since lockdown had eased, as well as smoking cannabis. Mixture of vulnerable women and men with their guard lowered - very dangerous combo.

That reply is absolute nonsense. Why can't they just reopen both sets of loos?

Can we suggest that they open both sets of toilets and remove the gender neutral signs? If the concern is that the urinals are too close, perhaps they could mark which ones to use?

Sorry, how is turning the women’s bogs into a free for all supposed to help prevent ‘Rona spreading?

langcleg it doesn’t make much sense to me either. They’ve also closed two of the cubicles or the the toilets that are still open, meaning that if one person with coronavirus uses one toilet, double the amount of people will also use that same toilet 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/confusion-over-gender-neutral-toilets-northampton-park-2889973

Made it as far as me on Twitter 😊