Do we have a right to single-sex toilets?

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I believe that all new public buildings have to provide (but am prepared to be corrected). But if a public building I use changes it's womans toilet to a mixed one, can part of my complaint be that I'm entitled to a single-sex toilet?

Sorry - provide single-sex toilets

It will depend on a number of factors. How many toilets in the building, how many are single sex how many unisex.

For example an old theatre with one female and one male toilet could probably justify making both unisex. If only the female toilet is made unisex this could be challenged.

However, if there were 5 male and 5 female toilets making one of each unisex and keeping 8 single sex would be proportionate. Making all 10 unisex would not be proportionate based on the fact 93% of the population identify as their biological sex. (2021 Census)

I'm interested in this conversation. My workplace (several hundred employees) has stated that transpeople (based on self ID) can use the toilets they feel comfortable with, meaning that there are no longer any single sex toilets. They have said if women are unhappy with that, they can use unisex toilets. The provision of unisex toilets across a large site is extremely patchy and will result in a walk of several minutes, depending on where you are located.

This guidance is quite clear on the provision of separate toilets in new builds
www.gov.uk/government/news/all-public-buildings-to-have-separate-male-and-female-toilets

What is not clear to me is that it definitely applies to single sex, not gender.

At parties in Dubai, and also in Oman, my hotels had an attendant discreetly standing by the female toilets to make sure that no men could ‘mistakenly’ enter.

Depressing that women in the middle east are shown more respect than us. Middle east isn’t usually leading the way on women’s rights.

I could be wrong but I think there is little law on this.

Until recently there was no need as people just sorted it out sensible.

So your work have said if women are not happy their toilets are now unisex they can use the already unisex ones instead? Because that’s the answer 🙄. Though I would have to start using the unisex one of it was a long way across site, just to be bloody awkward.

If your workplace has decided that all the toilets are mixed sex, they need to remember that a toilet is not suitable for use by women unless it contains a sanitary waste bin.

The Govts recent response to a petition makes it clear they regard sex and gender identity as being separate protected characteristics, and that single sex facilities are still protected by The Equality Act. If women are being discriminated against in the workplace, or placed at risk, they have recourse to legal action against their employer.

Do you have separate toilet facilities at home for the men and women?
Or do you share with whoever is in your household?

Do you lock your door at night or do you invite strangers in off the street to use your home?

This isn't the same thing and you know it!

The what do you do at home thing is irrelevant as you choose who you live with (mostly) but have no choice who you are sharing a public toilet with. Possibly it could be a sex offender and the rate of sex offending does not change even if a man declares himself Chelsea. Given that only 1% of rapists are ever convicted Chelsea could use access to single sex spaces to rape women. So I don’t want to share a space with Chelsea thanks.

How many total strangers do you let use your lavatory each day then?

‘Hotel rooms have different occupants every night so you should totally let Arthur from the pub darts team sleep in your bed whenever you stay over at your boyfriends place’

Why do people make this idiotic argument everytime women discuss single sex toilets?

🙄🙄😵‍💫🤡

<updates spreadsheet>

What a facile question.

Do you have a sign outside your house that says ‘Public Convenience’ so that anyone can wander in and use your toilet?

Lock the flipping door. I genuinely don't see the issue.

The issues:

• being attacked when in the communal hand washing area.
• being forced into a stall which is then locked behind you
• having cameras put under doors i.e. voyeurism

Do people wander around at home naked or semi naked to go to the loo in your home?

Oh yeah. And a right to dignity. Why should any woman tolerate blokes, in dresses or otherwise, hanging around as tourists when they are dealing with their periods, washing out a cup say?

I see we can add ICanFly house to the list of people willing to let anyone in to go to the loo

there's little case law on this because as we’ve pointed many times, until 5 minutes ago everyone knew what a woman was and blokes wandering into womens toilets woukd have been challenged

thanks to stonewall and their “getting ahead of the law” (or lying as we usually call it) training, companies, organisations & service providers across the country have been told that gender identity is a protected characteristic (it’s not) and ppl can use the toilets that best aligns with their ‘gender’

the damage they’ve done to womens rights is incalculable

So, if there is one women's, one men's and one accessible. If the woman's is changed to any sex, so there is no single-sex toilet for women, are there any legal arguments against it?

I see it as two separate issues: firstly do unisex toilets discriminate against women (maybe) and secondly should trans people use the toilet that relates to their sex or their gender (complicated)

Thoughts on unisex toilets

1. not an issue if all toilets are unisex and are there own little rooms with the sink and bin in. If you work somewhere where there is just one loo because it’s a small office then clearly it’s unisex and that’s not an issue, . If somewhere had two toilets both in separate own rooms with sinks and bins and previously one was labels female and one male, and now both were labelled unisex I wouldn’t care and would probably be happy because there would be less chance I would have to wait when I need to use the loo.
2. if there were originally male and female toilets But if only the women’s toilet is renamed unisex so there are now male and unisex toilets that would appear clear discrimination as there is now more provison for men than women
3. If both male and female toilets are now renamed unisex but are not separate individual single toilet rooms with bins (I.e former men’s has a urinal) then that is I think discrimination against the women who won’t then be able to use that toilet (and probably also discrimination against the men who now might be walked in on by a woman)
4. if the toilets are big rooms with lots of space and are also had been used as changing rooms/breastfeeding spaces it would be interesting to know if there was now a need to provide separate single sexed provision for that?

this seems separate to the issue of trans- women using the female facilities (and trans-men using the male ones).

Personally I see toilets as relating to the use of of ones excretory organs and to menstruation and so for this it really does come down to what is in your pants not your feelings.

As humans in the vast majority of us come with one of two different sets of organs and toilet facilities are designed with this in mind (urinals for persons with penises, sit down toilets for people without penises and sanitary bins for people with womb and ovaries) people should use the facilities that match their organs which means in the real world generally men use the gents and women the ladies.

If for some reason a man had no penis (say something awful like penile cancer or an accident) and the male toilet had no sit down toilet it would be perfectly acceptable imo for him to use the “female” facilities as he does not have the physical ability to use the urinal, and by this logic I therefore have to accept that post op trans-women can use the ladies as well but pre op they have no business being in there.

id sidestep the “female/male/unisex” issue and label them as “place of urination for people with a penis” and “place of menstrual provision and urination for people without a penis” and so not give a fig whatever gender or sex the users think they are.

Stupid comment alert!

@Icanflyhigh you invite people into your home, only the people in your home can use your toilet. You know these people, yo7 have enough trust in them to allow them into your home.

In a public toilet, you don't know the people sharing the facility with you, you have not invited them to share the facility with you.

Can you see that these are 2 completely different scenarios?

It's like saying, you can try on whatever clothes you like in a clothes shop so how come you don't let anyone wander in off the streets, walk into your bedroom and try on the contents of your wardrobe.

Unless your house has multiple toilets in the same room, then they are single-sex as only one person can use them at a time.

The issue with unisex toilets is whether they are self-contained or not. If you have a space where toilets are in cubicles and there is a shared space for the sinks then that is where the problem is.