Supermarket loos

[Righthandcider]

The customer loos in Dartmouth Sainsbury's. So men get some privacy, which must be nice for
them. Women and girls, however, must use a shared facility with one flimsy, open-top-and-bottom cubicle and must come out to wash our hands in front of anyone who may have fancied popping in.

That's a bit shit.

Hmm. The baby sign makes me wonder if they’ve put the baby changing facilities in the ladies, then belatedly realised that fathers have been known to change their kid’s nappies.

It’s still rubbish; I just wondered if that was the lack-of-thought process.

That was my assumption too. But what annoys me is they haven't thought about the impact on women. Or they've decided it doesn't matter.

I was in the shop with my 12 year old daughter and could easily have let her go off to the loo alone without realising. And then anyone could have followed her in unchallenged.

I've seen this in quite a few bars and it really annoys me. They keep the men's as just men, presumably because it has the urinal, and then just turn the women's toilets into 'all-genders' to try and look inclusive

Isn't that straightforward sex-discrimination? They have removed the single-sex provision from women, but retained it for men.

Isn't that illegal? Men are being treated more favourably than women, since they have the choice of the men's or unisex, so more options are available to them, and they also have the option of the privacy of their own toilets while women don't.

Women and girls also need single-sex toilets for safety - Katie Dolatowski sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in a supermarket toilet.

Could you ask them whether they are sure that their toilet facilities are complying with the requirements of the Equality Act?

I’d be tempted to use the men’s just to throw a spanner in the works! Why do they get to keep their single-sex facilities if women don’t? Either put baby change facilities in the men’s too, or let the unisex baby-changing facility be a third space. Either way, women shouldn’t have to lose their female-only space. The sexism is so blatant, how can people not see that?

The supermarket must be tiny if they can't squeeze in a proper baby changing facility.

Are you going to raise it with the store? I think I'd have to. I'd probably go in playing all naive like, can u tell me where the female toilets are please? You the mens and the mixed sex but where are the ladies? (Wide eyed innocence)

I think you're going to have to complain OP.

Listing the section of the equality act that applies could help.

You can ask them if they have considered the impact on women and girls before removing their single sex facilities and what their insurance is for the risk these type of mixed sex toilets pose.

sex-matters.org/where-sex-matters/single-sex-services/

You could write to the branch but if it was me I would go straight to HQ.

If you get anywhere do tell us what happens.

Are they not single occupancy toilets? There looks to be a two way bolt on the door.

It should be women and mixed sex. How sexist that men and only men get their own private single sex space.

Yes it looks as if they are. So why men only? We know women take longer in the loo and need more provision. I'd bet women are the majority of customers. Men have babies too so need nappy changing. So why men only ‐ it's simple discrimination. I'd complain.

At least your Sainsbury's has one. I just need to wait till I get home to our unisex one.

I presume that the space for the baby change is in the ladies, you only need to look at the boards on MN to see posters bemoaning the fact that there is nowhere for the Dad to change the nappy when out.

I don't know the answer. They probably don't even need to provide toilets at all. (I am glad they do though, as someone who works in the community they are very useful.)

If they have a cafe, then they have to provide toilet facilities.

Sainsburys have closed all their cafes.

My local Sainsburys has a Starbucks in it.

No surprise, Sainsbury’s are completely captured. My local Morrisons still has mens and women’s toilets

Sainsbury are ‘crusaders’ , just not for the people who spend the most money with them.

Is your “unisex” toilet at home open to the general public to use whenever they feel like it?

There's a helpful leaflet on that site that you could send to Sainsbury's OP.

https://sex-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Toilets-matter.pdf

It doesn't mention the particular situation in your local store, but it does explain why single sex provision for women is important. Including this:

Women and girls need more toilets: they take longer to use them (because they have to take more clothes off) and they have more need for them because of physical needs that men don’t have: changing pads and tampons during periods, needing to pee more often when pregnant, and having to deal with endometriosis, miscarriages, urinary incontinence and menopausal flooding

I'm fairly sure they're breaking the law by having single-sex provision for men but not for women (but IANAL).

They can be all unisex or all single sex, but not single-sex for one sex only. That is clearly discriminatory.

Both my local Sainsbury's do, as does Morrisons, Tesco and Asda. I'm not sure one store could be taken as their policy.

It was Sainsbury’s where a child was raped in the ladies toilets.

No, sadly not. I went in. It's a room with a lockable cubicle inside.