Parliament states toilets to be used according to biological sex

[ArabellaScott]

https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/access/facilities/toilets/

'Members of the public should use facilities that correspond to their biological sex or the gender-neutral toilets.'

Iirc must and should is a law related thing; it’s a statutory should so clear that that is what should happen.

in KCSiE the musts are very sparse and in relation to reporting concerns. If a must is not followed the person who is supposed to be reporting is breaking the law and can be prosecuted.

Would love clarification from an actual lawyer though 😁

I think in this case, the company/ building not making sure that there are male and female loos, and perhaps gender neutral (?) could be prosecuted.

presumably if neutral loos are available a TW regularly using a women’s loo (ie they work there) would be suspicious. They’re also obviously leaving themselves open to accusations.

this is where offering a safe gender neutral space is important. It would be weird not to use that space.

Not always. Yes, sometimes. But not always.

And the point remains.

Someone suggested that transmen should use gender neutral toilets but they're not obliged to. They should, according to the legislation, use the female toilets.

Personally, it feels as though there should be various facilities available including family bathrooms/toilets (with nappy changing) to avoid monopolising the disabled and women's toilets, and also gender-neutral facilities which have sinks and period products/disposal bins.
The spaces should be safe for everyone.

There is a school near me which has gender neutral toilets. Each cubicle has a disposal bin for period products and is fully enclosed. These cubicles are installed in a slightly offset area of the corridor. Outside the cubicles is a bank of washbasins and hand dryers, similar to the image attached. These seem to fit the brief fairly well.

That design doesn’t ’fit the brief’. In a mixed sex space, the washbasins should be contained in the cubicles.

the other big problem with fully enclosed cubicles is that while they provide privacy and prevent voyeurism, they’re not safe if someone is taken ill inside one. It’s something many of us don’t consider, leastwise not till they’ve seen some of the posts by @keepToiletsSafe
I don’t really know how to square the circle between the two types of safety - it may be that mixed sex loos are always going to have to be a compromise, for which reason where space allows they should always be in addition to single sex.

It was me that said transmen could - not "should" - use the gender neutral toilets, if they feel uncomfortable in the women's. They're not obliged to.

But doesn't "using the toilets appropriate to one's sex" include gender neutral which can be used by either?

My understanding is that unisex/mixed sex facilities need to be individual lockable rooms, not just individual cubicles....and not communal washbasins.

They need to be called unisex, not 'gender neutral'......too confusing. Toilets have nothing to do with 'gender', let alone 'gender identity'.

Another difference is that someone who uses the wrong sex toilet may not be breaking the law (outside of public order offences, voyeurism etc.) The EA2010 binds the service provider and not the service user. So “must” is unjustifiably strong to the service user.

Yep. or just 'for everyone'.

thanks, that makes sense.

and agree with unisex. The language has clearly seeped too much into my subconscious at the moment!

Yes I agree with that. Not everyone is going to understand what is meant by "gender neutral".

They to me looks like a nightmare of male harrassment

It has been documented on here that some girls have suffered harassments from boys outside these types of toilets - trying to listen and ascertain if a girl is using period products, banging on the door and shouting etc.

They also constitute an easily accessible, lockable space where sexual harassment and rape could occur.

Male cleaners work for the establishment. They aren't visitors.

Women who have hirsutism use the women's toilets all the time. I'm unsure why women with beards keep coming up as a huge issue where the women's toilets are concerned.

Yes, anyone who has spent time working in schools will know that the variety and inventiveness of teenagers when it comes to misbehaviour in toilet spaces is almost infinite. Those sanitary bins in unisex/mixed gender/whatever cubicles would be upended and emptied all over the floor at least once a term, if not on a weekly basis.