It is incredibly frustrating because there are few statistics. Toilets are so important yet no one has data on where sexual assaults (say in schools and hospitals) take place. I have asked various bodies and it has been a common complaint over the years brought up by government and Ofsted.
I know from my dataset that the children and women who have been sexually assaulted are much more likely to be in mixed sex toilets but the difficulty comes when it is a single sex toilet and private because (for instance) if it’s off a corridor, the only actual material design difference is the pictogram on the door.
Hidden cameras - I think are a huge problem and I think having less in the cubicle and gaps under and over the door so it’s a single sex area in front are a way to prevent this for women. I don’t know what happened in the Scottish Parliament case but it’s interesting it was the men’s loos. I would be interested to know whether the cubicle was private. Voyeurs are risk adverse and don’t want to be heard/ seen shuffling about setting stuff up. Voyeurism is a male crime.
In terms of people collapsing in toilets, private designs are obviously worse. It has tended to be disabled (accessible) toilets in the past because that was the private design. People have been left days in council offices, hospitals, doctors surgeries, restaurants as no one checks why the toilet is still locked. Since privacy has overridden safety in school toilets the most recent pupil deaths in schools have been medical emergencies in private cubicles. I don’t know if the delay made a difference to the outcome but I do know defibrillators were in these schools and could have been used.
In terms of hygiene there are studies to show that men’s toilets are worse than women’s but unisex are worse still. To put it bluntly, men spray everywhere and don’t wash their hands. The fact the sink is in with the toilet and pathogen plumes isn’t that great when you flush the toilet as (again bluntly) poo particles are spread within. Ventilation is compromised and you can’t clean so effectively. There are also some revolting things that go on in unisex loos which definitely isn’t most men but enough for me to look out for where I am placing anything if I need to go in them.
There needs to be studies on design before people start changing them wholesale. It’s not a neutral act changing from single sex designs to mixed sex designs because health and safety for everyone is decreased.