Universities which do/don’t respect women’s rights

[Dragonasaurus]

As lots of yr 12/13 students are considering which universities to apply to, it might be interesting to share our understanding of how different universities treat women’s rights

i have specifically asked both Leeds and Bristol about access to single-sex toilets and changing rooms, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) no meaningful answer was forthcoming.

interested in other people’s experiences

I don’t think either of my girls would mind sharing a(n en-suite) flat with a trans person (of either sex) because they both said they’d be happy in a mixed-sex flat. They do care that their toilets/changing rooms/sports teams (where applicable) are segregated by sex not gender. I’m also concerned that their courses aren’t biased in a way that means their GC views are problematic

St Andrews - mostly gender neutral but in faculty buildings they are all single cubicles off the main corridors. Due to plumbing there are only a few toilet cubicles on each floor so practically that works. There are also some single sex shere

I think Reading Uni really comes out tops. Oxford and Cambridge facilities seem to be OK when provided by the Uni. But within Colleges I understand it's more mixed and some are def unacceptable.

TRAs banging on the windows at Bristol Uni today as Prof Alice Sullivan gave a talk. Seems like the mounted police were called as they became more aggressive!

https://x.com/profalices/status/1981027679332687923?s=46&t=ZX_bLozRqm8etdGICMcAvA

that’s actually a really good question to be asking before applying. unis tend to give very vague answers when it comes to policy around single-sex spaces or safeguarding. i’ve heard mixed things, oxford reportedly has clearer boundaries on that, while places like edinburgh and bristol have had ongoing debates and student protests. depends a lot on how active student unions are too.

Interesting, thankfully I'm not in this position with teens now but a couple of mine DC went to catered and shared bathrooms (as too lazy to clean an ensuite). The female bathrooms would definitely have been a risky environment for women . You would be mixing youngsters, alcohol, lack of adult oversight with showers..often late at night and perhaps when no one around. Even if trans person was "nice" it wouldn't be something I would support for a young adult leaving home for the first time.

Reading has confirmed it will comply with the Supreme Court ruling (AFAIK it's the only university to do so - I haven't seen any others making statements about it) and has been excellent about protecting freedom of speech.

Has Aston Uni repented of its antiTERF data-scraping shenanigans or is it still unregenerate? Where did Mumsnet get to with that? I never heard the end of the story, so it may be still ongoing.

Yes, I was a bit uncertain about mixed-sex flats where they share toilets, showers etc - too many reports of men leaving cameras in spaces like this for me to feel it was an entirely good idea! But to be honest, they’d probably both prefer en-suite - better cleaning up your own mess than having to deal with someone else’s (male or female!)

Any experience with courses as different uni’s? Thinking sociology, psychology, criminology, anthropology etc, where really sex is relevant, but seems to be being overtaken by gender?

Justine confirmed no further details forthcoming from Aston. MN FWR posts still classified as hateful transphobes rather than women concerned about women’s rights and children safeguarding.

Agree Dragon but all massively captured areas. You might be better checking individual academic profiles for lunacy/GC.

Obviously you’re right, but 😱