Next changing rooms- how should I respond?

[Mattressahoy]

Looking for advice re how to respond to the following email. I recently contacted Next to let them know that on the last two occasions I tried on clothes in their Oxford Street store, there had been men in the changing rooms (at this point I thought they were single-sex). The first time a man was sitting in the communal area of the changing room, and the second time a man was in a changing room opposite mine. Both times I was trying on swimming costumes and felt really vulnerable being naked with a man directly on the other side of the curtain.

This was Next's response:

"Thank you for your e-mail and I am sorry to hear you have felt uncomfortable on your last couple of visits to our stores, due to the presence of male customers in the fitting rooms on the Womenswear floor.

Just to explain, our position has always been that all fitting rooms, irrespective of which department they are situated on, are open to all customers to use, and they are not designated as a single-sex provision. Hence the signage above the entrance just saying 'Fitting Rooms', rather than 'Men's' or 'Women's' Fitting Rooms.

We want to encourage customers to be able to use whichever facility is most convenient for them at the time. For example, for customers placing orders online for delivery to store, the collection point in most of our stores is on Menswear so female customers may find it more convenient to use those fitting rooms to try items on and decide what they wish to keep or return while they are still in store.

We are continuously reviewing and updating our fitting rooms, for example, by attaching hook and eye fixtures to secure the curtains in fitting rooms in our existing stores in order to make customers feel more comfortable, and we are also looking at alternatives to replace curtains in fitting rooms when we re-fit stores or open new ones."

I feel really disappointed with Next and don't feel they're taking women's safety seriously. They have changing rooms in the women's section and in the men's, so in what way would it be detrimental to them to make one specifically for women and one for men? There is absolutely no reason for men to need to access the changing room on the women's floor as all the men's clothes are on the upstairs floor, with it's own changing room. And I can't imagine many women actively choosing to use changing facilities on the men's floor. What is the legal position here? I thought that under the Equality Act companies can provide a single-sex space where there is good reason to do so?

At the very least, I would want there to be clear signage stating the changing rooms are unisex so that women can be made aware that they do not have access to a safe single-sex space before they enter. Is that unreasonable? Is there anything else I could add?

I had an exchange of emails last year with Primark who have a very similar policy to Next it seems. They have installed solid walled cubicles with lockable doors and call them (mostly) unisex but have "womens" which include women with a female birth certificate, minus women with a GRC plus men with a GRC even though this is not declared on the door obvs! There are benches in the cubicles which would allow anyone to stand on and see over the top of the adjacent. I went in with DD and didn't like that there were men in the queuing area around the cubicles and we had to walk through them to get out. I haven't been back. I may have to add Next to my list. DD has taken to buying second hand clothes and maybe I will join her - better for the planet and our wallets

Exactly

I do prefer an option for mixed gender changing as a solo parent to a male child as well as for those with accessibility needs or other vulnerabilities who may need support with changing, including women reliant on a husband who provides that type of support. However, I think it must be very clearly marked. Everyone needs to know immediately that they are in mixed gender changing.

When my ds was very little I was changing at a local pool and wasn't clear that it was village changing. I got ds sorted first but there wasn't enough room to get him in the car seat into the tiny cubicle and family changing cubicles were all taken so I changed quickly with the door partially open so I could see him in his pram at the door beside me. It was only after I came out that a man walked past and I realised it was a mixed change room. Never would have considered doing that if I'd realised so it's highly inappropriate not to make it clear.

I also think there needs to proper doors, a curtain is wholly insufficient for a mixed changing room due to issues with voyeurism and some sort of clear panelling at top and bottom to prevent cameras being pushed over/ under while retaining health and safety. Ideally large shops would provide 3 options - male, female, mixed changing so people can pick what they need with an accessible option in each.

I personally would be going back to next and saying that they should not be providing mixed gender changing facilities until these facilities are actually fit for purpose and have been designed with women and girls safety in mind. And I would highlight that they should be clearly marked as mixed gender changing.

Just tell them: Thankyou for the response and you will review your decision not to use their stores again when they have ensured that all their fitting rooms provide safe spaces that provide privacy and dignity. You have also taken the opportunity to inform your Instagram mumsnet followers of the current Next policy so that they can make their own choices about where they shop.

Years ago I worked in a clothing store supervising the changing rooms. There were curtains on every cubicle, that hung badly leaving gaps of about an inch. From where I stood at the entrance, I could see into several of the fitting rooms, and see quite a lot more than you would think. It wasn’t as obvious from inside the fitting rooms because lighting was brighter in the cubicle and the mirror extended the angle.

It’s something I’m very conscious of ever since. Occasionally we’d have men who would pause or loiter outside the fitting rooms in a particular spot, and we’d go stand in the way, or bustle around without directly challenging them or if necessary the security guard would get a nod. It helped in those days that the boundaries and expectations were so clear.

This is really key: It helped in those days that the boundaries and expectations were so clear.

In the past, it was crystal clear where the boundaries were. Men who were where they shouldn’t be, or behaving in ways they shouldn’t, stuck out like a sore thumb. If somebody was flashing or being a Peeping Tom, it was obvious, and they could be removed from premises and potentially charged with a criminal offence.

But now, how on earth would Next know if a man went into their changing rooms purely for the purposes of voyeurism or flashing?

Don’t they care at all about their female customers??

I'd ask why on earth a man would go to all the trouble of going to the womenswear section (where the clothes will be for shorter humans with a different hip to shoulder ratio) if it's NOT for flashing or voyeurism purposes or in order to intimidate and cross the boundaries of unconsenting women.

There's really no benign reason for doing this especially when you know that a lot of women will expect those spaces to be single sex.

Primark in Manchester city centre has managed to install actual doors which lock, in their fitting rooms and they are similar to toilet doors.

I was more than impressed, I went in a few weeks ago to try on some 'clown pants'.........which I did not buy!

No way should Next be using curtains, they are putting their costs before womens' safety which is disgraceful.

Never seen a man trying stuff on in our local Next but it does seem a bit of a free for all with men sometimes in there with their other half and kids running amok so a man could easily go in there and try something on

So, they're not labelled single sex. There’s no requirement for them to be single sex.

You assumed they were single sex.

And you’re saying it’s a safety issue when even if they were labelled single sex that doesn’t provide a hard barrier against any safety issues.

Next have made their approach clear. You can choose what you do with your custom.

And I’m confident there are plenty of people who are absolutely fine with using the nearest fitting room and dont want to trek to a different floor.

Have a good read of the proposed letter to understand indirect discrimination. Blaming the woman bringing this up and saying they can go elsewhere is not the point.

ScaryM0nster
I’m confident there are plenty of people who are absolutely fine with using the nearest fitting room and dont want to trek to a different floor.

Yes, that is indeed why the motives of men who trek to a different floor in order to use the changing room in the womenswear department are deeply suspect.

was there a bench inside the cubicle? In our local primary it would be easy to see over into the next cubicle when standing on it. And then theres the risk of hidden cameras (2 guys convicted near us for selling films of young girls on the web). I’ll not be going back!

You may recall that there were a spate of incidents after Primark installed ‘gender neutral’ (mixed sex in other words) changing rooms in 2019. Men barging in on women, filming under the curtains, engaging in ‘indecent acts’ etc etc. All the stuff you expect when you give men carte blanche to go into women’s spaces and not have to justify their presence there. So don’t be too impressed by them.

Does the fact that this arrangement puts women at far greater risk of voyeurism and being subject to indecent exposure not bother you?

Any stats or data to back that up?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/09/sexual-predators-target-girls-mixed-changing-rooms-wrn-uk/

Yes, all the incidents at Primark that caused them to review their mixed-sex policy.