Is single sex accommodation at English Universities organised by biological sex or by gender?

[AccommodationForUniversity]

My 17yo is applying to university (England). She is intelligent but quite vulnerable - she has Autism, ADHD, PTSD and has experienced both sexual assault by a total stranger and sexual abuse within a relationship. We have been on a few open days and she has expressed a preference for single sex accommodation in halls. So I was wondering, if she selects single sex accommodation, whether it would be restricted by biological sex? Or whether students can self identify. Or is it dependent on the Uni? I guess people can have male friends or boyfriends visiting or staying over even if the accommodation is single sex, and I don't think she would mind that if she had her own bathroom, but I wouldn't want her to be surprised that one of her flatmates was a biological male if she was expecting otherwise.

If it's Uni-dependent, how would we go about finding this out? If it's normally based on gender identity then I don't know what would be best for her. Has anyone been through this with their DD?

It should be single sex but as you say that would only apply to the licence holders and not guests.

If it’s single sex, which relies on the single sex exemptions in the Equality Act, it must be on the grounds of biological sex. Otherwise it’s mixed sex. Does the uni accommodation have a policy document? Start there.

Also looking round uni's and asked that question, though it was students showing us around and I'm not sure they quite grasped my point. What everyone said though was that all accommodation application forms allowed you to put down lots of individual, specific info and you can certainly cover it there.

Interestingly one of the Unis specifies "single gender" and all the others say "single sex". One of the single sex ones doesn't allow opposite sex guests, all the others do. I want her to feel she can choose the University based on it's own merits and not on accommodation but none of them are commutable from home so it is a real consideration.

From my experience it’s useful to contact the accommodation services at the universities to find what they offer and explain the situation (as far as you want to). My DS has a medical condition, and while he could have coped with any normal accommodation they gave him one with a place to lock medicines away and a fridge. It wasn’t expected or asked for but they obviously considered what would be helpful to him. I know it’s not the same but just outlining an example of the Uni trying to help individual circumstances.

I've been doing the uni rounds with one of my children this year - will DM you about one to avoid, as I was pretty shocked about the level of TRA activism compared to a previous visit with my older child a couple of years ago.

Other than that, I'd be taking the universities absolutely at face value when the website says "single gender" accommodation. Sadly the UCAS form asks about gender - not sex - so it's a bad start, and I'd be asking universities individually. I'd be very happy to help with asking though. Is your daughter year 12 or 13?

Just to make you aware, single sex accommodation will largely only be occupied by overseas students or those from very conservative religious backgrounds. Which is fine obviously but might make for a different experience socially.

Lots of accommodation is en-suite though, would that be an acceptable alternative.

That's good to know, thanks. We would go for en-suite anyway. I guess it's just whether walking alone down her corridor late at night and encountering a lone male might be a source of anxiety for her, or even a PTSD trigger, which could be very destabilising. The state of the shared kitchen is also a concern due to her sensory issues although I don't know whether all-girls would be substantially better for that anyway. She definitely doesn't want to live at home and I think that's really positive for her future independence. But she needs to feel safe.

DD1 is in single sex accommodation, she's white British, non-religious and gay. I did suggest there might be girls in an all female flat for religious reasons and that might be problematic for her. But that has not been the case for her or her friends. It might vary with University of course.

Is that just your opinion or based on fact?

My friend's daughter is in single sex accommodation. She is British and non-religious. None of the other girls are noticeably religious, and there is a nice mix of British and overseas girls.

My DD is in an all female flat and there are no overseas or overtly religious flatmates, so that certainly doesn’t follow in all cases.
OP- the reality is that universities do have single sex accommodation and also have trans inclusive policies which say they will accommodate students in the sex (they say gender, but they mean sex) they identify as. So, they have incompatible policies. But in all likelihood, there is a very good chance that if your DD applies to be in an all female flat, that is what she will be get, trans identified people being relatively few in number. Depending on the university, some are very accommodating of student preferences when allocating living arrangements. If your DD was willing, she could explain her need for female only accommodation in terms of her disability and mental health. Where is she thinking of applying to? There might be some here who have direct experience and can advise.