“Our facilities are places of privacy, dignity and respect. We ask you not to approach or question anyone about their use of facilities as this could constitute harassment”

[BlueOrangeRed]

In my work I sometimes visit universities and saw this on a poster today in the ladies toilets.

Is this the latest thing following the single sex spaces Supreme Court ruling? It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this.

I’m quite interested to know if it was put up following someone complaining they’ve been approached or questioned. Or whether it’s more of a preemptive attempt to ensure no one is ever questioned or approached.

You don't do ANYTHING with the DEI department, you send it anonymously to the Board and the Legal side. Or get someone else to.

I think i would vehemently want yo question someone but faced with them in an enclosed space would probably freeze. Looking for a new job- dreading this.

Ugh the sign is correct as in it is not up to individuals to police single sex spaces. But equally these are university students, young, impressionable, not used to being gnarly or objectionable. It’s grooming them to be accepting of male dominance and that their right to privacy and dignity isn’t the priority.

The only chink of light is that it’s been written because some brave soul has challenged someone. Good.

If you stood still and made a direct statement like 'This is the women's toilets, you should not be in here' you would not be approaching or questioning anyone so would it still be considered harassment?

I would think there must have been an incident to have this sign up. I work at a university and have never seen a sign like this in any toilets on campus

This has been posted as a reply to the wrong person. Sorry. It’s aimed at whoever said nobody should ever challenge behaviour. No wonder standards of public behaviour are falling! Policing of rules has always been partly by the general public commenting unfavourably, or at least ‘tutting’ on breaches. Littering, spitting, pushing & shoving onto buses, cat-calling all require at least a disapproving glance. Otherwise, how do people know it’s disapproved of? I can understand being scared or doing things differently in different situations. I was horrified when my then 4 year old ran up to a group of bikers to tell them off for littering. They meekly picked the litter up & put it in a bin. Public convention says no M in F spaces, we have a right to say so.

If there was 'an incident', why didn't they put up big signs saying that toilets are designated by biological sex, and calling on people to respect that?

They could even have added 'Persistent use of the wrong facilities could constitute harassment' - since they seem to like that slightly threatening phrase that starts with the vague 'could'.

But instead they picked the side of telling women to be quiet.

Universities have always been hotspots for twatty men who want to erode women's boundaries by telling them they are frigid/bourgeois/stupid/unkind

Unless the OP missed the poster telling people to use the correct facility, this just encourages more of the same.

Yes, all valid and you're right

Quite.

Full on embracing of male supremacism. Women, shut up, put up and self exclude if necessary (particularly more vulnerable groups of women) so men can do whatever the fuck they want and have everything all the time with no responsibilities.

Women who are able may have the crumbs left over after the men have been served.

'Dignity and respect' - delusional.

Tosh

you do know that the police are a relatively new invention - and the ability to uphold the law has been within society for far longer - church wardens for example have powers of arrest in their parish and have had since the 1100s - normal members of the public have powers of arrest - it is why it is known as a citizen's arrest...

do you have the first clue as to what vigilantism actually is? it wouldn't appear that you do...

of course normal respectable humans should intervene - the police and law enforcers are there as public servants on behalf of the public - it is the public that decide what the laws are by electing politicians / and how they should be enforced - so for any member of the public to uphold the law is normal and acceptable...

Take it down and put up your own poster describing the law and that breaching it is an invasion of women's privacy and dignity.