Government works to reverse the rise of gender neutral toilets

In a controversial effort to protect same-sex spaces, the UK government have accelerated their plans to reduce the number of gender-neutral toilets. The new plan will see separate male and female toilets in several non-domestic private and public buildings.

The plan sets out to ensure that all new non-domestic properties provide the public with separate single-sex toilets for women and men – or a private toilet as a minimum.

According to the government, this decision comes after privacy concerns from women and elderly people who feel that they are subject to many public toilets being converted into gender-inclusive facilities.

The government also claim that the gender-inclusive facilities have also led to longer waiting lines, decreased choice of cubicles, and a limitation on privacy for those who use the facility.

There is also a safety concern towards women being forced to use gender-neutral toilet spaces. The new plan will provide women, who may need the facility more often for sanitary and pregnancy use, with a private space.

Speaking of the government retracting the move toward gender-inclusive lavatories, Kemi Badenoch, the Minister for Women and Equalities said: "It is important that everybody has privacy and dignity when using public facilities. Yet the move towards 'gender neutral' toilets has removed this fundamental right for women and girls."

"It is extremely important women can feel comfortable when using public facilities, so we are taking action to restore dignity and privacy at the centre of all future provision," the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith & Communities Baroness Scott added.

Separate facilities in schools for pupils aged eight years or above is already a compulsory policy in England. But, the government emphasised that this policy will "reinforce the principle".

The new policy will see single-sex toilets as the first option for new or current non-domestic buildings that are being refurbished, such as shops and offices.

In the past, pro-LGBTQ+ activists have signalled the importance of having gender-neutral toilets, in addition to single-sex bathrooms.

Gender inclusive bathrooms have also been known to benefit disabled people and caregivers and parents.

According to a recent YouGov opinion tracker this month, 47 per cent of women oppose the idea of gender neutral bathrooms in the UK, while a different 47 per cent of women in the UK support the idea of having gender neutral toilets in addition to separate toilets for men and women. The remaining six per cent of women support gender inclusive bathrooms or said that they do not know.

Another poll showed that the UK public aged 18 to 24 dominated the people most in-favour of including gender inclusive toilets, with 51 per cent voting YES to gender neutral bathrooms.

On social media, trans activists have argued that women using gender neutral facilities should not be threatened by transgender persons.

One social media user wrote: "While reading these stories, please remember that it is not trans people who are any threat. Please also remember that when there are no gender-neutral toilets, it can often lead to me having no safe options."

A spokesperson for the trans-led organisation We Exist noted that the government's refusal to gender-neutral bathrooms is an attempt to "exclude, alienate and discriminate against" trans and non-binary people.

The spokesperson for We Exist concluded: "There is also little to no evidence that cisgender women feel unsafe in currently provided facilities, so we are concerned that the government is creating a false narrative by which to exclude trans and gender non-conforming people."

In 2022, the Home Office revealed that reported hate crimes against transgender people hit an all-time high in England and Wales, after transphobic offences increased by 56 per cent.

In recent months, huge celebrities have also shown their support for the non-binary and trans community by promoting gender-neutral bathrooms.

In May 2023, Beyonce's team announced on Twitter that they would be making all the bathrooms gender-neutral on the Renaissance World Tour, which saw more than 1.05 million attendees.