Student activists want sanitary bins to be placed in male toilets for transgender men
that student activists want universities to install sanitary towel bins in men’s toilets so that female transgender students who use them do not face discrimination.
Equality rights campaigners at three universities have called for the changes and they include, Cardiff, Birmingham and Southampton universities.
The Southampton Student Union has a drawn up a ‘Trans Inclusion Policy’ where ‘trans’ is defined as a “wide umbrella term, covering those who transcend traditional boundaries of gender and sex, those who are gender variant, and those whose gender identity does not matter their assigned gender.”
They say that the majority of negative experiences among trans students are caused by single-sex toilets and changing rooms.
‘All suggestions for improvement included either increasing the number of gender neutral toilets available, or adding sanitary bins to male toilets for men who menstruate.”
The National Union of Students has estimated that there are up to 28,000 trans students in UK universities, out of around 2.3 million.
Chris Hall, from Universities UK’s Equality Challenge Unit, said, “Trans staff and students should be consulted to understand their requirements. It’s important institutions are supportive.”
However Norman Wells from the Family Education Trust disagrees.
“The simple fact is that women menstruate and men don’t, no matter what the men and women concerned may feel about themselves.”
More stories
Zac Goldsmith Interview: I’d use my influence as Mayor of London to lobby for PrEP
UKIP’s Peter Whittle: ‘I’d love to be London’s first openly gay Mayor’