Supreme Court’s trans ruling paving the way for a return of gender-neutral loos

[Jessica_Rose]

(UK)How the Supreme Court's trans ruling is paving the way for a return of gender-neutral loos

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-the-supreme-court-s-trans-ruling-is-paving-the-way-for-a-return-of-gender-neutral-loos/ar-AA1Dym58?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=18fb2f3f30f44326ab90da0c061c9477&ei=176

Story by Jill Foster (24 April 2025)

As businesses and organisations grapple with the implications of last week's Supreme Court ruling on "sex" meaning "biological sex", one particular issue appears – once again – to be at the forefront of the gender debate: lavatories.

Which facilities should men who identify as women now use? What about trans men (women who identify as men)? Or even those who identify as non-binary?

Coincidentally, on Wednesday, a judge in Scotland ordered that Scottish schools should provide single-sex toilets, in response to a claim brought against Scottish Borders Council (SBC). The local authority had installed gender-neutral toilets at a primary school, to the chagrin of parents who believed that boys and girls should have access to separate loos.

But campaigners fear that last week's Supreme Court ruling, which led to the Government saying that trans women should use toilets according to their biological sex, will simply lead to a renewed push for gender-neutral or unisex lavatories, which have also proved highly divisive. Those facilities sometimes involve women sharing with men using urinals, or rows of cubicles used by both sexes.

"What trans person will now use a public lavatory without fear of abuse, or worse?" said Sir Stephen Wall, a former senior civil servant and LGBT activist. "If the Government is serious about human rights, it should mandate the provision of gender-neutral facilities wherever separate provision is at present made for men and women."