Single-sex toilets must exclude transgender people, says UK EHRC {Equality and Human Rights Commissio}

The Guardian ^ | 21st May 2026 | Libby Brooks

[Cronos]

Single-sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must exclude transgender men and women, according to a new code of practice from the equalities watchdog.

But the long-awaited guidance also says that businesses and service providers have to offer practical alternatives such as gender-neutral toilets for people who do not wish to use services for their biological sex.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) document sets out how public bodies, businesses and other service providers should respond in practical terms to April 2025’s landmark supreme court ruling that sex in the Equality Act refers only to biological sex.

The guidance will be seen as an incremental victory for gender-critical campaigners, who have long argued that trans women specifically should be excluded from women-only services. But critics fear it will consolidate a chilling effect as trans people avoid public places altogether.

in healthcare, where mixed-sex accommodation is not available, trans patients must be accommodated on the single-sex ward that accords with their biological sex.

The chair of the EHRC, Mary-Ann Stephenson, said: “The supreme court was very clear … if you are providing separate toilets for women and men, that has to be on the basis of biological sex.”

The guidance states that while it is unlikely to be “practical or appropriate” to question an individual using single-sex facilities, such as toilets, about their sex, it may be legitimate if concerns are raised about that person’s “physical appearance, behaviour or concerns raised by other service users”.

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS:

[Cronos]

common sense now needs to be mandated

[ComputerGuy]

I’ve heard it’s hard to squat in a urinal.

[lee martell]

It sounds like someone is making contradictory statements.
On one hand, he says public toilets must exclude Trans people, following that by stating some accommodations must be made available for Trans people. Which is it?
My opinion, is the second view. that alternative facilities be made available.. But that could be very expensive to provide and maintain. Perhaps such additional facilities should be the rule only for very big businesses.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

[RandFan]

This was only an issue in Scotland made by the SNP and Sturgeon (the former first minister)

They weirdly embraced it and it led to this case

[maddog55]

Actually it makes no sense. If you have male and female restrooms now you need to add a 3rd or possibly 4th for the freak shows which is asinine. The only way around that is to make them male/female restrooms so men and women can’t have their own.

Common sense would ban transgenders because there’s no such thing just mentally ill freaks that should be institutionalized or better yet euthanized.

[HYPOCRACY]

The trannies can take a dump in Bobby’s hat, if they can find one.

[Bernard]

A litter box with Pretty Litter should solve the problem for the tweeners and the “never to arrive” crowd.

[hal ogen]

Just make toilets that are restricted to the severely mentally ill. That would resolve the situation.

[omni-scientist]

It looks almost like this is a deceitful way to force establishments to remove M and W designations on their restrooms, thereby opening them to all gender persuasions.

[napscoordinator]

This is stupid. Let me tell you something I’ve had to go to the bathroom badly and the guy’s door was locked because somebody was in there. I went into the women’s bathroom and did my business. big deal. They are making such a big deal out of nothing. Nobody questioned me because I believe that people do this day in and day out. If one bathroom isn’t available, you run into the other one. that’s what you do for single use.

[iamgalt]

Hand them a bucket if they don’t want to use the right bathroom

[ridesthemiles]

IF I OWNED A BUSINESS-—I WOULD INSTALL A PORTA POTTIE IN THE PARKING LOT.

[Scrambler Bob]

Hand them a bucket if they don’t want to use the right bathroom
= = =

Better have 4 buckets, properly labled, and hand them the correct one.

[ansel12]

Plumbing is so incredibly expensive and difficult to destructive in construction and remodeling, yet nowadays they just tack it on for little feel good silliness as though budgets and space limitations don’t exist, from handicap stuff to footbaths, to this kind of thing to even removing urinals instead of promoting them.

[aquila48]

Men, Women , Delusionals.