Mainly female students have difficulty with the gender-neutral toilets. “Muslim women wearing headscarves, for example, do not feel safe in the toilets because they might encounter men there,” says Ayinla.
In the summer of 2023, eleven buildings on the Woudestein campus were equipped with all-gender toilets. The transformation was simple: the signs at the doors were replaced by ‘all gender’ stickers, with images of urinals and/or toilets. Councilors Nawin Ramcharan and Joseph Ayinla (both from the Liberi Erasmi party) submitted a two-part proposal in response to the complaints.
From 28 to 14 toilets
Of the 159 toilets on the Woudestein campus, 28 are intended for all-gender. The council wants to reduce the number to 14, halving it. “This way we can use half of it again as toilets for women,” says Ramcharan.
The council bases its proposal on, among other things, a pilot study by Utrecht University. The study shows that many women do not like all-gender toilets and often prefer toilets without urinals. “These findings are consistent with complaints we have received from fellow students,” Ramcharan said.
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Campus Woudestein will have all-gender toilets
Eleven buildings on campus will have all-gender restrooms. Major renovations are not…
Not without a fight
The majority of the members decided to accept the proposal, but it did not go without a fight within the council, says councilor Cagla Altin (Erasmus Alliance). She voted against the proposal. “It took months before the proposal was on the table,” she says. “I don’t think we should reduce the number of all-gender toilets. That decision could hurt non-binary and trans students and employees. I think you should think carefully about what the proposal does to this community.”
Spread
In addition to a reduction, the proposal also calls for a better distribution of toilets. “For example, on the third floor of the Mandeville building you have seven gender-neutral toilets, while you have none on other floors,” says Ayinla. For this building, the council recommends installing three all-gender toilets, spread out on floors three, four and five. Altin: “I am really in favor of better distribution of the toilets. But reducing it does not solve the problem. Then you deny the need for it. You have to be very careful with that.”
