In Australia and around the world, legislation is being introduced that replaces sex with gender identity. Advocates insist that there is no conflict of interest. But governments are not collecting data on the impacts of this legislative change. We're worried about the impacts on women of men using women-only spaces, including but not limited to: changing rooms, fitting rooms, bathrooms, shelters, rape and domestic violence refuges, gyms, spas, sports, schools, accommodations, hospital wards, shortlists, prizes, quotas, political groups, prisons, clubs, events, festivals, dating apps, and language. If we can't collect data, we can at least collect stories. Please tell us how your use of women-only spaces has been impacted. All stories will be published anonymously. If you know of other women who have been impacted, please encourage them to tell their stories too.
This site is run from Australia, New Zealand members of the LGB Defence, and supported by LGB Alliance.
I asked for female nurses when I gave birth to my baby as I am a Muslim woman. I was breast-feeding when a nurse came in. He was a man dressed up as a woman; he was big with huge hands. I must have looked shocked because he said, "Am I making you feel uncomfortable?" I was too scared to say yes, but as he gripped my thigh to administer an injection, I was mortified and embarrassed. It was a horrible experience. How can the NHS send in a man when you ask for a female?
I didn't seek help, because all the women's support groups had males in them. I ended up getting much worse and having complete mental breakdown.
I went to a new-ish cinema in Manchester before COVID-19 and lockdown. I was recovering from an operation on my foot and leg, so walking and standing was very painful. I went to use the women's toilets but discovered that downstairs, where I was sitting, there were only men's toilets and 'gender neutral'. I had to wander round trying to find somebody to ask where the women's toilets were, only to be told I could use the gender neutral ones or walk up a flight of stairs to the women's. I would never use toilets that a man was allowed to enter due to past experience of domestic violence and a fear of men. My only option was to hobble up the flight of stairs. Why is it always the women's toilets that are taken away and replaced? Why can't we have our own private spaces any more?
