I was groomed into the sex industry and later trafficked. While being kept hostage by a violent man, the only place I could escape to was the female toilets. Female toilets enabled me to call for help. If the same scenario were repeated today, he would only have to declare himself a woman to walk in after me. Abusive men don’t have the boundaries or sense of shame normal people have - I know without a shadow of doubt that abusive men like him really would really would take advantage of gender ID laws. I need sex-based spaces to safely navigate the world. If female spaces are opened up to natal males, then we will bring back the “urinary leash” and destroy women’s basic protections.
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No Conflict, They SAid
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 can no longer try on clothes in Marks and Spencers because they allow men into the women’s changing room. I won’t use it because it feels very unsafe if a man is in there too. I have to buy the clothes and take them home to try on and take them back if they don’t fit. I also feel intimidated by the mixed changing rooms at my local swimming pool, which used to be single sex. Whilst there are a few private cubicles you still have men close by invading womens' and girls' privacy. It feels unsafe and unpleasant to use. I don’t go often now. Also some of the toilets are shared at my local comprehensive school which is very awkward and unpleasant for teenage girls dealing with periods and having no privacy.
Because of this legislation and this growing idea that men can “opt in” to womanhood and use women’s facilities I can no longer let my teenage daughter use these facilities alone. If we are shopping she should be able to go off on her own and use the public bathrooms or change rooms as she’s not a little girl anymore. But now I have no confidence that these spaces, these small, essentially dead end spaces will be occupied by other women only so I must accompany her. This might seem like a small thing but it’s not, this impacts our ability to move freely through the public space. I find that I’m treating these spaces like I would a lift that’s occupied by one man. I was always taught - and I have taught my daughters - to not get in a lift if there is only a single man. Of course most men do not harm women and girls but for those that do, a lift - an enclosed space - represents an opportunity to offend. A public bathroom and change rooms have now become like the lift. We don’t go there alone, we check if anyone else is in there. We proceed with caution. And to add insult to injury we are mocked for wanting women’s spaces to remain women only.
I don’t believe in “gender.” Forcing women to accept men in private spaces is essentially forcing women to act in accordance with someone else’s religious belief. The idea that a man can be a woman because of “how he feels inside” is a religious or spiritual claim. Don’t force women to adopt this faith as our own and place ourselves at risk.
organizations working to protect women-only spaces
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