The initiative is part of the UT’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Action Plan for 2022-2024. According to Ray Klumpert, head of maintenance and real estate, and DE&I officer Sterre Mkatini, Campus & Facility Management is working on designating 26 toilets across various buildings around campus all-gender. ‘The aim is to establish all-gender toilets in every larger building on campus’, Klumpert states. ‘Currently, there are all-gender toilets in Bastille, Vrijhof, Langezijds, Horst Tower, Linde, and Ravelijn.’
‘It is a priority for us at DE&I to make sure that there are gender-inclusive bathrooms in all major UT campus buildings along with male, female and wheelchair accessible bathrooms’, Mkatini notes. ‘The implementation will include the proper designation of the toilets, which will be communicated to the UT community. The toilets are also visible on Mazemap’, says Klumpert.
WC All-gender signs
Why it was important to add more all-gender toilets? ‘The need for all-gender toilets further supports a broader recognition and consideration of public environments for everyone’, says Mkatini. ‘Because, essentially, an all-gender toilet is a toilet that can be used by everyone. Just like at home.’
The all-gender toilets can be recognised by the 'WC All-gender' sign on the door. ‘We chose various toilets across campus – not solely focusing on the women toilets and thus only needing to switch the sign. This indeed means that in a few buildings other measures will need to be taken such as adding sanitary bins and removing door stickers. We did decide on only using restrooms that have proper stalls and do not have open urinals’, explains Mkatini.
‘Everyone pees, everyone poops’
Jan Behrens, a member of Th!ink with Pride UT, acknowledges the UT’s progress but was unhappy with the process leading up to the change, which included all-gender toilets in the renovated Langezijds building being changed. ‘Sometimes it feels like they're doing just enough to stop people from protesting.’
Still, Behrens is happy with the outcome of more all-gender toilets being added to campus. ‘Everyone pees, everyone poops, we are all equal. Segregating these spaces only reinforces poor behaviour, the idea that not all humans are equal, and harmful understandings about human nature.’
