Gender Neutral Restrooms - APPA

8/17/2015

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Coming Soon!

Gender NeutralRestrooms

• Overview: Gender Neutral Restroom (GNR) Movement

• Case Study: California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)

• A Survey of Codes & Regulations

• Benefits of Non-Segregated Restrooms

• Q & A

AGENDA

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Converting single stall facility is easy

Change the sign, make sure the lock works

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What is gender?

• Biological

• Psychological

• Social

BRIEF EVOLUTION OF RESTROOM REQUIREMENTS

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RESTROOMS SEGREGATE

• Restrooms built per a “gender binary” create issues for gender nonconforming individuals, including:

– Safety: Many transgender individuals experience violence in restrooms.

– Policing: Transgender individuals experience discomfort or comments related to the perception that they are using the “wrong” restroom.

– Accessibility: Single-occupancy restrooms are not always available or easily accessible.

CIIS CASE STUDY – DESEGREGATION OF RESTROOMS

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)

• Small university with approximately 1,500 FTE’s in San Francisco.

• Progressive mission to be on the vanguard of social issues including those related to GLBTQII interests.

• Activist and socially progressive student body.

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In early 2009 several transgender students petitioned to the Dean of Student for all single-occupancy restrooms to belabeled “gender neutral.”

Change was low-impact, low-cost and easy to implement quickly. Only three single-occupancy restrooms on top two floors of the university’s building.


Dear CIIS Community, We are concerned that the restrooms at CIIS are not meeting the needs of transgender and genderqueer people, differently-abled people, and parents with young children.

“Potty Re-Training”

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“Back of the Bus.”Students reported that existing gender neutral restrooms were:

– Too few, leading to long waits

– Not easily accessible

– Segregating

– “No one is gender neutral” – unanticipated negative response to restroom labeling


Students initiated several town hall meetings to raise awareness of their request for gender neutral restrooms.

+ Students were empowered

+ Many learned about the request and sympathized with the cause.

- Many did not feel supported in sharing their concerns.

- Students felt at odds with Administration and Faculty

Student Initiative

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“An issue for a small group of students.”

“I find it to be completely unnecessary to convert half the restrooms for such a small percentage of the student body.”

“I'm repeatedly triggered by this project. I like having a women's restroom. I don't mind mix gendered folks using the women's room, but I don't want to be sharing the potty with all men.”

“I do not feel comfortable with this in any way, shape, or form. Aren't there more important issues to address at CIIS thanmixed gender bathrooms?”

“I think you all are taking things way to far for a very small minority of students, and the at the sametime alienating others.”

“In order to respond to this survey in an informed manner, it may be important to know the actual percentage of transgender CIIS population requesting this change; otherwise, this politically, existentially and spiritually correct initiative can become another case of a fascism minority in the name of diversity and equality.”


“Make one group feel uncomfortable to benefit another”

“As a woman faculty member, I would not be comfortable using a restroom with male students--putting on my makeup, fixing my hair, etc. If it were only meant for transgendered men/women to use the restroom of their gender choice, then Iwouldn't mind. But not just open gender neutral bathrooms for both genders to freely use. I would not use it.”

“While I support an individual's right to choose their sexual preference, I do feel uncomfortable when it impacts me. I can support a restroom set aside for the mixed -gender community to use.”

“I don't think it's appropriate to introduce possible discomfort to manypeople and disregard the reality of gender to solve the discomfort of transgendered members of the CIIS student body.”

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Broad Collaboration

Student government and queer student life group representatives collaborated with Administration to expand awareness, mediate discussion and survey for feedback.

+ Students felt supported

+ Dialogue was facilitated

+ Administration demonstratively sought broad feedback


Do you support temporarily converting certain gender specific restrooms formixed-gender use as a pilot for possible permanent conversions of these restrooms? Response

Percent

Response

Count

YES 76.8% 285

NO 23.2% 86

answered question 371

skipped question 0

Baby Steps

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In 2014, CIIS built only gender neutral restrooms in a large renovation of its ground floor

CIIS – SOLUTION

• Single Toilet Room

• Private Stalls

• Shared Lavatories

• Changing Table

• Combined Total Fixture Count Required by Code – Male + Female

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A SURVEY OF CODES & REGULATIONS

• Plumbing Fixture Requirements are typically governed by the national plumbing codes – with states and local municipalities adopting one of three codes: Uniform Plumbing Code, International Plumbing Code, or the National Standard Plumbing Code

• Codes require the calculation of plumbing fixtures by sex, assuming equal numbers of male and female occupants, and provide a complex table of factors categorized by building use to determine the number of fixtures to provide

• “Potty Parity” laws have typically resulted in most codes requiring fixture counts in a 2 to 1 ratio of female vs. male

• Few if any code approved options exist for providing unisex or other forms of gender neutral toilet facilities in lieu of single sex accommodations, but some states and municipalities are beginning to recognize the issues and are amending local codes to include additive measures such as requiring the provision of family restrooms and unisex restrooms, available to either sex


There have been changes pointed toward creating gender neutral facilities:• OSHA Best Practices• San Francisco Administrative and Police Code Amendments• 2012 IPC Revisions• Philadelphia Legislation• University of California Policy Changes• Washington, D. C. Municipal Regulations

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San Francisco Administrative and Police Code AmendmentCompliance Rules and Regulations Regarding Gender Identity DiscriminationSan Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 12A, 12B, 12CSan Francisco Police Code Article 33City and County of San FranciscoHuman Rights CommissionDecember 10, 2003Introduction and History of Gender Identity Protection in San Francisco

In 1995 San Francisco included "gender identity" as a protected class to its nondiscrimination ordinances in response to a 1994 public hearing held by the Human Rights Commission. At that hearing, Supervisors and other City officials learned that there are transgender people in every race, class and culture, and of every age, ability, gender, and sexual orientation. The Supervisors and other City officials also learned that transgender people are subjected to severe discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations andthat no local, state or federal law provided protection and no recourse existed when discriminatory actions occurred.

Therefore, the San Francisco Administrative Codes and Police Codes were amended to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Since the law was changed, the Human Rights Commission has continued to receive complaints from people who are not hired, notpromoted, are fired, denied housing, denied services, and denied access to facilities, and are discriminated against because of their gender identity. These guidelines are intended to assist City Departments, agencies, businesses, and organizations in complying with the law.



2012 IPC Revisions2012 IPC 403.2.1 (IBC [P]2902.2.1) Family or assisted-use toilet facilities serving as separate facilities. Where a building or tenant space requires a separate toilet facility for each sex and each toilet facility is required to have only one water closet, two family/assisted-use toilet facilities shall be permitted to serve as the required separate facilities. Family or assisted-use toilet facilities shall not be required to be identified for exclusive use by either sex as required by Section 403.4.


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Philadelphia LegislationWhen Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation Thursday to afford equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, he said he hoped Philadelphia would become “the most LGBT-friendly” city in the world.One piece of that comprehensive legislation will forever alter the restroom options in city-owned buildings.

The legislation requires that new or renovated city-owned buildings include gender-neutral bathrooms in addition to traditional men's and women's restrooms.“It can be an awkward and embarrassing situation” for anyone who may “feel more like a woman, but can't use the women's room," said Councilman Jim Kenney, the bill’s sponsor.

There is more to the bill than just a neutral place to relieve oneself. Nutter, city and state lawmakers and gay rights advocates said the legislation makes Philadelphia the first city in the U.S. to offer tax credits to companies that extend the same health care coverage to LGBT employees' domestic partners and their children as they provide to heterosexual spouses and their children.Officials said the legislation also makes Philadelphia the first city to offer businesses tax credits as a way to encourage providing transgender-specific health benefits.



University of California Policy ChangesSAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) — Responding to concerns raised by gay and transgender students and employees, University of California President Janet Napolitano directed the system’s 10 campuses on Monday to create more gender-neutral restrooms and to allow students to update their records with a preferred name that does not necessarily match their legal name.

The two actions respond to recommendations from a task force that started meeting before Napolitano assumed the president’s job a year ago Tuesday and which she has expanded into an ongoing advisory group to come up with suggestions for how the university can be more LGBT-inclusive.

“UC should be the gold standard where these issues are concerned.” Napolitano said in a statement.

Several UC campuses, as well as colleges and universities across the nation, already have moved in recent years to reconfigure their restrooms so transgender staff members and students can use them without fear of being identified or harassed. In many cases, schools also make maps available showing where the facilities are located.

Under the directive announced Monday, all existing single-stall bathrooms in UC buildings will be made available to users of any gender instead of reserved for a single sex, system spokeswoman Brooke Converse said. Single-stall restrooms open to all genders will also be considered in plans for new and renovated buildings, Converse said.


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Washington, D. C. Municipal Regulations802 RESTROOMS AND OTHER GENDER SPECIFIC FACILITIES

802.1 All entities covered under the Act, as amended, shall allow individuals the right to use gender-specific restrooms and other gender-specific facilities such as dressing rooms, homeless shelters, and group homes that are consistent with their gender identity or expression.

802.2 All entities covered under the Act with single-occupancy restroom facilities shall use gender-neutral signage for those facilities (for example, by replacing signs that indicate "Men" and "Women" with signs that say "Restroom").


BENEFITS OF NON-SEGREGATED RESTROOMS

It’s not just for a “minority” population – it also helps• Families with young children• Caregivers assisting the elderly or impaired• Privacy and adequate facilities for religious practices• Anyone looking for additional privacy

It can be more cost effective when planned for• Providing multi-stall non-segregated restrooms can utilize less space, both

room footprint and plumbing chase space• More durable stall construction can reduce damage and maintenance costs

over typical toilet stall partitions

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BENEFITS OF NON-SEGREGATED RESTROOMS

Reduced wait times• It can still be difficult to achieve the right balance of male to female toilet

facilities in certain venues and occupancies – resulting in long wait times for one sex or the other in the traditional segregated approach

Safety?• Current segregation gives the

illusion of a safe zone – it’s not the reality

• Multi-stall restrooms can provide lockable stalls for greater privacy and safety, similar to single unisex toilet rooms

THANK YOU

Ken AlbrightButte College530 895 [email protected]

Jonathan MillsWestEd415 615 [email protected]

Cheryl A. Lentini Architect415 686 [email protected]

Gender Neutral Restrooms - APPA

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