Parents outraged over unisex toilets in new London school
The newly built Buxton School in Leytonstone, London has sparked outrage after building unisex toilets for pupils over the age of 8.
According to the Evening Standard, staff have welcomed the new toilets and headteacher Kath Wheeler is confident that the toilets will encourage respect between students.
Some parents believe its a step in the right direction as it strips way discrimination against transgender and non-binary students however other parents fear it could lead to ‘assaults’ and have started a petition against it.
The change.org petition was created by Ehasan Karim and reads, “We do not wish for our children to be part of this social experiment and therefore request the head teacher to take the appropriate action to restore traditionally segregated facilities without undue delay.”
The petition claims that the toilets will “disrupt hygiene, privacy, safety and wellbeing of students” and expresses concerns over “sexually related incidents.”
Parents who signed the petition have said that the toilets would lead to children “becoming sexually active even earlier” and that they “have to deal with awkwardness in the bathroom.”
Kath Wheeler has invited parents to take tours of the new facilities and states that, “No pupil has to use a unisex toilet if they do not want to.”
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