Tuesday 01-03-2022 - 13:38

 

We have all experienced that moment when we are out in public and suddenly find ourselves searching for the nearest toilet. Perhaps you are out shopping or out for a meal. Maybe you’re on campus, attending a lecture. In most instances, it is relatively easy to find a toilet to use. These are usually standard toilets: gendered, small cubicles, noisy hand driers, perhaps up/down some steps. I am sure I am not alone in finding myself trying to use a toilet cubicle that was so tiny, I had to squash myself down the side of the toilet just to get the door shut. There is no way I could have had assistance at that point, without a complete disregard for my dignity. But my dignity is just as valid and important as anyone else’s.

 

So what happens if you need the toilet to be more specific to accommodate your needs? When not just any toilet will do, because you need one that is accessible to you, as an individual?

 

Disabled toilet versus accessible toilet

 

People often get confused and refer to accessible toilets as “disabled toilets”, but if we think about it, these toilets are not disabled. Referring to a toilet as disabled implies the toilet experiences barriers to equality or has some sort of disadvantage in their existence, which they do not. 

 

These toilets are supposed to be designed in a way that makes them more accessible to people, with things like grab rails, emergency cords, washing facilities within the cubicle, and much more floor space. Not everyone who needs to access these toilets will identify as disabled, but everyone who uses them does benefit from the accessibility they provide. They remove the disabling barriers and restrictions that may prevent a person from using standard toilets.

 

 

Regulatory standards

There is a whole range of disabilities and impairments, and what one person may need in a toilet, another may not. To ensure that these toilets are truly accessible to everyone, building owners need to go above and beyond to consider the needs of the people accessing their building. Minimum standards become meaningless if it is just a tickbox exercise. 

Unfortunately, there are building owners in the UK who are not willing to take that extra step, and only want to do the bare minimum. For this reason, there are rules and regulations in place that owners of buildings must abide by. These are technically different depending on when a building was built, but the Equality Act 2010 overrides this – all building owners must provide similar toilet standards for everyone, irrespective of disability. If a building owner fails to provide an accessible toilet, yet provides other toilet facilities for non-disabled people, that is discriminatory and breaks the law, making them liable for a lawsuit. 

 

Edge Hill Campuses

Here at Edge Hill University, the buildings were built at different times, and so the regulations that are applied to the accessible toilets across the campuses vary. The problem we face as disabled students is unfortunately, we cannot change our impairments and accessibility needs just because we are in an older building. What makes it more difficult for some of us is the use of toilet facilities may be a sudden and urgent need, and we may not have the luxury of being able to simply pop to another building that is more accessible to us at such short notice. 

 

For those of you who already follow me on Instagram you may be aware that I have been campaigning for a while to raise awareness about the red emergency cords in accessible toilets. Students like me were finding these potentially life-saving aids were being tied up and not reaching the floor. If someone was to require assistance in many of the accessible toilets on campus in Ormskirk, they may find it difficult if not impossible, to reach these cords. Facilities Management have now put up some signs stating these cords are to be left to trail on the floor, yet many of these do not even come close to the floor.  

But the more I have looked into it, the more I realise just how inaccessible many of these supposed “accessible” toilets on campus really are. I have received reports of missing grab rails on doors, meaning that those with restricted mobility or using a wheelchair, would find it impossible to close the door without assistance. Other cubicles are simply too small, impossible to use in a wheelchair or if you need assistance from another person. 

 

Therefore, I need you, the students at Edge Hill, to help me. Whilst I am a disabled person, I only know how I personally am impacted by my impairments. Toilets that are accessible to me, may not be accessible to another. So, I need to hear about your experiences, of using the “accessible” facilities on the uni campuses. Good, bad, I need to know. Pictures are also helpful, especially if you find a cord tied up! The more information I have, the more specific you can be, the better the report I compile will be, and I can start raising these very important points with the university. 

No one deserves to have their dignity compromised at university. No one. 

 

Please complete this survey to tell me about your experience of the accessible toilets at Edge Hill. 

 

- Kir Turner, Disabled Students' Officer