New gender-neutral bathrooms have been opened in the Arts Block, after collaboration between Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) and College.
Gender-neutral bathrooms are now located on the third-floor of the building beside Room 3042, on the fourth floor beside Room 4032 and on the fifth floor beside Room 5021. According to TCDSU Welfare Officer, Aoibhinn Loughlin, there are also three bathrooms on the sixth floor.
Speaking to The University Times , Loughlin said they focused on the Arts Block because there were very few gender-neutral bathrooms in the building, especially considering the large number of students who study there.
“For any bathroom that’s stand alone, or could become gender-neutral, we have changed the signage, so it’s really just been ordering the signage”, Loughlin said.
Last year, then-TCDSU Welfare Officer, Conor Clancy, proposed the introduction of gender-neutral bathrooms at the Trinity Equality Committee, and since then TCDSU and College have been working together to provide more for students. Loughlin said that College were “very supportive” of the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms.
Trinity’s Gender Identity and Expression policy states that “it is not acceptable to restrict a trans* person to use disabled toilets or other unisex facilities”, and describes it as “good practice” for Trinity to provider “non-gender specific facilities where possible”. The policy, which was launched in June 2014, outlines Trinity’s plans to be inclusive of all students, regardless of gender identity, and emphasises Trinity’s “formal commitment to recognise and support an individual’s gender identity and gender expression”.
Writing in The University Times in June, then-incoming TCDSU LGBT Rights Officer, Sean O’Carroll, emphasised that “gender-neutral bathrooms are not available in every college building and sometimes not available at all at events run by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) events”.
The issue of gender-neutral bathrooms has been a recurring theme in TCDSU elections over the past few years, with many candidates promising to introduce them across campus.
A number of other Irish universities have introduced gender-neutral bathrooms in recent years. Last year, University of Limerick Students’ Union (ULSU) opened gender-neutral bathrooms in the college, while NUI Galway is set to introduce gender-neutral bathrooms from September onwards.
