Trans advocacy organisation TransActual UK has unveiled a “Third Toilet” installation outside the UK Supreme Court to demand answers in the wake of the recent ruling
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY RHIANNON ADAM
Yesterday (21 May), trans advocacy organisation TransActual UK unveiled an eye-catching installation outside the UK Supreme Court. BBH London created the “Third Toilet” in the colours of the Trans Pride flag, which is certainly hard for passersby to miss. This is in direct response to the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling.
Just over a month ago, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of the protected characteristic of “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act was a “biological one”. In response to the ruling, the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) issued interim guidance that called for trans people to be banned from using single-sex facilities that matched their gender. It went on to add that, in some cases, we also shouldn’t use facilities matching our “biological sex”.
The question at the heart of this campaign by TransActual UK is this: Where, exactly, are trans people supposed to go?
The organisation’s installation challenges the notion that safety and dignity can be optional. The campaign will build pressure on policymakers to provide clarity and protection, particularly as many of us are left wondering not just where we can go to the toilet, but how we can access safe spaces throughout different sectors.
“The Supreme Court claimed it brought clarity to an area of difficulty. However, it did the exact opposite while also diminishing the rights or status of trans people in the UK. The impact on the trans community, to date, has been devastating,” said Hafsa Qureshi, a director of TransActual UK. “This campaign is a powerful statement – about being forced to exist without safety, privacy, and rights, in full view of a society that refuses to see us; a demand for legal clarity, human dignity, and real, lived safety for all trans people; and an attempt to put pressure on public policy makers to ensure they are answering questions and, ultimately, are held to account.”
Olivia Campbell Cavendish, founder and executive director of the Trans Legal Clinic, was pictured sitting on the toilet outside the Supreme Court, had this to say: “We need to move the conversation on from ridiculous things like bathrooms and onto the things that matter. And that is the safety of trans people everywhere.”
BBH’s associate creative directors Camila Gurgel and Ieva Paulina added: “Our hope is that the Third Toilet installation sparks awareness, conversation, solidarity and inspires more people to stand with the trans community.”
Do you want to find out more about what you can do to help? Go to transactual.org.uk.
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