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  6.  » Doctors Call on Schools to Halt Move To ‘Gender-Neutral’ Toilets

Girls are skipping school to avoid sharing gender neutral toilets with boys after being left to feel unsafe and ashamed

-> Menstruating girls are staying home for fear of being made to feel ‘period shame’
-> Some girls are risking infections by refusing to urinate all day or not drinking
-> Doctors and politicians called on schools to halt the move towards unisex toilets

Sanchez Manning – Mail Online Oct 7, 2019

Gender-neutral toilets in schools have left girls feeling unsafe and even put their health at risk, parents and teachers have warned.

Girls who are menstruating are so anxious about sharing facilities with boys that some are staying at home for fear of being made to feel ‘period shame’.

With a growing number of both primary and secondary schools installing unisex toilets, some girls are risking infections by refusing to urinate all day.

Others are so fearful they have stopped drinking liquids at school.

Parents and teaching staff have told The Mail on Sunday that female pupils feel deeply uncomfortable or even unsafe sharing toilets with male students.

The trend for single-sex toilets is driven by the wish to be more inclusive of children who identify as transgender and wish to use the same facilities as the opposite sex. 

But last night, doctors and politicians called on schools to halt the move towards unisex toilets to prevent any further harm to female pupils. 

GP Tessa Katz said holding in urine for prolonged periods on a regular basis could increase the risk of girls suffering urinary and bladder infections.

The psychological effects of girls not feeling safe enough to use mixed-sex toilets is also concerning,’ Dr Katz said.

At the same time, the rise in gender-neutral toilets has sparked a backlash among parents, many of whom say they were not consulted before the change was made at their children’s schools.

The latest row involves Deanesfield Primary School in South Ruislip, West London, where parents launched a petition last month against the introduction of unisex toilets. 

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