Backlash over Mona Vale Public School’s new mixed-gender toilets

A new set of mixed-sex toilets at a Sydney school has raised a stink, with questions being raised about young girls’ safety. Is this the way of the future? TAKE OUR POLL.

A Sydney primary school has come under fire for building a new set of toilets that mix boys’ and girls’ cubicles in the same block, with “incensed” parents questioning the privacy and safety of the design.

The new toilets at Mona Vale Public School, on the northern beaches, also feature a “unisex” cubicle, with education officials describing it “an option for inclusivity”.

New toilet block at Mona Vale Public School for Years 3 to 6 features boys’ cubicles on the left side and girls’ cubicles on the right.

The new toilet block has already had to undergo alterations, after concerns were raised about the doors being so short and low that “young female students were exposed to privacy breaches”.

Parents have also complained to NSW MP Mark Latham about safety issues for girls over the new toilets, which cater to girls and boys from Year 3 to 6.

They pointed out an incident at a northern beaches school in 2016 when a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a toilet and two 12-year-old boys were later charged.

Mona Vale’s new toilet block has five male cubicles and one unisex cubicle on one side of the large room, and six female cubicles on the other side, all with their own hand basins.

The new unisex toilet at Mona Vale Public School that education officials say is for “inclusivity”.

But some parents said they were incensed over the changes, and that, after a “parental backlash”, they were told teachers would monitor the loos during breaks.

“Whoever approved the design clearly never thought through the impact on the children,” one mum said.

Coalition for Biological Reality Stassja Frei said the policy was “misguided”, and girls would feel unsafe.

“Girls who will get their first period at this school will be sitting across from the boys’ toilets not knowing when it’s safe to come out and find help from a teacher or a friend,” she said.

NSW Upper House MP Mark Latham has asked about the safety, privacy and need for mixing school toilets. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Another mother said she did not understand the need to combine the boys’ and girls’ amenities — “I can imagine poor girls, already stressed with changing bodies, trying to use the toilets, with fear of someone peeping under. Kids will be kids.”

Another mum commented to the local P & C that she could not “believe that this specific design of the toilets was not discussed or highlighted to parents”.

“Did the person/s that OKd this decision think about girls as young as 10 experiencing periods for the first time, having to enter these toilets with Year 6 boys able to stand right (near) the door?”

She said her daughter was “still traumatised” by an earlier school incident where a boy watched from a window as she used a cubicle with a sanitary bin.

“If a boy felt he could go out of bounds to peep at girls, what do you think he’d be like if they shared the same bathrooms?”

Mr Latham said the changed layout was “deeply disturbing” on privacy and safety grounds.

“They seem to have decided on a totally different toilet design than schools have traditionally had and it puts at severe risk girls’ safety and privacy,” he said.

“It’s incomprehensible.”

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell. Picture Gaye Gerard / NCA Newswire

He also questioned the new category of “unisex” at the end of the block, saying parents believed it was an attempt to encourage transgender transitioning.

The new doors will be built by the end of Term 1. A NSW Education spokeswoman said two parents had been involved on a reference group, and that “extensive consultation” had also involved parents via newsletters.

Teachers will supervise the toilets, which have an “open hallway”, making it easier to monitor.

In response to questions, including about whether this would be a new design for other schools, Ms Mitchell stated: “Our schools work very closely with parents and the wider community when upgrading school buildings.

“If there are serious concerns from parents raised with the school, my expectation is that they would be responded to accordingly.”