Does Darwin need more unisex loos?

CASUARINA Square has just opened its first gender neutral toilets which will allow people of all gender identities to use without fear of judgment

Gender neutral toilets are for people of any gender to use. This is not a picture of the actual toilets at Casuarina Square / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / SARA D. DAVIS

CASUARINA Square has just opened its first gender neutral toilets which will allow people of all gender identities to use without fear of judgment.

Centre manager Polly Lamond said it built the two new unisex toilets during its recent refurbishment. Ms Lamond said the idea first popped up during community engagement conversations.

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Casuarina Square will be investing $8.5 million into upgrades around the shopping centre — the new loos were part of this refurbishment

“Part of the feedback we received was to see the introduction of these rest rooms, which happened to align with GPT’s diversity and inclusion strategy that is taken in to consideration during all of our refurbishments,” she said.

Ms Lamond said, so far, feedback about the unisex loos had been positive — but wasn’t sure if they’d look to build more in future.

“It’s too early to say whether there will be more introduced to the centre in the future but every opportunity is considered,” she said.

Charles Darwin University lecturer and trans advocate Dr Belinda Chaplin said while Casuarina Square had done an “excellent job”, it would be great to live in a society where there was no need for gender to be on toilets at all.

“I think it’s a really good first step into providing appropriate spaces for gender diverse people,” she said.

“My personal view is that we’d like to get away from the terms gender neutral and unisex — it’s just a toilet. Can you get any more gender neutral than just calling it a toilet?”

Dr Chaplin said future planners should consider constructing individual loos for any to use, regardless of how they identified.

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Minister Lauren Moss supported the idea from the start PICTURE: KERI MEGELUS

Member for Casuarina Lauren Moss welcomed the shopping centre’s new modern addition and said she’d backed the proposal from the start of the process.

“Along with a range of other stakeholders and business owners, my view was also sought, and I was pleased to provide my support through this process,” she said.

“It is important that staff are supported in their workplaces, and GPT have shown leadership in this space.”