91Ƶ

Skip to content

New B.C. high school being built with gender-neutral 91ƵWashrooms for Everybody91Ƶ

Officials say Cowichan Secondary washrooms will provide safety, privacy, dignity for every student

In an effort to get ahead of any criticism, the Cowichan Valley School District has released a video to explain the concept of the gender neutral 91ƵWashrooms for Everybody91Ƶ program that is planned for its new Cowichan Secondary School, which is currently under construction.

The school district91Ƶs communications director Mike Russell said the district is trying to be proactive with the release of the video, and address any concerns that may crop up in the community with the new washroom concept, which does away with the traditional separate bathrooms for male and female students in favour of private toilet stalls around a shared sink area in a gender neutral room.

In the video, Russell said the district has in the past seen that discriminatory policies and practices have adversely impacted the mental health and development of students, and create life-long challenges for them.

91ƵIt91Ƶs for this reason, and many more, that new schools are being designed to serve students of all genders, including having washrooms designed for everybody,91Ƶ he said.

91ƵJust like a single washroom in a school hallway, these newly designed washrooms can be used by anyone, with a focus on safety, privacy and dignity. The washrooms provide a welcome space for every student and strive to provide safety and privacy for all users.91Ƶ

Russell said that with floor-to-ceiling doors on each individual bathroom stall and fixtures that meet accessibility codes, Washrooms for Everybody fosters the independence of every student.

He said increased privacy in toilets make them more comfortable to use, and they also provide dignity for individual students91Ƶ health needs, while openness and connection in the washrooms91Ƶ central areas around sinks increase safety.

In addition to the change away from binary male/female bathrooms, Russell said that as well as the standard changing rooms for males and females in the new school, there will also be a third 91Ƶuniversal91Ƶ change room that can be used by all students.

There has already been some concern expressed by a few community members about the universal change room concept.

Russell said the universal change room will be similar in design to the Washrooms for Everybody in that there will be separate changing stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors.

91ƵWashrooms for Everybody create a school environment that assures all students have the the opportunity to be healthy, happy and able to pursue their goals, regardless of gender or ability,91Ƶ Russell said.

91ƵThey create a better future for us all.91Ƶ



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Like us on and follow us on

30265560_web1_220908-CCI-new-school-washroom-design-pictures_1


Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
Read more



(or

91Ƶ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }