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‘Dundee City Council response to unisex school toilet concerns will alarm parents’

The council has been slammed for its “mealy-mouthed” response to concerns over unisex toilets in schools, despite voyeurism incident at Dundee secondary.

Concerns emerged in 2017 after the Scottish Government proposed unisex toilets in schools.
Concerns emerged in 2017 after the Scottish Government proposed unisex toilets in schools.

Dundee City Council has been slammed for its “mealy-mouthed” response to concerns over unisex toilets in schools, despite a voyeurism incident at a city secondary.

A 15-year-old male pupil was charged by police in December after a hidden mobile phone camera was discovered in the girls’ toilets at the school.

The device, reportedly containing hundreds of images of female pupils, was found by a girl who handed it to staff, prompting the investigation.

The case was raised in the Scottish Parliament last week by Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal, who warned that unisex toilet policies were being exploited by male pupils to film girls without their knowledge.

She said teachers had told her of boys “slipping their cameras under the stalls” at other schools and insisted the Dundee case should be a wake-up call.

However, Dundee City Council has dismissed calls to review its approach.

Questioned on the issue by The Courier, a spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on an ongoing legal matter.

“The council follows Scottish Government guidance regarding toilets in schools.”

‘Shocking incident’

But Ms Gosal criticised the response and warned the council is ignoring clear concerns from parents and the wider public.

She said: “This mealy-mouthed response from Dundee City Council will appal and alarm local parents in equal measure.

“Given the shocking incident which occurred at one of the city’s secondary schools, it simply is not good enough for the council to hide behind excuses that do not stand up to scrutiny.

“Parents and the wider public just want to see some common sense applied.

“Every pupil in Dundee and up and down Scotland should have access to single-sex toilets in our schools.

Pam Gosal.

“The SNP’s reckless gender reforms have become embedded in Scotland’s public sector, and this is just the latest example of one of them just not getting it when it comes to protecting access to single-sex spaces.”

The row follows a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request that revealed Harris Academy— one of Dundee’s largest secondary schools — has 18 unisex toilets alongside separate male and female facilities.

The FOI response also confirmed that:

  • No Equality Impact Assessment was carried out before the introduction of unisex toilets to the school in 2016.
  • No formal consultation with parents took place before deciding the toilet layout.

But despite growing concerns from parents and politicians, the council claims it has received no complaints about unisex toilets.

Safety concerns

In 2017, the Scottish Government proposed unisex toilets in schools, but after a public consultation revealed privacy and safety concerns, the existing requirement for separate male and female facilities remained unchanged.

Despite this, some local authorities introduced unisex toilets, leading to controversy over pupil welfare, particularly for girls.

Research by the campaign group For Women Scotland suggests as many as 1 in 20 schools may be in breach of the guidance.

At the Holyrood debate last week SNP Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart refused to engage with the issue of unisex toilets in schools.

Conversation