“We’ve been working towards this for years”, says Sarah Juillard from Erasmus Pride, the LGBTQIA+ student association. “We have quite a few members who are non-binary or trans. They don’t feel comfortable or safe using toilets for men and women only.”
By the start of the new academic year, Woudestein Campus will have 27 toilet blocks for all genders. Currently, only accessible toilets are regarded as gender neutral. In the Bayle Building, employees themselves have affixed a different sign to one of the toilets. Erasmus University College and Erasmus MC already have all-gender toilets.
Safer and better
The vast majority of toilets on the campus will remain unchanged. The toilet blocks that are being modified are always on the lowest floor where toilets can be found – usually on the ground floor, otherwise on the first floor. Juillard hopes that this is just the beginning. “For a long time they said that the toilets couldn’t be modified, so we’re delighted with this news. Imagine feeling so uncomfortable several times a day just because you need to go to the toilet, when it’s something we all have to do. These changes make a number of locations better and safer for our members, so we’re very, very happy.”
Online, Erasmus University has this to say about the changes: “Our university values inclusiveness and is actively committed to removing implicit and explicit barriers that may hinder full participation in the academic community. The lack of all gender toilets can also be such a barrier; therefore, all gender toilets are now being realised.”
Future
The buildings in which the toilets are being modified are all teaching buildings. “Office buildings and office floors will follow later”, says the university. “The IDEA Centre is working on creating a structural policy for all gender toilets at our university.”
The male/female signs on the toilets will be changed to ‘all gender’ in the following buildings:
- Erasmus Building
- G
- Langeveld
- Library
- Mandeville
- P
- Polak
- Sanders
- Theil
- V
- Van der Goot
