# Why do some places segregate men's and women's bathrooms when there's only one toilet in each room? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731 "2015-04-28T17:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/21 "2015-04-29T09:03:57Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > I don’t most men would want to use a bathroom that a container for women to throw away their used ‘pads’ and tampons . And most woman do not like having to put the toilet seat that been used by a guy with a ‘bad’ aim. I will uses the men room if the woman is busy and it’s busier than the men. That actually brings up a logical reason for the difference in toilet labeling: the women’s one will have a sanitary disposal unit, the men’s won’t. If the company is doing all their disposal of women’s sanitary products themselves then they can just put one in each toilet, but in the UK at least they’re often picked up by companies who dispose of them separately (especially if the public can access the toilet, not just employees), so the company would have to pay more for an extra sanitary bin. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/22 "2015-04-29T17:48:12Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That actually brings up a logical reason for the difference in toilet labeling: the women’s one will have a sanitary disposal unit, the men’s won’t. If the company is doing all their disposal of women’s sanitary products themselves then they can just put one in each toilet, but in the UK at least they’re often picked up by companies who dispose of them separately (especially if the public can access the toilet, not just employees), so the company would have to pay more for an extra sanitary bin. Is this a UK thing? In our house and office (in USA), that stuff just gets tossed in with the trash. What reason is given for the extra effort, infrastructure, and expense? ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/23 "2015-04-29T18:28:54Z")
I am currently assigned to our largest client. While I am assigned of the portions of the campus that have been finished and turned over to the client, I occasionally end up on the other side of the fence in the ongoing construction portion of the campus. This particular construction job has a janitorial company constantly cleaning the job site. Many of the employees of this company are Hispanic women. This is a large site, and the row of portable toilets is pretty long. About every seventh or eighth portable is pink and marked for women only. There are combination padlocks on each of them. ---
**Author:** ![Disgscen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Disgscen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgscen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/24 "2015-04-29T20:31:47Z")
Women are sexually assaulted in shocking numbers in bathrooms. If the bathrooms are gender-specific, creepy behavior that stops short of assault is easier to recognize. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/25 "2015-04-29T20:55:43Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > Women are sexually assaulted in shocking numbers in bathrooms. If the bathrooms are gender-specific, creepy behavior that stops short of assault is easier to recognize. 😕 That has nothing to do with single-stall segregated bathrooms. The bathrooms where I work are like this. One single-stall labeled Men and one labeled Women. I’ll use the correct one if it’s empty but if it’s occupied I just use the other. So do most of the other people on this floor. ---
**Author:** ![Disgscen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Disgscen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgscen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/26 "2015-04-29T21:10:34Z")
Men wait in bathrooms for women to come in alone, and use the opportunity to assault them. If the bathroom isn’t labeled, he’s not doing anything wrong until the assault begins. If it is labeled he’s clearly a creep, and people will at minimum keep an eye on him. The number of stalls is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/27 "2015-04-29T21:53:02Z")
That doesn’t make sense, why would a woman enter a single toilet bathroom if there was a man in there? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/28 "2015-04-29T22:07:02Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > Women are sexually assaulted in shocking numbers in bathrooms. If the bathrooms are gender-specific, creepy behavior that stops short of assault is easier to recognize. Do you have any cites for this? I’m sure some assaults happen, but “shocking numbers”? Does anyone else recall seeing tons of this type of thing out there in the past? ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/29 "2015-04-29T22:31:07Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > It makes me crazy in places where there is a long line for the woman’s bathroom but the men’s is zipping in and out. Just make them gender neutral! I am personally of the opinion that nearly all public bathrooms should be gender neutral (I mean ones with just toilets, not changing rooms) but I HATE waiting in the long ass women’s lines. My experience in European convention centers is they are labeled by gender, but if the event is predominantly one sex the overflow from the majority sex just starts using the opposite sex bathroom. I’ve never seen anyone object to the practice. These are typically large multi-stall bathrooms. So gender mixing is occouring. Its odd to see a woman waiting in line behind men to use the women’s room but it seems to happen just fine without issue. I don’t think there is data to back up higher rates of assault in mixed sex bathrooms. I think the laws and practices are due to unfounded fears. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/30 "2015-04-29T22:52:39Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > … I don’t think there is data to back up higher rates of assault in mixed sex bathrooms. I think the laws and practices are due to unfounded fears. Lotta folks know fer sher dat Jeebus hates either-sex or mixed-sex bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/31 "2015-04-30T00:39:39Z")
I believe New York has a similar ordinance to the one in Austin. Before it took effect, I was in a bar in Brooklyn that labeled the one-holers “SOME” and “OTHERS” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/33 "2015-04-30T05:41:44Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > Men wait in bathrooms for women to come in alone, and use the opportunity to assault them. > > If the bathroom isn’t labeled, he’s not doing anything wrong until the assault begins. If it is labeled he’s clearly a creep, and people will at minimum keep an eye on him. > > The number of stalls is irrelevant. If that is even true, which I really doubt, what relevance does it have for _single-stall_ bathrooms? Let’s say Rapey McRaperson wants to wait in the Women’s room to assault the next woman who enters. It’s only a single stall, so he still could wait as long as he wanted. It makes no difference how the bathrooms are labeled. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/34 "2015-04-30T07:16:34Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Is this a UK thing? In our house and office (in USA), that stuff just gets tossed in with the trash. > > What reason is given for the extra effort, infrastructure, and expense? Blood is often treated differently. A lot of toilets in the US so have sanitary disposal bins - I wasn’t talking about at home! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/35 "2015-04-30T11:28:14Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Blood is often treated differently. A lot of toilets in the US so have sanitary disposal bins - I wasn’t talking about at home! Multi-toilet restrooms in the US do sometimes have bins in each stall- but in the places I would know about, there’s not a separate company coming to empty them. Whoever cleans the restroom empties them. Single stall restrooms generally don’t have a bin, just a trashcan. I’m pretty sure that in the US , the bins are just for convenience. ---
**Author:** ![Disgscen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Disgscen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgscen)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/36 "2015-04-30T14:44:35Z")
I agree there are situations where mixed bathrooms make more sense. My point was that a strange man in a public women’s restroom is a warning sign that isn’t there if the bathrooms are mixed. The vast majority of rapes occur in locations the victim generally feels safe, like at home. Less common rapes by strangers tend to occur in public locations that offer some privacy, like parking garages or bathrooms. “Less common” needs to be understood in the context of the tens of thousands of rapes that are reported every year in the U.S. Some posters seem to be suggesting that bathroom rape isn’t common. Here’s a post with nine examples linked at the bottom: [http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/03/the-worst-place-on-earth](http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/03/the-worst-place-on-earth) As to whether the number are shocking? That’s up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/37 "2015-04-30T15:05:58Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > I agree there are situations where mixed bathrooms make more sense. My point was that a strange man in a public women’s restroom is a warning sign that isn’t there if the bathrooms are mixed. But if it’s a single stall, no one will enter if they know anyone is in there, and if a man is hiding in there, the victim won’t know until it’s too late regardless of how it’s labeled. It’s not like she’s going to go into to the single-stall bathroom if she thinks the person in there is a woman, because occupied is occupied. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/38 "2015-04-30T15:13:53Z")
**Disgscen** , do you not understand what a single-stall bathroom is? It has nothing to do with mixed bathrooms. It’s one room, with sink and toilet in the open, that locks. If one person is inside, no one else is going in. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/39 "2015-04-30T15:17:01Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > I agree there are situations where mixed bathrooms make more sense. My point was that a strange man in a public women’s restroom is a warning sign that isn’t there if the bathrooms are mixed. Except this thread is about single-stall bathrooms, where ANY person inside is a clear sign that nobody else should go in. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/40 "2015-04-30T15:35:05Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Except this thread is about single-stall bathrooms, where ANY person inside is a clear sign that nobody else should go in. I think what **Disgscen** has in mind is a person _hiding/lurking_ in a single-stall bathroom, in such a way that a woman wouldn’t see him until she enters and closes the door (maybe by standing behind the door). And the fact that he’s not doing anything wrong or noticeable by entering the room in the first place makes it easier for him to do so. Having said that… > [@Disgscen](#): > > Some posters seem to be suggesting that bathroom rape isn’t common. Here’s a post with nine examples linked at the bottom: > [http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/03/the-worst-place-on-earth](http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/03/the-worst-place-on-earth) > > As to whether the number are shocking? That’s up to you. I don’t think any of the examples **Disgscen** linked to actually worked that way. I can’t tell whether any of them involved single-stall bathrooms, let alone any that were unisex; and many of them clearly were not. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731/41 "2015-04-30T16:47:59Z")
How do they handle the situation of transgender or “people in gender transition”? I think all places will need 4 bathrooms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-places-segregate-mens-and-womens-bathrooms-when-theres-only-one-toilet-in-each-room/718731.md?page=3)