The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association is lobbying the University of Winnipeg to install its first gender-neutral washroom.

“It’s a top 10 UWSA board goal for the year,” said Ro Mills, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender* Centre Director at the University of Winnipeg. “And my number one,” he added.

The gender-neutral washrooms would be designated as a safe space and remain impartial to those who use them. There would be no signs depicting which gender is to enter, and they would be available for anyone in need of relief who are comfortable with the concept.

Mills said that right now, the UWSA is hoping for one location which would be central.

“I want it to be visible, a part of the culture of the university,” Mills said.

The location the UWSA is hoping for is on the first floor of Centennial Hall, close to the Info Booth and cafeteria.

In addition to advocacy, Mills wants to educate students about positive spaces around the university. The university acts like a second home for many, and therefore should be risk-free, he said.

“If I use the women’s washroom, I get stared at; if I use the men’s, I can feel threatened,” said Mills.

“The U of W is the eclectic mix of where Winnipeg youth go to school. We should set the standard. I think we’re ready, we could handle it.”

The Rainbow Resource Centre (RRC), a Winnipeg based LGBT* and two-spirited support group, facilitates counseling programs, youth programs and makes visits to elementary and high schools across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

“We’ve done a lot of consultation and training around the idea of positive space. If you can train faculty and staff that can deliver programs and institutionalize them, they can respond to the changing needs of the campus,” said Chad Smith, executive director of the RRC.

Smith said the RRC has done research on campus at the University of Manitoba looking into the need for gender-neutral washrooms.

“Research found by doing interviews with trans-folks proved that there were challenges of access,” Smith added. “They didn’t feel safe going to the washroom. They would go across the entire campus.”

Even traveling across campuses like the U of W’s, which is small in comparison to the University of Manitoba, is inconvenient and poses health risks.

“As a result of not feeling safe, there was a higher increase of bladder infections,” said Smith.

Many locations around the city have gender-neutral washrooms, like the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee House, Fame Nightclub and the Black Sheep Diner on Ellice Avenue.

“Sometimes there is initial reaction or confusion, but no one ever complains,” Jenny Berkel, an employee at the Black Sheep Diner, said about the restaurant’s two single-stall undesignated washrooms. “They’ve always been here.”

In 2008, the University of Western Ontario opened 10 gender-neutral washrooms on campus, while the University of Victoria, St. Thomas University and McGill University have all led initiatives to open gender-neutral washrooms on campus.

Published in Volume 66, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 22, 2011)