Auckland Council
Captured
Q1: Do you provide communal single-sex changing and showering facilities?
We provide a range of communal, private, and semi-private changing and showering facilities across our network of 42 pools and leisure centres. An extensive list detailing the various changing, showering, and bathroom facilities is attached.
Q2: Do you provide single occupancy changing and showering facilities? If so, how many at each site?
Most centres have single-occupancy changing or bathroom facilities and/or private spaces or cubicles in non-gendered areas (for example, family changing rooms).
Q3: Please provide any policies or procedures that apply to trans-identified people who wish to use the changing and showering facilities in your sites.
Auckland Council has a responsibility to create a safe environment for all Aucklanders to visit and enjoy our active recreation facilities, services, and programmes. Everyone has the right to exercise and participate in physical activity and recreation in a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment. Our guiding principles, as set out in the attached document “Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Rainbow People in Auckland Council's Pools and Leisure Programmes and Services”, are: Inclusion; Wellbeing and safety; Privacy and dignity; Anti-discrimination, anti-bullying and anti-harassment; Listening and responding; Education. The Pools and Leisure guiding principles document is based on Sport New Zealand’s document “Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport” (attached) and advice from the Human Rights Commission. Our guidance document is also aligned with the recently published Recreation Aotearoa guidelines, “Trans and gender diverse guidelines for exercise and recreation providers” (attached).
Q4: How are your different changing and showering facilities labelled and described?
The council’s network of pools and leisure centres has been amalgamated from previously separate legacy council organisations. Facilities vary in age and were built, renewed, and fitted out at different times. Consequently, wayfinding, signage, décor, and descriptions of facilities vary across the network. We are in the process of updating and aligning these elements as part of scheduled renewals and improvement projects. Examples of the range of signage used across centres are included in the attached list.
Q5: At your sites, which changing room and showering facilities is a trans-identified male permitted to use?
Consistent with our guiding principles, transgender and non-binary individuals may access services and participate in activities in accordance with their self-determined gender. Transgender, intersex, and non-binary people are able to use the toilets and changing rooms they feel most comfortable using. Some may prefer to use private or gender-neutral facilities. Our staff discuss the options available with transgender and non-binary customers to ensure they, and other community members, are treated equally and kept safe.
Q6: If applicable, do your facilities allow trans-identifying males to attend Women Only swim sessions?
The Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for places providing a service to the public to discriminate against people because they are transgender. The Human Rights Commission advice is that "Transgender women should be able to go to women-only sessions and access other women’s spaces." Our staff though, would discuss the circumstances and sensitivities on a case-by-case basis to determine what is in the best interests of the individuals and community concerned. Noting that we have been holding women's swimming sessions for many years and this has not been an issue.
Our Verdict
27/36 facilities (check this) have 'gender neutral' spaces &/or gendered single use cubicles that anyone can use. They all have gender specific spaces, but anyone can use them. Auckland Council policy ignores sex. They have a policy for 'rainbow people' but not women. Everyone's welcome... except women who want female only spaces.