Invercargill City Council
Captured
Q1: Do you provide communal single-sex changing and showering facilities?
Yes, Splash Palace provides communal single-sex changing and showering facilities for both public and schools.
Q2: Do you provide single occupancy changing and showering facilities? If so, how many at each site?
Yes, each public communal single-sex changing room has private changing cubicles and private shower cubicles. In addition, there are also five single/family occupant changing and showering facilities in the private changing room area. Splash Palace is also in the process of adding six more individual changing and showering facilities as well as three unisex toilets.
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.
Splash Palace has no specific policy or procedure that applies to trans-gendered individuals; however, we have a general operating procedure for the changing room use, which applies to everyone. This is outlined below.
Private Changing Cubicles
Private changing cubicles can be used by anyone. These are not restricted to only families.
Changing Room Use and Behaviour
Male and female changing rooms include private changing cubicles, separate shower cubicles and toilets as well as an open space for changing and will be for the sole use by these groups. School changing rooms for both male and female will be for sole use by schools only. When a male or female change room is closed for cleaning patrons will be directed to the private changing cubicles. If anyone in their changing area or in the facility are subject to any inappropriate behaviour, they need to report their concern immediately to the facility supervisor, who is trained on how to deal with any concerns, and depending on the situation may include:
- Discussing and de-escalating the situation with the parties involved; or
- Issue of a trespass notice; or
- Calling the police
- Inappropriate behaviour may include but not limited to:
- Exposing oneself to another
- Derogatory or lewd comments
- Use of mobile phones in the changing rooms
- Assault
- Aggressive or sexual behaviour
Our staff participate in child protection training and are vigilant and proactive in caring for all vulnerable customers. We will continue training our staff to monitor and identify risks and solutions to keep all users safe. Although we have robust health and safety procedures, we rely on our communities to take some shared responsibility in how they move through our spaces in a safe manner.
For all incidents please ensure an incident form is completed in full.
Q4: How are your different changing and showering facilities labelled and described?
Splash Palace has a private changing room area, accessible changing rooms, males public changing room, females public changing room, male school changing room and female school changing room.
Q5: At your sites, which changing room and showering facilities is a trans-identified male permitted to use?
Woman [sic] can use the female changing rooms and men can use the male changing rooms. Private changing rooms are available for anyone.
SUFW note: this response was vague so we went back to them with "Can you please clarify your answer to question five for us - a trans-identifying male (so a male who identifies as a woman) can use which spaces?
Male?
Female?
Private ?
Liz from Invercargill City Council replied with "Thank you for your email, we wish to advise that we will not be providing any additional information to the response already provided."
Q6: If applicable, do your facilities allow trans-identifying males to attend Women Only swim sessions?
Not applicable. Splash Palace does not run Woman Only Sessions
Our Verdict
Single occupancy changing rooms are great, but no policy = no protection for women.