Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Captured
Q1: Do you provide communal single-sex changing and showering facilities?
Council owns two public swimming pool facilities: one in Katikati and the other in Te Puke. Both locations have communal, single sex changing and showering facilities.
Q2: Do you provide single occupancy changing and showering facilities? If so, how many at each site?
Katikati - Women's - 3 shower cubicles available (including 1 being Women’s disabled accessible) Men - 2 shower cubicles available (including 1 with Men’s disabled accessible) Te Puke - Women's - 4 changing cubicles and 1 shower Men’s 1 shower
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.
The pools are operated under Bay Venues policy, which is to encourage transidentifying people to use their identifying gender facilities, with the recommendation that the changing cubicles or showers are used for changing.
Q4: How are your different changing and showering facilities labelled and described?
The facilities at both pool facilities are identified as Men’s and Women’s.
Q5: At your sites, which changing room and showering facilities is a trans-identified male permitted to use?
As per the answer to question 3, except for the men’s changing rooms at the Te Puke pool. The men’s facilities at Te Puke do not have separate changing cubicles and the shower is not suitable for changing. If the trans-identifying male is not comfortable changing in the communal changing facility, the men’s toilet would be an alternative option for a private place to use.
Q6: If applicable, do your facilities allow trans-identifying males to attend Women Only swim sessions?
While ‘women only’ swim sessions are not currently run at Council pools, Bay Venues does facilitate these from other locations, including transgender-only swim sessions, and cultural group swimming sessions.
Our Verdict
Encouraging trans identifying people to use their identifying gender is a big fail.