Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
Reverted 1 edit by 60,000 men (talk) |
||
(42 intermediate revisions by 38 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|
{{About|a room or building available for public use|a room in a private house|Toilet (room)|the film|Public Toilet (film)}}
Line 5:
[[File:Public restroom kiosk (31701319968).jpg|thumb|A public toilet at a park in [[Viiskulma]], [[Helsinki]], Finland]]
A '''public toilet''', '''restroom'''
Public toilets are typically found in many different places: inner-city locations, offices, factories, schools, universities and other places of work and study. Similarly, museums, cinemas, bars, restaurants, entertainment venues usually provide public toilets. Railway stations, filling stations, and long distance [[public transport]] vehicles such as [[train toilet|trains]], ferries, and [[aircraft toilet|planes]] usually provide toilets for general use. [[Portable toilet]]s are often available at large outdoor events.
Line 34:
==Types==
[[File:Hocktoilette_am_Bahnhof_in_Varenna_-_1.jpg|thumb|left|
[[File:Urilift, Göteborg, Kungsportsplatsen - portrait.gif|thumb|upright|Public [[telescopic urinal]] (Urilift) in [[Gothenburg|Göteborg]]]]
Many public toilets are permanent small buildings visible to passers-by on the street. Others are underground, including older facilities in Britain and Canada. Contemporary street toilets include automatic, self-cleaning toilets in self-contained pods; an example is the [[Sanisette]], which first became popular in France.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mulrooney |first=Thomas |title=Public Toilets Around the World |url=http://news.plumbworld.co.uk/articles/6-amazing-public-toilets-around-the-world |work=Plumbworld News |access-date=20 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101221044/http://news.plumbworld.co.uk/articles/6-amazing-public-toilets-around-the-world |archive-date=1 November 2013 }}</ref>
Public toilets may
Another traditional type that has been modernized is the screened French street urinal known as a ''[[pissoir]]'' (''vespasienne'').
Private firms may maintain permanent public toilets. The companies are then permitted to use the external surfaces of the enclosures for advertising. The installations are part of a [[street furniture]] contract between the [[out-of-home advertising]] company and the city government and allow these public conveniences to be installed and maintained without requiring funds from the municipal budget.
Various [[portable toilet]] technologies are used as public toilets. Portables can be moved into place where and when needed and are popular at outdoor festivals and events. A portable toilet can either be connected to the local [[sanitary sewer|sewage system]] or store the waste in a holding tank until it is emptied by a [[vacuum truck]]. Portable [[composting toilets]] require removal of the container to a composting facility.
The standard [[Accessible toilet|wheelchair-accessible public toilet]] features wider doors, ample space for turning, lowered sinks, and grab
Public toilets have frequently been inaccessible to people with certain disabilities{{example needed|date=June 2024}}.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Molotch |editor1-first=Harvey |editor2-last=Noren |editor2-first=Laura |title=Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing |location=New York |publisher=NYU Press |date=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Penner |first=Barbara |title=Bathroom |publisher=Reaktion Books |date=2013}}</ref>
==Purposes==
Line 66 ⟶ 64:
=== Europe ===
Public toilets were part of the [[Sanitation in ancient Rome|sanitation system of ancient Rome]]. These latrines housed long benches with holes accommodating multiple simultaneous users, with no division between individuals or groups.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Historical Context |url=https://www.stalled.online/historicalcontext |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Stalled! |language=en-US}}</ref> Using the facilities was considered a social activity.<ref name=":32" /><ref name="
By the Middle Ages public toilets became uncommon, with only few attested in [[Frankfurt]] in 1348, in London in 1383, and in Basel in 1455.<ref name="
Sociologist Dara Blumenthal notes changing bodily habits, attitudes, and practices regarding hygiene starting in the 16th century, which eventually led to a resurgence of public toilets.<ref name=":
New instruction manuals, schoolbooks, and court regulations dictated what was appropriate. For instance, in ''Galateo: or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners'', [[Giovanni della Casa]] states “It does not befit a modest, honourable man to prepare to relieve nature in the presence of other people, nor do up his clothes afterward in their presence. Similarly, he will not wash his hands on returning to decent society from private places, as the reason for his washing will arouse disagreeable thoughts in people.”<ref name=":
These standards were internalized at an early age.<ref name=":62" /> Over time, much that had to be explained earlier was no longer mentioned, due to successful social conditioning.<ref name=":
The first modern [[flush toilet]] had been invented in 1596, but it did not gain popularity until the [[Victorian era]]. When hygiene became a heightened concern, rapid advancements in toilet technology ensued.<ref name=":43"
[[George Jennings]], the sanitary engineer, introduced public toilets, which he called "monkey closets", to the [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] for [[The Great Exhibition]] of 1851. Public toilets were also known as "retiring rooms."<ref>{{cite web |title=Retiring room |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/retiring_room |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025172843/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/retiring_room |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |access-date=24 October 2011 |website=Oxford Dictionary}}</ref> They included separate amenities for men and women, and were the first flush toilet facilities to introduce sex-separation to the activity.<ref name=":43" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Penner26-30 |first=Barbara |date=2013 |title="The First Public Toilet?: Rose Street, Soho" |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/vcr.2013.0011 |journal=Victorian Review |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=26–30|doi=10.1353/vcr.2013.0011 |s2cid=161265931 }}</ref> The next year, London's first public toilet facility was opened.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/toilet-history-facts-thomas-crapper-spend-penny-romans/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.historyextra.com |language=en}}</ref>
Line 83 ⟶ 81:
=== Hong Kong ===
In the early days of the colony of Hong Kong, people would go to the toilet in sewers, barrels or in alleys. Once Hong Kong opened up for trade (
Early in 1940, the colonial government built the first public flush toilet. In 1953, a fire broke out in Shek Kip Mei. After that, the government embarked on a major public housing project in Hong Kong including public toilets for residents. More than ten people shared each toilet and they used them for bathing, doing their laundry as well as going to the toilet.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Apple Daily Shek Kip Mei was fire |url=https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/realtime/article/20131226/52020137 |access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> Finally, in the 1970s, the government decided that one toilet for four or five families was insufficient and renovated all public housing providing separate flush pedestal toilets for all residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hong Kong Housing Authority |url=https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/hdw/b5/aboutus/events/community/heritage/about.html |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref>
Line 98 ⟶ 96:
===South Africa===
During the [[apartheid]] years in [[South Africa]], public toilets were usually segregated by race.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 October 1990 |title=S. Africa Abolishes 1953 Law Segregating Public Amenities |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=
==Legislation==
===Mandatory requirements===
In [[Brazil]], there exists no federal law or regulation that makes public toilets provision compulsory. The lack of public toilets across Brazil results in frequent acts of public urination.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Deister Moreira |first1=Fernanda |last2=Rezende; Fabiana Passos |first2=Sonaly |title=Public toilets from the perspective of users: a case study in a public place, Brazil |journal=J Water Health |date=2022 |pages=41–53}}</ref>
=== Sex separation ===
==== United States ====
Massachusetts passed the first law requiring sex separation of public toilets in 1887.<ref name="
In jurisdictions using the [[Uniform Plumbing Code]] in the U.S., sex separation is a legal mandate via the [[building code]].<ref>{{cite journal |date=2009 |title=2009 UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE, 412.3 |url=https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/ibr/iapmo.upc.2009.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Uniform Plumbing Code |location=Ontario, California |publisher=International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials |page=34 |issn=0733-2335 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811230633/https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/ibr/iapmo.upc.2009.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-04-11}}</ref>
Line 120 ⟶ 121:
In the United Kingdom, the ''Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992'' requires businesses to provide toilets for their employees, along with washing facilities including soap or other suitable means of cleaning.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/contents/made/data.htm |website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> The ''Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Approved Code of Practice and Guidance L24'', available from Health and Safety Executive Books, outlines guidance on the number of toilets to provide and the type of washing facilities associated with them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Health and Safety Executive Books |url=http://www.hsebooks.co.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512005700/http://www.hsebooks.co.uk/ |archive-date=2015-05-12 |access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref>
[[Local authorities]] are not legally required to provide public toilets, and while in 2008 the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee called for a duty on local authorities to develop a public toilet strategy,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Provision Of Public Toilets |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmcomloc/636/636.pdf |access-date=20 January 2014 |publisher=House of Commons}}</ref> the Government rejected the proposal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Government Response to Public Toilet Provision |url=http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm75/7530/7530.pdf |access-date=20 January 2014 |publisher=www.gov.uk}}</ref>
In 2022 the UK Government Equality Minister [[Kemi Badenoch]] announced plans to make provision of single-sex toilets compulsory in new public buildings above a certain size.
{{
== Equality of access ==
Line 131 ⟶ 132:
In the UK the number of public toilets fell by nearly 20% from 3,154 in 2015/16 to 2,556 in 2020/21<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-14 |title=Skip to the loo? Easier said than done as Britain loses hundreds of public toilets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/14/skip-to-the-loo-easier-said-than-done-as-britain-loses-hundreds-of-public-toilets |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> This loss leads to health and mobility inequality issues for a range of people, including the homeless, disabled, outdoor workers and those whose illnesses mean that they frequently need to access a toilet. The decline of the great British public toilet is described by the [[Royal Society for Public Health]] as creating a “urinary leash” which restricts how far people can travel out from their homes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RSPH |title=Taking the P*** |url=https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/policy/healthy-places/taking-the-p.html |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=www.rsph.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-01 |title=The urinary leash: how the death of public toilets traps and trammels us all |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/01/the-urinary-leash-how-the-death-of-public-toilets-traps-and-trammels-us-all |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
=== Access for
[[File:L-toilet4.png|thumb|right|Section and plan of public toilets in [[Charing Cross Road]], London, 1904. The
{{
The lack of public toilets for
The practice of [[pay toilet]]s emerged in the US in the late 19th century. In these spaces, public toilets could only be accessed by paying a fee. Sex-separated pay toilets were available at the Chicago World's Fair (US) in 1893.<ref name="Carter" />{{rp|253}}
While some public facilities were available to
Toilets also were assigned strong moral overtones. While public water closets were considered necessary for [[sanitation]] reasons, they were viewed as offending public sensibilities. It has been said that because public facilities were associated with access to public spaces, extending these rights to women was viewed as "immoral" and an "abomination".<ref>Greed, Clara. ''Inclusive Urban Design: Public Toilets''. Routledge, 2007.</ref> As a result of Victorian era codes, women were delegated to the private sphere, away from the public, fulfilling their roles as dutiful wives and mothers where any association with sexuality or private body parts was taboo. For women, the female lavatory in a public space was associated with danger and immoral sexual conduct.<ref name="Nirta">{{cite journal |last=Nirta |first=Caterina |date=August 3, 2014 |title=Trans Subjectivity and the Spatial Monolingualism of Public Toilets |journal=Law and Critique |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=271–288 |doi=10.1007/s10978-014-9141-9 |issn=0957-8536 |s2cid=145198888}}</ref>
According to World Bank data from 2017, over 500 million
In many places the queues for the
=== Access for African-American people (racial segregation) ===
After slavery ended in the United States, southern states attempted to replicate social economic oppression by passing laws requiring that blacks and whites be separated in all public and private venues. [[Racial segregation]] included public toilets, mandated by [[Jim Crow]] laws prior to the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].
Those who were able to afford cars could avoid the indignities of segregated trains and buses, but they faced the difficulty of finding a public toilet they were allowed to use. [[Courtland Milloy]] of the ''Washington Post'' recalled that on cross-country road trips in the 1950s his parents were reluctant to stop the car to allow the children to relieve themselves – it just was not safe.<ref name="Milloy2">{{cite news |last=Milloy |first=Courtland |date=June 21, 1987 |title=Black Highways: Thirty Years Ago We Didn't Dare Stop |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/24/AR2005062400510.html |access-date=October 24, 2016}}</ref> One solution to this was to carry a [[portable toilet]] (a sort of bucket-like arrangement) in the [[Trunk (car)|trunk]] of the car.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sugrue |first=Thomas J. |title=Driving While Black: The Car and Race Relations in Modern America |url=http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Casestudy/R_Casestudy.htm |access-date=October 24, 2016 |work=Automobile in American Life and Society |publisher=University of Michigan}}</ref> This treatment led to the creation of ''[[The Negro Motorist Green Book]]'', an annually updated guidebook.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Gavin |title=Sharing the Prize |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780674076440 |pages=75–76 |ref=Wright}}</ref> Once the traveler found the correct "colored restroom", it could serve "as a respite from the insults of the white world", akin to what is now called [[safe space]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Molotch |first1=ed. by Harvey |title=Toilet. ; Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing. |last2=Norén |first2=Laura |date=2010 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0814795897 |location=New York}}</ref>
Following the [[Executive Order 8802|1941 executive order which prohibited “discrimination in the employment of workers in defence industries or government,”]] white women refused to share bathrooms with black women throughout the South.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Gillian |date=2015-11-10 |title=The Anti-Trans Bathroom Nightmare Has Its Roots in Racial Segregation |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/11/anti-trans-bathroom-propaganda-has-roots-in-racial-segregation.html |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Engaging in numerous labor strikes and walkouts against [[Fair Employment Practice Committee]] politics, they erroneously claimed that racial integration would cause them to catch syphilis from toilet seats.<ref name=":03" /> Similar arguments equating equal access to restrooms with contracting venereal diseases were made by white women after the [[Brown v. Board of Education|1954 court ruling against segregated public schools]] which led to the [[Little Rock Nine|desegregation of Little Rock Central High School]].<ref name=":03" />
[[Sammy Younge Jr.|Samuel Younge Jr.]], then a student at [[Tuskegee Institute]], was murdered in 1966 after trying to use a "whites-only" restroom.<ref name="blackpast">{{cite web |author=Bourlin, Olga |title=Younge, Samuel ("Sammy") Leamon Jr. (1944–1966) |date=30 September 2014 |url=http://www.blackpast.org/aah/younge-samuel-sammy-leamon-jr-1944-1966 |access-date=7 March 2015 |publisher=BlackPast.org}}</ref> He was the first black college student to be killed for his actions supporting the [[Civil rights movement|Civil Rights Movement]].<ref name="sncc">{{cite press release |url=http://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc50_sammy-younge.pdf |title=Murdered: Sammy Younge |publisher=Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) |date=4 January 1966 |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="tea">{{cite web |last=Summerlin |first=Donnie |date=2 September 2008 |title=Samuel Younge Jr. |url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1669 |access-date=7 March 2015 |publisher=The Encyclopedia of Alabama}}</ref>
Line 159 ⟶ 160:
=== Access for transgender and gender non-conforming people ===
Access to public toilets for transgender and gender non-conforming people is often contested. In the United States, various [[
A variety of reasons have been put forward for these measures, including protecting the privacy of females, avoidance of retraumatization in females affected by male violence, and to protect females from being assaulted by males donning disguises, although there is no evidence of the latter ever having occurred in the past.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics Show Exactly How Many Times Trans People Have Attacked You in Bathrooms |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/114066/statistics-show-exactly-how-many-times-trans-people-have-attacked-you-in-bathrooms |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Mic |date=2 April 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Debunking myth about bathroom bills">{{cite news |last1=Maza |first1=Carlos |title=Debunking The Big Myth About Transgender-Inclusive Bathrooms |agency=Media Matters for America |url=http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/03/20/debunking-the-big-myth-about-transgender-inclus/198530 |url-status=live |access-date=2015-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331045813/http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/03/20/debunking-the-big-myth-about-transgender-inclus/198530 |archive-date=2015-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-12 |title=Stop Using Women's Safety To Justify Transphobia |url=http://www.rolereboot.org/culture-and-politics/details/2016-04-stop-using-womens-safety-justify-transphobia/./culture-and-politics/details/2016-04-stop-using-womens-safety-justify-transphobia/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Role Reboot |language=en-US}}</ref> The UK's [[Equality and Human Rights Commission]] published guidance in 2022 outlining scenarios where it considered exclusion of transgender people from single-sex spaces to be justifiable and proportionate.<ref>
==Health aspects==
Line 170 ⟶ 171:
Public toilets also serve people who are "toilet challenged". First, some people need to go very frequently, including young and old people, people who are pregnant or menstruating, and those with some medical conditions. Second, some people need toilet access urgently, suddenly and without warning: such as those with chronic conditions such as Crohn's disease and colitis, and those temporarily afflicted with food-borne illnesses.
The inability to satisfy essential physiological needs because no toilet is available contributes to health issues such as urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and digestive problems, which can later develop into severe health problems.<ref name=":0">"Give us a (Loo) break!" (8 March 2010) Trade Union Congress
A 2015 study by the [[National Center for Transgender Equality]] found that 8% of transgender Americans reported having developed urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and other kidney-related problems as a result of avoiding, or not being granted access to, the facilities.<ref name=":
According to the Government of Australia, more than 3.8 million Australians of all ages are estimated to suffer continence issues.<ref name="aboutmap">{{cite web |year=2006 |title=About the National Toilet Map |url=http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/staticpage.aspx?page=about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212012630/http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/staticpage.aspx?page=about |archive-date=2006-02-12 |access-date=2006-04-14 |work=The National Toilet Map |publisher=Australian Government: Department of Health and Ageing}}</ref> This represents 18% of the [[Demographics of Australia#Population|Australian population]]. Therefore, the Department of Health and Ageing maintains the [[National Public Toilet Map]] to enable the public to find the closest facility.
Line 233 ⟶ 234:
*Coat hook
*"Pull-down" purse holder
*
*Dispenser for flushable paper [[toilet seat covers]]
* Toilet cubicle door lock sign. The toilet cubicle door lock signs are indicated in either colour: Vacant is marked in green, while Engaged is marked in red
Line 249 ⟶ 250:
*[[Vending machines]] dispensing condoms, diapers (nappies), painkillers, energy drinks, perfume, breath mints, facial tissue, confectionery, undergarments, swimwear, soap, sex toys, or sanitary napkins or tampons
*[[Air fresheners]] or odour control systems
*Infant changing table, often fold-down (usually in women's rooms, but increasingly also in men's rooms.) They are sometimes placed within a, usually large, toilet cubicle.<ref name="fox13now.com">{{cite web|title=Should men's restrooms have diaper changing tables? New bill says yes|date=25 June 2014|url=http://fox13now.com/2014/06/25/should-mens-restrooms-have-diaper-changing-tables-new-bill-says-yes/|access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref>
*Sometimes showers are also present, often with soap, shampoo, or similar dispensers (often at [[truck stops]])
Line 263 ⟶ 264:
===User fees===
{{Main|Pay toilet}}
[[File:Paris-France-Pay-Toilet.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[Sanisette]], a freestanding,
Toilets that require the user to pay may be [[street furniture]] or be inside a building, e.g. a shopping mall, department store, or railway station. The reason for charging money is usually for the maintenance of the equipment. Paying to use a toilet can be traced back almost 2,000 years
first=Peter|last=Lamont|author-link=Peter Lamont (historian)|year=2004|title=The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick, (The Biography of a Legend)|edition=1|publisher=Time Warner Books|isbn=0-316-72430-0}}</ref>) The first pay toilet in the United States was installed in 1910 in [[Terre Haute, Indiana]].<ref name="first">{{cite news |last=Gruenstein
===Privatization and closures===
Line 279 ⟶ 280:
===Unisex (gender neutral)===
{{Main|Unisex public toilet}}
[[File:Gender_neutral_toilet_sign_gu.jpg|thumb|Gender neutral toilet sign at department of sociology, [[Gothenburg University]], Gothenburg, [[Sweden]]]]Public toilets are often [[Sex segregation|separated by sex]]. In many cultures, this separation is so characteristic that [[
In the 21st century, with
In addition to accommodating transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, [[gender-neutral]] public toilets facilitate usage for people who may require assistance from a caretaker of another gender, such as people with disabilities, elderly people, and children.<ref>{{cite news |last=Devine |first=Shannon |date=2004-03-11 |title=Inclusive toilets |publisher=McGill Reporter |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/reporter/36/12/transgender/ |access-date=2009-02-27}}</ref>
An additional consideration with regard to gendered public restrooms is the availability of baby changing tables. Sometimes, these tables have only been installed in women's restrooms, owing to stereotypical assumptions that only women were likely to be accompanied by babies needing to have their [[
===Graffiti and street art===
[[File:GraffitiBatYam1.jpg|thumb|Graffiti at a toilet in [[Bat Yam]], [[Israel]].]]
[[File:Graffiti tags 2.JPG|thumb|220px|right|Graffiti at Meilahti Yläaste Helsinki Finland. 2006]]
[[File:0 3060Kawakawa - Neuseeland - Hundertwassertoilette.jpg|thumb|The [[Hundertwasser Toilets]], seen as a tourist attraction in their own right]]
Public toilets have long been associated with [[graffiti]], often of a transgressive, gossipy, or low-brow humorous nature (cf. [[toilet humour]]). The word ''[[latrinalia]]''—from ''latrine'' (toilet) and ''-alia'' (a collection)—was coined to describe this kind of graffiti.<ref>{{cite web|last=Palazzolo|first=Rose|title=Latrinalia - Learning From the Scrawls in the Bathroom|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=1728528|publisher=ABC News|access-date=30 October 2013}}</ref> A famous example of such artwork was featured on the album cover of the satirical [[Tony Award]] [[Broadway musical]] ''[[Urinetown]]'', using felt-tip pen scribblings.
Line 302 ⟶ 305:
Increasing public toilet provision can help to protect women from violent attacks.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rigby|first=Jennifer|date=2019-06-10|title=How increasing the number of toilets can reduce violence against women|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/increasing-number-toilets-can-reduce-violence-against-women/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/increasing-number-toilets-can-reduce-violence-against-women/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-30|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Research studies have found increased risk of women and girls being raped where there is limited or no access to safe toilets at night.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Gibbs|first1=Andrew|last2=Reddy|first2=Tarylee|title=Why access to decent toilets could help reduce sexual violence in South Africa|url=http://theconversation.com/why-access-to-decent-toilets-could-help-reduce-sexual-violence-in-south-africa-146150|access-date=2021-12-30|website=The Conversation|date=17 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Creating safe and empowering public spaces with women and girls|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/creating-safe-public-spaces|access-date=2021-12-30|website=UN Women|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Tong|first=Traci|title=Afraid to use the toilet? These women are vulnerable to rape, attacks while in bathroom|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/11/30/lack-clean-and-safe-toilets-leaves-women-vulnerable-rape-and-attack/909462001/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref>
Several billion people lack access to improved water and sanitation and must travel long distances or wait until nighttime to defecate under cover of darkness. Women and girls managing [[menstruation]] increases their water and sanitation requirements for several days each month.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sommer|first1=Marni|last2=Ferron|first2=Suzanne|last3=Cavill|first3=Sue|last4=House|first4=Sarah|date=2015-04-01|title=Violence, gender and WASH: spurring action on a complex, under-documented and sensitive topic|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247814564528|journal=Environment and Urbanization|language=en|volume=27|issue=1|pages=105–116|doi=10.1177/0956247814564528|bibcode=2015EnUrb..27..105S |s2cid=70398487|issn=0956-2478}}</ref> Amongst the UN sustainable development goals, there is specific reference to achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls in vulnerable situations (indicator 6.2).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Target 6.2 – Sanitation and hygiene|url=https://www.sdg6monitoring.org/indicators/target-6-2/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=sdg6monitoring|language=en-US}}</ref>
A study conducted by the UCLA School of Law's [[Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy|Williams Institute]] found no significant change in the number of crimes since the passage of various laws that enable transgender public toilet usage.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |title=When A Transgender Person Uses A Public Bathroom, Who Is At Risk? |website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/05/15/477954537/when-a-transgender-person-uses-a-public-bathroom-who-is-at-risk |url-status=live |access-date=2017-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409124830/https://www.npr.org/2016/05/15/477954537/when-a-transgender-person-uses-a-public-bathroom-who-is-at-risk |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Transgender and gender non-conforming people are at risk of violence when using the public toilet (see: [[trans bashing]]). A 2015 study by the [[National Center for Transgender Equality]] found that 59% of transgender Americans avoided using public facilities for fear of confrontation.<ref name=":02"
===Anonymous sex===
{{Main|Cottaging}}
[[File:Graffiti in Sydney - 0142.jpg|thumb|220px|Graffiti on the side of a cubicle in a male toilet. Sydney, Australia 2024]]
Before the [[gay liberation]] movement, public toilets were amongst the few places where men too young to enter [[gay bar]]s legally could meet others who they knew with certainty to be gay.<ref name="PPDAGP2">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xu89AAAAIAAJ ''Prejudice and Pride: Discrimination Against Gay People in Modern Britain'']'' by Bruce Galloway; Published by Routledge, 1983; {{ISBN|0-7100-9916-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7100-9916-7}}.''</ref> Many, if not most, gay and bisexual men at the time were [[closeted]], and almost no public gay social groups were available for those under [[legal drinking age]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/finding-private-passion-in-a-public-place-1155631.html|title=Finding private passion in a public place; Why is it that some gay men go in search of sexual encounters in lavatories?|date=11 April 1998|work=The Independent|author=David Northmore}}</ref> The privacy and anonymity public toilets provided made them a convenient and attractive location to engage in sexual acts then.
Line 364 ⟶ 368:
=== Prisons ===
It is today accepted in the countries of the [[Council of Europe]] that a lack of basic privacy is a violation of fundamental rights. For example, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] ruled in ''Szafrański v. Poland'' (2015) that the forcing of [[prisoner]]s to use the toilet without adequate privacy amounts to a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref>[https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-159205 "CASE OF SZAFRAŃSKI v. POLAND"], European Court of Human Rights, 15 December 2015</ref>
== In Vietnam ==
In [[Vietnam]], many cities, especially large and densely populated cities, are experiencing a severe shortage of public toilets due to lack of land for toilet construction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-03-07 |title=Đỏ mắt tìm nhà vệ sinh công cộng |url=https://tuoitre.vn/do-mat-tim-nha-ve-sinh-cong-cong-246118.htm |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=TUOI TRE ONLINE |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-08 |title=Nhà vệ sinh công cộng - tưởng nhỏ mà không nhỏ |url=https://vov.vn/xa-hoi/nha-ve-sinh-cong-cong-tuong-nho-ma-khong-nho-post1000412.vov |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=VOV.VN |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=thanhnien.vn |date=2023-02-09 |title=Doanh nghiệp khốn khổ vì 'làm cách mạng' nhà vệ sinh công cộng ở TP.HCM |url=https://thanhnien.vn/doanh-nghiep-khon-kho-vi-lam-cach-mang-nha-ve-sinh-cong-cong-o-tphcm-185230209150145354.htm |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=thanhnien.vn |language=vi}}</ref> The general situation of toilets in [[Vietnam]] is insufficient, poorly installed, and dirty.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thanhnien.vn |title=Noi-am-anh-nha-ve-sinh-cong-congTin, ảnh clip video tin |url=https://thanhnien.vn/tim-kiem.htm |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=thanhnien.vn |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Trí |first=Dân |date=2017-03-12 |title=Hà Nội: Nhà vệ sinh công cộng bất cập đủ đường |url=https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/ha-noi-nha-ve-sinh-cong-cong-bat-cap-du-duong-20170312105651773.htm |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=Báo điện tử Dân Trí |language=vi}}</ref> Many public places do not have toilets, leading to the situation of littering everywhere.<ref>{{Cite web |last=congly.vn |date=2017-02-11 |title=Lúng túng trong việc xử phạt hành vi "phóng uế" bừa bãi |url=https://congly.vn/lung-tung-trong-viec-xu-phat-hanh-vi-phong-ue-bua-bai-44783.html |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=congly.vn |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-26 |title=Thanh Hóa: Đùn đẩy quản lý nhà vệ sinh công cộng, dân phóng uế bừa bãi |url=https://laodong.vn/photo/thanh-hoa-dun-day-quan-ly-nha-ve-sinh-cong-cong-dan-phong-ue-bua-bai-1171796.ldo |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=laodong.vn |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-20 |title=Khi nhà vệ sinh công cộng thiếu nghiêm trọng |url=https://tienphong.vn/post-1518889.tpo |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=Báo điện tử Tiền Phong |language=vi}}</ref>
==Gallery==
Line 372 ⟶ 379:
File:French Squatter Toilet.jpg|Roadside squat toilet near [[Toulouse]], France
File:Chinese-toilet-in-Beijing.jpg|Traditional squat toilets in [[Beijing]], China
File:Toilet_Beijing_1.jpg|Modern sit toilet in [[Beijing Capital International Airport|Beijing Airport]], China
File:TWH Factory Building old squat toilet.jpg|Trough closet cubicles in a [[Hong Kong]] factory
File:Public_Toilet_1.jpg|Public toilet in [[New Hampshire]], U.S.
|