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[[File:Public restroom kiosk (31701319968).jpg|thumb|A public toilet at a park in [[Viiskulma]], [[Helsinki]], Finland]]
A '''public toilet''', '''restroom''' ([[American English]]), '''public bathroom''' or '''washroom''' is a room or small building with [[toilet]]s (or [[urinal]]s) and [[sink]]s for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils andor prisoners and are commonly [[sex segregation|separated into male and female toilets]], although [[Unisex public toilet|some are unisex]], especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets, [[accessible toilet|public toilets are sometimes accessible]] to people with disabilities. Depending on the culture, there may be varying degrees of separation between males and females and different levels of privacy. Typically, the entire room, or a stall or cubicle containing a toilet, is lockable. [[Urinals]], if present in a male toilet, are typically mounted on a wall with or without a divider between them. [[local authority|Local authorities]] or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an [[Bathroom attendant|attendant]]. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a specific service, such as might be the case at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.
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.
==Types==
[[File:Hocktoilette_am_Bahnhof_in_Varenna_-_1.jpg|thumb|left|200pxupright|Squat toilet at a train station in [[Varenna]], Italy]]
[[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> AnAs Indian versionpart of these automated toilet pods, remotely monitored by sensors, are theits [[ElectronicSwachh Bharat toiletMission|Electronic Public Toilets or eToiletscampaign]]; theyagainst haveopen proliferated acrossdefecation, the countryIndian sincegovernment 2014,introduced asthe partremotely-monitored of [[SwachheToilet Bharatto Abhiyan]],some thepublic campaignspaces launchedin that year to end [[open defecation]]2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clean sweep: How digital solutions like e-toilets are taking on open-defecation|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/clean-sweep-how-digital-solutions-like-e-toilets-are-taking-on-open-defecation/story-okX6mO53riiM77Zui6l6dO.html|access-date=6 April 2018|work=hindustantimes.com/|date=24 March 2018|language=en}}</ref>
Public toilets may beuse "sittingseated toilets" WCs,{{em dash}}as in most Western countries,{{em dash}}or [[squat toilets]]. Squat toilets are common in many Asian and African countries, and, to a lesser extent, in Southern European countries.{{according to whom|date=June 2024}} In many of those countries, [[Anal hygiene|anal cleansing]] with water is also the cultural norm and easier to perform while squatting than seated.{{according to whom|date=June 2024}}
Squat toilets are used all over the world, but are particularly common in many Asian and African countries, as well as Southern European Countries. In many of those countries, anal cleansing with water is also the cultural norm and easier to perform than with toilets used in a sitting position.
Another traditional type that has been modernized is the screened French street urinal known as a ''[[pissoir]]'' (''vespasienne'').
AnThe updated[[Telescopic cylindricaltoilet|telescopic toilet]] thatis lowersdesigned beneathto streetextend leveland outretract ofvertically thefrom waya andcylinder popsrelative upto duringstreet hourslevel whendepending iton isthe neededtime isof the [[telescopic toilet]]day.<ref name="bbc2002">{{cite news |title=Street toilets go telescopic |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2382831.stm |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=1 November 2002}}</ref><ref name="bbc1">{{cite web |title=London's West End: Man crushed by telescopic urinal dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64430454 |website=BBC News |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=27 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="explain1">{{cite web |title=UriLift Triple: retractable unit featuring 3 self-sanitising gents' urinals |url=https://popuptoilet.com/en/assortment/urilift-triple/ |website=Pop-up Toilet Company |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="female1">{{cite web |title=Amsterdam is home to the world's first retractable female toilet |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2016/03/87534-2/ |website=DutchNews.nl |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=25 March 2016}}</ref> It is typically installed in entertainment districts and is operational only during weekends, evenings, and nights.<ref name="bbc1" /><ref name="explode1">{{cite web |title=Explosion may have caused pop-up urinal to elevate |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2014/12/explosion-may-have-caused-pop-up-urinal-to-elevate/ |website=DutchNews.nl |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=1 December 2014}}</ref> The first such toilet was a telescopic urinal invented in the Netherlands, which now also offers a pop-up toilettoilets for women.<ref name="standard1">{{cite web |last1=Freeman |first1=Colin |title=The loo that rises out of the ground |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/the-loo-that-rises-out-of-the-ground-6318964.html |website=Evening Standard |access-date=8 February 2023 |language=en |date=12 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="urilift">{{cite web | title=Retractable facilities| website=Pop-up Toilet Company| url=https://popuptoilet.com/en/assortment/ | access-date=27 January 2023}}</ref>
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.[http://www.naturalevent.com.au/#slice7]
The standard [[Accessible toilet|wheelchair-accessible public toilet]] features wider doors, ample space for turning, lowered sinks, and grab -bars for safety. Features above and beyond this standard are advocated by the Changing Places{{explain|date=June 2024}} campaign.<ref>{{cite web|title=What are Changing Places Toilets?|url=http://www.changing-places.org/the_campaign/what_are_changing_places_toilets_.aspx|website=Changing Places|access-date=21 March 2017|archive-date=23 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423095226/http://changing-places.org/the_campaign/what_are_changing_places_toilets_.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Features include a hoist for an adult, a full-sized changing bench, and space for up to two [[caregiver]]s.
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==
=== 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="Spiegel2Spiegel22">Peter Kasza: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/geschichte-das-grosse-latrinum-155-jahre-oeffentliche-toilette/965710.html "Das große Latrinum: 155 Jahre öffentliche Toilette"], in ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 22 June 2007</ref>
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="SpiegelSpiegel22">Peter Kasza: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/geschichte-das-grosse-latrinum-155-jahre-oeffentliche-toilette/965710.html "Das große Latrinum: 155 Jahre öffentliche Toilette"], in ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 22 June 2007</ref> A public toilet was built in [[Sarajevo#Ottoman era|Ottoman Sarajevo]] in 1530 just outside a mosque's exterior courtyard wall which is still operating today.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visit the oldest public toilet in Bosnia - Touring Bird |url=https://www.touringbird.com/sarajevo/self-guided/yr7rnn9o |access-date=2019-09-09 |website=www.touringbird.com}}</ref>
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=":4243">{{Cite book |last=Blumenthal |first=Dara |title=Little Vast Rooms of Undoing: Exploring Identity and Embodiment Thought Public Toilet Spaces |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-78348-034-0 |location=London & New York |pages=71–91}}</ref> While it had been perfectly acceptable to relieve oneself anywhere, [[civility]] increasingly required the removal of waste product from contact with others.<ref name=":4243" />
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=":4243" /> Historian [[Lawrence Stone]] contends that the development of these new behaviours had nothing to do with problems of hygiene and bacterial infection, but rather with conforming to increasingly artificial standards of gentlemanly behaviour.<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Lawrence |title=The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1977 |location=London}}</ref>
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=":4243" /> This resulted in substantial reduction of explicit text on these topics in subsequent editions of [[etiquette]] literature; for example, the same passage in ''Les règles de la bienséance et de la civilité Chrétienne'' by [[Jean-Baptiste de La Salle|Jean-Baptiste de la Salle]] is reduced from 208 words in the 1729 edition, to 74 words in the 1774 edition.<ref name=":4243" />
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">{{Cite book |last=Blumenthal |first=Dara |title=Little Vast Rooms of Undoing: Exploring Identity and Embodiment Thought Public Toilet Spaces |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-78348-034-0 |location=London & New York |pages=71–91}}</ref> In the 19th century, large cities in Europe started installing modern flushing public toilets.<ref name="Spiegel22">Peter Kasza: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/geschichte-das-grosse-latrinum-155-jahre-oeffentliche-toilette/965710.html "Das große Latrinum: 155 Jahre öffentliche Toilette"], in ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 22 June 2007</ref>
[[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>
=== 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 (1856-18801856–1880), the British Hong Kong government determined that the appalling hygiene situation in Hong Kong was becoming critical. Thus, the government set up public toilets ([[squat toilets]]) for people in 1867. But these toilets needed to cleaned and emptied manually every day and were not popular.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=Apple Daily toilet |language=zh |url=https://hk.lifestyle.appledaily.com/lifestyle/special/daily/article/20180306/20323047 |access-date=6 March 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Hong Kong toilet revolution |url=https://www.symedialab.com/talk/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%BB%81%E6%89%80%E9%9D%A9%E5%91%BD/ |access-date=17 December 2018 |language=zh}}</ref> In 1894, plague broke out in Hong Kong and 2,500 people died, especially public toilet cleaners. The government decided to act, setting up underground toilet facilities to improve this situation, though these toilets also had to be cleaned and emptied manually.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
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>
===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=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-15/news/-mn-2048_1_public2048-amenitiesstory.html |url-status=live |access-date=29 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016230012/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-10-15/news/mn-2048_1_public-amenities |archive-date=16 October 2012}}</ref>
==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="KoganKogan2">{{Cite book |last=Kogan |first=Terry |title=Toilet: public restrooms and the politics of sharing |publisher=NYU Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780814795880 |editor1-last=Molotch |editor1-first=Harvey |location=New York |pages=145–164 |chapter=Sex Separation |editor2-last=Norén |editor2-first=Laura |chapter-url=https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=729717}}</ref> By 1920, this was mandated in 43 states.<ref name="Kogan2">{{Cite book |last=Kogan |first=Terry |title=Toilet: public restrooms and the politics of sharing |publisher=NYU Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780814795880 |editor1-last=Molotch |editor1-first=Harvey |location=New York |pages=145–164 |chapter=Sex Separation |editor2-last=Norén |editor2-first=Laura |chapter-url=https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=729717}}</ref>
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>
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. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-03 |title=UK ministers to make single-sex toilets compulsory in new public buildings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/03/single-sex-toilets-to-be-compulsory-in-all-new-public-buildings |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The technical review consultation on increasing accessibility and provision of toilets for men and women in municipal and private sector locations outlined the context in a call for evidence to be submitted:
{{block quoteblockquote|There needs to be proper provision of gender-specific toilets for both men and women, with a clear steer in building standards guidance. In recent years, there has been a trend towards the removal of well-established male-only/female-only spaces when premises are built or refurbished, and they have often been replaced with gender-neutral toilets. This places women at a significant disadvantage. While men can then use both cubicles and urinals, women can only use the former, and women also need safe spaces given their particular health and sanitary needs (for example, women who are menstruating, pregnant or at menopause, may need to use the toilet more often). Women are also likely to feel less comfortable using mixed sex facilities, and require more space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toilet provision for men and women: call for evidence |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/toilet-provision-for-men-and-women-call-for-evidence/toilet-provision-for-men-and-women-call-for-evidence |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>}}
== Equality of access ==
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 womenfemales ===
[[File:L-toilet4.png|thumb|right|Section and plan of public toilets in [[Charing Cross Road]], London, 1904. The men'smale facilities (left) comprise 12 cubicles and 13 urinals; whereas the women'sfemale facilities (right) comprise just 5 cubicles.]]
{{morefurther|Potty parity}}
The lack of public toilets for womenfemales reflects their exclusion from the public sphere in the [[Victorian era]]. During this period, after leaving their parents' home, women were expected to maintain careers as homemakers and wives. Thus, safe and private public toilets were rarely available for women. The result was that they were often restricted in how far they could travel away from home without returning. Alternatively, they had to make do in the public streets as best they could. They often experienced sexual harassment as men tried to "sneak a peek" or otherwise bothered them.<ref name="Carter">{{cite journal |last=Carter |first=W. Burlette |year=2018 |title=Sexism in the 'Bathroom Debates': How Bathrooms Really Became Separated By Sex |journal=Yale Law & Policy Review |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=227–297 |ssrn=3311184}}</ref>{{rp|253–54, 290}} Some womenfemales experienced even worse if they could not secure safety and privacy even at home or in their workplaces. These problems continue for women and girls in all parts of the world.
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}} WomenFemales complained that these were practically unavailable to them; authorities allowed them to be free, but on Fridays only.<ref name="Carter" />{{rp|253}} In the twentieth century, activist groups in the U.S., including the [[Committee to End Pay Toilets in America]], claimed that such practices disadvantaged women/ and girls because men/ and boys did not have to pay for urinals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gordon |first=Aaron |date=June 14, 2017 |title=Why Don't We Have Pay Toilets in America |work=Pacific Standard Magazine |url=https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroom-restroom-free-market-90683}}</ref> As an act of protest against this phenomenon, in 1969 California Assemblywoman [[March Fong Eu]] destroyed a toilet on the steps of the California State Capitol.<ref name="PHLUSH2">{{cite web |date=31 August 2016 |title=Social inclusion, toilet rights, and legal protection for transgender Americans |url=http://www.phlush.org/2016/08/31/social-inclusion-toilet-rights-and-legal-protection-for-transgender-americans/ |access-date=March 4, 2017}}</ref> By the 1990s most US jurisdictions had migrated away from pay toilets. Until 1992, U.S. female senators had to use toilets located on different floor levels than the ones they were working on, a reflection of their intrusion in an all-male profession.<ref name="Plaskow">{{cite journal |last=Plaskow |first=Judith |date=July 8, 2008 |title=Embodiment, Elimination, and the Role of Toilets in Struggles for Social Justice |journal=Cross Currents |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=51–64 |doi=10.1111/j.1939-3881.2008.00004.x|s2cid=143489360 }}</ref>
While some public facilities were available to womenfemales in London by 1890, there were much fewer than those available to menmales.<ref name=":6">Penner, Barbara. ''Bathroom''. Reaktion Books, 2013.</ref>{{rp|69}}
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 womenfemales lacked access to sanitation facilities<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lack of access to a toilet and handwashing materials hits women and girls hardest, especially when menstruating |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/water/lack-access-toilet-and-handwashing-materials-hits-women-and-girls-hardest-especially-when |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=blogs.worldbank.org |date=14 April 2017 |language=en}}</ref> to go to the bathroom or manage [[menstrual hygiene]]. Risk of sexual assault is high, in India as high as 50%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-14 |title=The unexpected link between access to toilets and women's rights |url=https://ideas4development.org/en/unexpected-link-access-toilets-womens-rights/ |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=ID4D |language=en}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] includes sex-separated toilets among its list of suggested measures to ensure the safety of women and girls in schools.<ref name="AI">{{cite web |date=November 2007 |title=Six steps to stop violence against schoolgirls, Document ACT 77/008/2007 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT77/023/2007/en |access-date=2009-02-27 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref>
In many places the queues for the women'sfemale toilets are longer than those for the men'smales; efforts to deal with this are known as [[potty parity]]. It has been estimated that womenfemales can take up to 50% longer in the toilet.<ref name="O'Dwyer">{{Cite web |last=O'Dwyer |first=Lisel |title=Why queues for women's toilets are longer than men's |url=http://theconversation.com/why-queues-for-womens-toilets-are-longer-than-mens-99763 |access-date=2021-12-30 |website=The Conversation |date=23 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The reasons given include the requirement to use a cubicle rather than a urinal, pregnancy, managing menstruation, health conditions (such as cystitis), clothing design, and helping others.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nicole Raucheisen, Benji |title=Why women wait longer for the bathroom than men |url=https://www.insider.com/why-women-always-wait-longer-bathroom-public-restroom-2019-9 |access-date=2021-12-30 |website=Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=BBC Arts - Hay Festival, 2019 - It really is a man's world: How everyday design excludes women |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1rcgjxPKJRGrZcTsX2hHwTj/it-really-is-a-mans-world-how-everyday-design-excludes-women |access-date=2021-12-30 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> Women are more likely to be accompanied by very young children, disabled, or older people.
=== 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]]. 'Justifications' provided for segregated facilities included "protection of a certain group, privacy, cleanliness, and morality.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Griffin |first=C.J. |date=2009 |title=Workplace restroom policies in light of New Jersey's gender identity protection |url=http://rutgerslawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Workplace-Restroom-Policies-in-Light-of-New-Jerseys-Gender-Identity-Protection.pdf |journal=Rutgers Law Review |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=409–436}}</ref> This segregation imposed significant restrictions on the lives of [[African-Americans]].<ref>Published in The Public Historian, ed. Randolph Bergstrom, Volume 27, Issue 4, Fall 2005, pages 11-44. Weyeneth, R. R. (2005). The architecture of racial segregation: The challenges of preserving the problematic past. The Public Historian, 27(4), 11-44. DOI: 10.1525/tph.2005.27.4.11 [http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1198&context=hist_facpub]</ref> Strategies to keep African-Americans out of sight included the "basement solution," which involved locating public toilets for black people in the basement next to janitor supply rooms.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weyeneth |first=Robert R. |date=2005 |title=The Architecture of Racial Segregation: The Challenges of Preserving the Problematical Past. |url=https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/hist_facpub/201 |journal=The Public Historian |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=11–44 |doi=10.1525/tph.2005.27.4.11}}</ref> Black workers often had to walk long distances to get to the toilets they were assigned.<ref name="Yellencolorsegregation2">{{cite book |last1=Yellin |first1=Eric S. |title=Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America |publisher=University of North Carolina |isbn=9781469608020 |pages=117, 119}}</ref>
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>
=== 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 [[Bathroombathroom bill|bathroom bills]]s have been put forward to define who can have public toilet access, and on what terms. Many of these bills seek to criminalize usage by people whose gender identity does not match the sex on their birth certificates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=German |date=2016-04-07 |title=Tennessee is a few steps away from passing an anti-transgender bathroom bill |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/4/7/11381400/tennessee-transgender-bathroom-bill |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref>
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> {{Cite web | title= Trans people can be excluded from single-sex services if 'justifiable', says EHRC | url= https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/04/trans-people-can-be-excluded-single-sex-services-if-justifiable-says-ehrc }}</ref> While transgender public toilet usage has been labelled as a [[moral panic]], the ongoing discourse continues to have significant impacts on this group.<ref name="psmag">{{cite web |last=Wheeling |first=Kate |date=August 4, 2017 |title=Stalled Out: How Social Bias is Segregating America's Bathrooms |url=https://psmag.com/magazine/how-social-bias-is-segregating-americas-bathrooms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818175453/https://psmag.com/magazine/how-social-bias-is-segregating-americas-bathrooms |archive-date=August 18, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
==Health aspects==
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 <https://www.tuc.org.uk></ref> Inadequate access to a public toilets when required can lead to substantial problems for people with [[prostate]] problems, people who are [[menstruating]] or going through the [[menopause]], and people with [[urinary incontinence|urinary]] and [[fecal incontinence]].
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=":0402">{{Cite web |title=USTS Reports |url=https://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=2022 U.S. Trans Survey |language=en-US}}</ref> In another survey, the group [[DC Trans Coalition]] found that 54% of its respondents (located in [[Washington, DC]]) reported physical problems from avoiding using public toilets, such as dehydration, kidney infections, and urinary tract infections.<ref name="Herman2013">{{cite journal |last1=Herman |first1=Jody L |date=Spring 2013 |title=Gendered Restrooms and Minority Stress: The Public Regulation of Gender and its Impact on Transgender People's Lives |journal=Journal of Public Management & Social Policy |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=65–80 |id={{ProQuest|1439085659}}}}</ref>
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.
*Coat hook
*"Pull-down" purse holder
*Sanpro sanitary protection bin for [[menstrual products]]; this may be classified as [[clinical waste]] and be subject to special regulations concerning disposal
*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
===User fees===
{{Main|Pay toilet}}
[[File:Paris-France-Pay-Toilet.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[Sanisette]], a freestanding, coin-operated payfree toilet stall in [[Paris]].(formerly coin-operated)]]
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, to— the firstRoman centuryemperor [[Vespasian]] is believed to have begun charging his citizens to use toilet facilities {{circa}} 74 AD.<ref name=ossea>{{Citationcite web needed|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/649324/pay-toilet-history |title=Pay-Per-Poop: A History of Pay Toilets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240630135911/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/649324/pay-toilet-history |archive-date=AprilJune 202230, 2024 |url-status=live |first=Ken |last=Ossea |date=August 13, 2021 |access-date=July 4, 2024 |work=[[Mental Floss]] |publisher=Minute Media}}</ref><ref name=tracey>{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-pay-toilets/ |title=The Rise and Fall of Pay Toilets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303090236/https://daily.jstor.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-pay-toilets/ |archive-date=March 3, 2024 |url-status=live |first=Liz |last=Tracey |date=December 8, 2016 |access-date=July 4, 2024 |work=JSTOR Daily}}</ref> The payment may be taken by a [[bathroom attendant]], or by a coin-operated turnstile or cubicle door. (see [[John Nevil Maskelyne]], who invented a door lock requiring the insertion of a penny coin, hence the [[euphemism]] to "spend a penny".<ref name="ropelink">{{cite book|
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, |first=Peter (|date=September 4 Sept, 1975) [|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D-ItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=adsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6097,877500 |title=Pay toilet movement attacks capitalism], ''|newspaper=[[The Beaver County Times]]'', Retrieved |access-date=October 19, 2010 (with|via=Google sarcastic subtitle for 1975, "How about charging air for tires?")News}}</ref>
===Privatization and closures===
===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 [[Pictogram|pictogramspictogram]]s of a man or a woman often suffice to indicate the facility, without explicit reference to the fixtures themselves. In restaurants and other private locations, the identifications can be [[Industrial design|designed]] to match the decoration of the premises.<ref name="Restaurant News2">{{cite news |last=Michael |first=Jane |author2=Michael Stern |date=1999-09-13 |title=Operators shouldn't get potty over bathroom symbols |publisher=Nation's Restaurant News |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_37_33/ai_55821064 |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617194030/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_37_33/ai_55821064 |archive-date=2008-06-17}}</ref> Toilet facilities for people with disabilities, especially those reliant on a wheelchair, may be either gender-specific or unisex.<ref>[http://www.adeptsafetyonline.com.au/site/707884/page/871866 Toilet Signs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416022720/http://www.adeptsafetyonline.com.au/site/707884/page/871866 |date=2012-04-16 }} at Adept Safety Online (informative commercial site)</ref> Gender-neutral toilets are usual in cases where sex-separated ones are not practical, such as in [[Aircraft lavatory|aircraft lavatories]] and [[passenger train toilets]].
In the 21st century, with support from the [[transgender rights movement]], some initiatives have called for gender-neutral public toilets, also called [[Unisexunisex public toilet|unisex public toilets]]s (also called gender-inclusive, or all-gender). These may be instead of, or in addition to, gendered toilets, depending on the circumstances.<ref>{{cite news |last1=La Ganga |first1=Maria L |date=30 March 2016 |title=From Jim Crow to transgender ban: the bathroom as battleground for civil rights |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/30/transgender-ban-bathrooms-north-carolina-civil-rights |access-date=24 October 2016}}</ref> Many groups are re-imagining what public toilets can look like; for instance, architect [[Joel Sanders]], transgender historian [[Susan Stryker]], and legal scholar Terry Kogan launched ''Stalled!,'' an open source website which offers lectures, workshops, and design guidelines for unisex public toilets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stalled! |url=https://www.stalled.online/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Stalled! |language=en-US}}</ref>
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 [[Diaper|diapersdiaper]]s changed. This can be an impediment for fathers with their children and other male caregivers. Advocates have worked for changing tables to be installed in men's restrooms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Navsaria |first1=Dipesh |date=7 June 2019 |title=Are changing tables in all public men's restrooms now? |url=https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/Are-changing-tables-in-all-public-mens-restrooms-now.aspx |access-date=29 July 2021 |website=HealthyChildren.org |publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics}}</ref> Unisex washrooms would provide access to either regardless.
===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.
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">{{Cite web |title=USTS Reports |url=https://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=2022 U.S. Trans Survey |language=en-US}}</ref> This landmark study, which included 27,715 respondents, found that 24% of respondents had their presence in the restroom questioned, 12% had experienced verbal harassment, physical assault, or sexual assault when attempting to use the restroom, and 9% were denied access entirely.<ref name=":02" /> Several studies have found that preventing transgender people from using public toilets has negative mental health impacts, leading to a higher risk of suicide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Price-Feeney |first1=Myeshia |last2=Green |first2=Amy E. |last3=Dorison |first3=Samuel H. |year=2021 |title=Impact of Bathroom Discrimination on Mental Health Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1054139X20306534 |journal=Journal of Adolescent Health |language=en |volume=68 |issue=6 |pages=1142–1147 |doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.001 |pmid=33288457 |s2cid=227950339}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sutton |first=Halley |year=2016 |title=Transgender college students more at risk for suicide when denied bathroom, housing rights |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/casr.30167 |journal=Campus Security Report |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=9 |doi=10.1002/casr.30167}}</ref>
===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.
== 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 |last=ONLINE |first=TUOI TRE |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==
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