Public toilets news, research and analysis - the conversation

April 17, 2025 Christian Tietz, _UNSW Sydney_ A New South Wales senate enquiry into public toilets is underway. Now’s our chance to talk about how public toilets communicate social values.

September 11, 2024 Simon Robert Knowles, _Swinburne University of Technology_ While many of us may not be thrilled at the idea of doing a ‘number two’ in a public toilet, some people face

more serious anxiety. This is called parcopresis, or shy bowel. September 27, 2023 Jarred H Martin, _University of Pretoria_ and Pierre Waldemar Brouard, _University of Pretoria_ Studies

show unisex toilets don’t lead to violence – and they create a safer space for gender diverse people. August 5, 2020 Natalie Boyd Williams, _University of Stirling_; Heather Roxburgh,

_University of Stirling_, and Jennifer Dickie, _University of Stirling_ Coronavirus has amplified the fact that inadequate toilet access has long been a feature of UK life for many,

including women and the disabled. Vulnerable people deserve better. January 30, 2020 Mabel Victoria, _Edinburgh Napier University_ From crude drawing to advice and support, the scrawlings on

toilet walls reveal differing communication patterns between the sexes November 19, 2019 Deljana Iossifova, _University of Manchester_; Purva Dewoolkar, _University of Manchester_, and

Youcao Ren, _University of Manchester_ In the rush to become ‘open defecation free’, cities are taking quick fixes that are making matters worse. August 23, 2018 Lisel O'Dwyer,

_Flinders University_ Men spend, on average, around 60 seconds in a toilet, while women spend 90. This is for many reasons, including biology. This leads to a bottleneck that keeps women

waiting around to use the loo. June 22, 2018 Primrose Freestone, _University of Leicester_ Sit v squat – the big public toilet stand-off. June 11, 2018 Charlotte Jones, _University of

Edinburgh_ and Tig Slater, _Sheffield Hallam University_ What it’s like trying to use a public loo when they aren’t designed for you. February 20, 2018 Brendan Canavan, _University of

Huddersfield_ If you want to live like a local when on holiday, you should defecate like one. February 18, 2018 Christian Tietz, _UNSW Sydney_ Public toilets are an essential amenity, but

most of them aren’t places we’d want to go to unless we have to. What does the failure to provide more restful and inviting places say about us? December 6, 2017 Dani Barrington, _University

of Leeds_ and Jamie Bartram, _University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill_ More than half of the global population do not have safe sanitation. What is the best way to go about changing

this? November 16, 2017 Dani Barrington, _University of Leeds_ and Pete Culmer, _University of Leeds_ Incontinence is frighteningly common. July 4, 2016 Lisel O'Dwyer, _Flinders

University_ Millions of people need to be confident that suitable public toilets will be available when they leave their homes. A shortage of such facilities is a serious problem for an

ageing population.