Fredericton Pride unveils gender-neutral bathroom guide amid safety concerns
CBC
Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane is used to getting strange looks and even harassment in public washrooms, sometimes leading them to avoid going to the bathroom in public altogether.
For trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people, Lyons-MacFarlane said, just trying to use a public washroom can be an uncomfortable — and sometimes unsafe — experience.
Lyons-MacFarlane spoke to CBC News last year about being harassed in a women's bathroom at Costco, where no gender-neutral option was available. And that wasn't the last time — they said it happened again just a week ago.
"There's always a fear when you walk into a bathroom, is someone going to say something? Is there going to be a verbal confrontation, even a physical confrontation?" Lyons-MacFarlane said. "Bathrooms have not felt safe in so long."
This is something many gender-diverse people have "at the forefront of their mind" while out in public, Lyons-MacFarlane said.
It's an issue Fredericton Pride is hoping to address with a new gender-neutral washroom index.
Interim chair Jenna Lyn Albert said the resource, available on social media, lists businesses that offer a gender-neutral washroom and also includes information about whether the washroom is accessible and has a changing table.
"Some people think it's this far out concept that's so strange but in all of our homes we have a gender-inclusive washroom ... so it's something that everyone is already familiar with," Albert said.
"When we're forced into gendered washrooms, you can run into encounters that are violent, involving harassment verbally, and it can be really uncomfortable, so it's primarily for safety. But also to affirm our gender identity."
Lyons-MacFarlane welcomes the index and plans to use it when they're out in public.
"I'm always kind of weighing the — 'Do I go, do I not go?'" they said.
"I know a lot of folks don't even go to the washroom when they're in public because they don't know where they can go safely. So having this sort of index will allow folks ... to go to a place that's safe."
Tori Buchanan is co-owner of The Feel Good, a brunch restaurant on Fredericton's north side that's listed on the index.
Having moved to New Brunswick from Toronto, Buchanan said having gender-neutral washrooms felt like a natural thing to do.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.