Transgender woman wins landmark discrimination case forcing ferry firm to remove the words ‘ladies’ and gents’ toilets
By Sam Tonkin, Mailonline:
A transgender woman has won a landmark discrimination case forcing a ferry company to remove the words ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ from its toilets.
Condor Ferries has become the first firm to change the gender specific signs on the doors after Erin Bisson proved she was ‘humiliated’ at being told to use the disabled toilets.
Ms Bisson, formerly known as Robert until she identified herself as a woman, complained to the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal that she had been discriminated against after the operator banned her from using the ‘ladies’.
She argued the use of words rather than symbols on toilets amounted to indirect discrimination.
It was the first decision of its kind taken since Jersey introduced gender discrimination laws in 2015 and Ms Bisson has now urged other companies to follow Condor’s lead.
Condor later admitted to the tribunal that there had been a ‘non-intentional and non-malicious act of discrimination’.
The company is now replacing the ‘offending’ words on its toilet doors and will use gender symbols instead.
The actions were approved by Ms Bisson and the tribunal panel as a satisfactory resolution to her complaint.
Condor, which sails between Poole, Portsmouth, France and the Channel Islands, now has until June 30 to implement the changes.
Ms Bisson, 40, a taxi driver from Jersey, said she was humiliated after being told by a staff member over the phone last September that she must use disabled facilities.
She said: ‘I am transgender. Rather than just going to use the ladies toilets I phoned up Condor before I sailed to St Malo to advise them as such.
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