Women's group calls for single-sex changing rooms at swimming pools following spate of sex crimes

Martin Shipton

A gender critical women’s rights organisation has called for single-sex changing facilities at all swimming pools in the UK after official statistics showed a worrying number of rapes and other sex crimes were reported.

The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) asked every police force in England and Wales to provide a breakdown of sex offences at leisure centres in their areas.

Responses were received from all four police forces in Wales - North Wales, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent.

The request for data was fully refused by Gwent Police, which claimed that due to a low number of results there was a high chance of identification. Valid data from 37 leisure centres across the other three force areas in Wales showed that in 2023 there were six reports of rape, two reports of sexual assault and seven reports of voyeurism.

In at least 11 of these cases (73%), the victim was female. The perpetrator was male in 13 out of 15 cases (87%). In one case the perpetrator was a male member of staff. Of the incidents recorded in a changing room, 14 (88%) occurred in a mixed-sex changing room village.

A report by WRN based on the information provided by police forces said: “Based on the data provided, we can reveal that in 2023 there were 16 rapes, 80 sexual assaults and 65 acts of voyeurism across 257 leisure centres in England and Wales.

“The majority of victims are female. Every victim has been catastrophically failed by the leisure industry. The shocking statistics we have uncovered occur against a backdrop of shrinking access to single-sex changing facilities at swimming pools in the UK.

“Mixed-sex changing villages are the default design for new swimming pools and refurbished wet-side changing areas, and they are a magnet for predators. Women and girls are being put at risk of serious sexual crimes because local authorities, sports councils, leisure centre operators and architects do not take women’s safety seriously.

“They ‘design-in’ harm and provide opportunities for avoidable abuse. It is important to acknowledge that men who commit these crimes are known to escalate to more serious offences including sexual assault, rape and murder.

“One of Britain’s most prolific sexual predators used his phone to secretly take intimate images of women.

“In 2021, a report on upskirting by the Crown Prosecution Service warned: “According to our analysis, 15 [out of a total of 46] of the men prosecuted for upskirting since last April were simultaneously charged with other sexual crimes – including child abuse, sexual assault, extreme pornography, and wider voyeurism offences.

“Sport England, local councils, leisure centre operators and architects must act now to ensure the safety of women and girls in UK leisure centres.”

Demands

Women’s Rights Network issued a series of demands:

* Sport England immediately withdraws all guidance promoting mixed-sex wet-side facilities as the default option for new and refurbished leisure centres;

* New facilities provide single-sex changing facilities for swimming pool users;

* Councils conduct a risk assessment on safety for women and girls before rubber-stamping plans for changing areas in new or refurbished leisure centres;

* Crime prevention officers are consulted on all design plans, and their expertise is used to help ‘design out’ crime. Existing changing villages to be assessed for the risk of sex crimes and robust mitigation measures be applied together with consideration of cost-effective solutions ensuring a female-only space.”

Jane Sullivan of Wales Women’s Rights Network, one of the report’s authors, said: “It is disappointing that Gwent Police refused to supply answers to our Freedom of Information request on sexual crimes in leisure centres. This is information that should be in the public domain.

“We know mixed-sex changing facilities are a magnet for sexual predators. Our latest report revealed that in one year there were six rapes, two sexual assaults and seven reports of voyeurism in 37 leisure centres across the three police forces that did respond to our FOI requests.

“No woman should be subjected to these heinous crimes when she goes to a public leisure centre. Councils are failing in their duty to protect women and girls. Mixed-sex changing rooms are a significant risk to women and girls - and where the majority of voyeurism crimes occur.

“We say that all new leisure centres and refurbishment projects should be designed with single-sex changing facilities.”