Managing leaky bodies at work and study: Improving the provision of sanitary infrastructure in male-designated toilets at higher education institutions

Although period poverty remains an ongoing concern, from an infrastructural perspective the provision of disposal facilities for menstrual products in countries like Australia has been largely addressed for those identifying as female. By contrast, there remains a significant provision gap for trans and nonbinary people who menstruate. This briefing paper considers the impact of a lack of sanitation infrastructure for all people who menstruate and male staff and students with faecal or urinary incontinence or chronic bowel and bladder issues within higher education institutions. One of the practical problems both groups face in relation to using campus-based male-designated toileting facilities is a lack of sanitary infrastructure to support the discrete and hygienic disposal of continence and menstrual products and packaging. In a university context, this lack of access to sanitation infrastructure can negatively impact the ability of staff and students to fully engage in on-campus learning, teaching and social activities. This briefing paper explores the regulatory and justice arguments in support of providing additional sanitary disposal infrastructure in male-designated toilet stalls on the basis that failing to do so is not only inequitable as it may limit these individuals from fully participating in life on campus but may also potentially constitute prohibited discrimination.