Traumatised 13-year-old girl ‘attacked’ by boy in a gender-neutral school toilet

A traumatized 13-year-old girl says she dreads going back to school after being attacked by a boy in a gender-neutral restroom.

She was left battered and bruised after he tried to break into a cubicle to “humiliate” her.

The girl, who does not want to be named, was hit in the head by the swinging cupboard door during the struggle.

The incident sparked outrage among MPs and activists who bemoaned Coventry’s Caludon Castle School for a ‘disgusting’ lack of protection.

For the first time since her ordeal last week, the victim said girls were forced to keep toilet doors closed while using them because the locks had been kicked off by unruly boys. And the teenager said she was afraid to return to class after two days off.

“I was embarrassed because I was with all my friends,” she added. “All my mates told him to stop. I held the door closed, but a group of guys kept trying to get in. It’s just scary.

‘The toilets are accessible to everyone, the cabins have doors, but the actual toilets don’t. I have no privacy because everything is heard by everyone.’

She was taken to hospital where she received X-rays for a bruised arm and treatment for the wound to her forehead.

Her mother Gemma Brennan, 40, says she fears for her daughter as the gender neutrality persists, accusing the school of prioritizing the needs of a slim majority over girls’ safety.

“I am absolutely shocked,” she added. “When I saw her cut, I couldn’t believe it. But I immediately knew what it was because I emailed the school about the problem with the toilet and said the locks were broken and the girls couldn’t go to the toilet in privacy.

Neither do the boys. Girls and boys need separate toilets – it’s infuriating. I fear for her safety every day.

“It will get worse and it will happen again. I fear the worst.’

The school said the student responsible has been penalized for the “disturbing” incident.

The loos in the extended were renovated in 2017 to create an ‘open plan with unisex private cabins’.

But youths in Year 9 apparently only have access to unisex cubicles.

Some girls are so afraid of the lack of privacy that they choose to stay home during their period.

Campaigners have called for a crackdown on the number of loose in same-sex schools.

Sir John Hayes, chair of the Common Sense Group of MPs, said: ‘We need women-only, men-only spaces, especially in schools.

“We need to drop all this modern, liberal nonsense and just acknowledge that there are times when girls need privacy, just like boys do.

“The idea that a girl can’t go to the bathroom safely at school is just ridiculous.”

Labor MP Rosie Duffield said: ‘This is yet another example of a reactive and ill-conceived policy that is causing serious concern to parents and children.

“Many young people have contacted me about their aversion to unisex toilets in their schools, but are afraid to speak up and don’t want to be targeted.

“Girls and women need and deserve privacy in all washrooms, and so do boys.”

The Association of School and College Leaders has called on the government to advise on this.

Safe Schools Alliance UK, which campaigns for safe spaces, said children have a right to ‘the privacy, dignity and safety of homosexual facilities’.

A spokesman added: “The lack of protection is just disgusting, again a public inquiry is needed into how security has been undermined in some schools.”

Caludon Castle insisted that its unisex toilets be supervised and fitted with locks during breaks.

It said it would “seek the views of our students and a parent reference group to understand people’s concerns.”

Headteacher Sarah Kenrick added: ‘The safety and well-being of our students is the school’s number one priority and we are deeply concerned about last week’s incident.

‘Standards of our expected respectful behavior have been reinforced through meetings and tutor groups.

‘There are two sets of unisex toilets in the school and the others are single-sex. The unisex toilets are supervised during breaks and at lunchtime.’