Jakarta, goldensamoyed Indonesia
—
Long queue at
toilets
female
is a sight that is often encountered in various public spaces, especially shopping centers.This long waiting time is not solely a matter of female users’ habits, but also a result of the toilet design which from the start was not equivalent to men’s toilets.
Women’s toilets require more space because all the facilities are closed cubicles and equipped with bins for sanitary napkins and baby chairs.However, in many buildings, the area of women’s toilets is still the same as men’s toilets so that the number of cubicles is not commensurate with needs.
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It looks fair, but it actually harms female users.
Launch
Channel News Asia
, Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization, explained that the concept of toilet equality only developed in the 2000s.This idea emerged because many old buildings equalize the number of male and female toilet facilities, without considering that women take longer to use the toilet.
In 2014, Singapore’s National Environment Agency began changing the ratio of women’s to men’s toilets from 1:1 to 5:3 to reduce queues.
Why do women’s toilets still often have queues?
Director of Architects, Jacqueline Pong, said one of the reasons was business considerations.”Even though toilets contribute to the gross floor area, they are not included in the rentable area. Therefore, developers consider income potential in space allocation,” he said.
As a result, many buildings still provide equal space for women’s and men’s toilets, even though their needs are very different.
Even so, Sim said the trend was starting to change.Many developers are now aware that comfortable toilets make visitors feel at home and spend longer shopping.
Apart from design, user behavior also has an influence.Women tend to spend more time on personal hygiene and grooming in the grooming area.The duration may be longer during menstruation or when one has to assist an elderly person.
“Longer time spent on the toilet could also be due to caregiving needs, especially if the mother is carrying a baby who needs to be securely strapped into a baby seat before using the toilet,” explains Pong.
In some places, less than optimal toilet layout also triggers buildup, for example hand dryers are placed too close to the door, thereby blocking the flow of users in and out.
A number of buildings are starting to install smart sensors that indicate empty cubicles before users enter, similar to the ‘occupied’ system in airplane toilets.
“This is especially useful for large toilets with lots of stalls or layouts with left and right sides. It helps direct users to the less crowded side,” says Pong.
Currently, improving design, improving cleanliness and utilizing technology are considered the most realistic steps to ensure that queues for women’s toilets no longer snake.
(nga/tis)
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