THE DEPARTMENT of Basic Education (DBE) said it was disappointed with the continued media reports about plans to introduce unisex toilets in schools.

This is based on an initial draft discussion document from the consultations that are currently under way on the Guidelines for the Socio-Educational Inclusion of Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identity, Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Schools, following consultation before it is published for public comment. The plans have faced heavy criticism.

The department said the matter was blown out of proportion.

"The narrow focus on ‘unisex toilets’ is unfortunate as it misses the bigger debate on the elimination of gender discrimination in all spheres of society and specifically creating a socially conducive and welcoming environment in schools," the DBE said.

The department added that it was not entirely true that it was proposing unisex toilets. Instead, the department is investigating relevant response mechanisms to ensure the constitutional obligation for sexual minorities' social and educational inclusion while avoiding the currently overwhelming litigation.

The DBE said what gave rise to the draft guideline was the violation of human rights and discrimination of diverse sexual and gender identities, whether intentional or unintentional; the litigation that the provincial education departments had to deal with relating to this matter; and the school governance issues faced by school governing bodies on these matters.

"It was clear that, although we have an unambiguous Constitution and inclusive education policies and legislation, schools needed an instrument that would help them avoid violation of children’s rights," the department said.

"The department also needed to ensure children of diverse sexual and gender identities enjoyed the education system like any other child."

The DBE added that petitions conducted by political parties are premature because a formal public engagement process will take place once the current phase of consultations is concluded.

"The department appeals for calm as the matter is still being processed in terms of the normal protocols. The guidelines are still undergoing district consultations as recommended by the Council of Education Ministers and will be published in 2023," the department said.

ONLINE PETITION

Meanwhile, an online petition opposing gender-neutral/unisex bathrooms at schools was already on the brink of reaching 50,000 signatures 24 hours after it was created.

Cape Town resident and mother of four, Rudayba Taliep Rasool, 52, said she was prompted to start the petition after seeing many parents expressing a collective unhappiness over the DBE draft guidelines that included unisex toilets.

“Last week, I went into a ladies toilet at KFC in Villiersdorp. The door wasn’t locked and I proceeded to enter and when I saw an adult male using the toilet, I felt disgusted since he didn’t even have the decency to lock the toilet. Imagine this happens to my child who hasn’t acquired the emotional maturity to deal with a situation like that at school,” Rasool said.

The petition was started on Monday and had already breached 45,000 signatures in support by early afternoon on Tuesday.

“I am hoping the powers-that-be realise that South African parents are not in favour of this and that we value our children’s safety above all else,” Rasool said.

“All children have this right – males, females and non-binary/transgender children. Why not create toilets for them and treat everyone equal to what they identify themselves as? Why create unisex toilets when we have so much violence among our youth where rape, sex, drugs and bullying has become the norm,” she said.

The Muslim Judicial Council has also echoed support in opposition to gender-neutral bathrooms and changing rooms, and other measures including getting rid of all forms of gender segregation and identifiers.

The National Freedom Party (NFP) said the DBE should instead focus on issues of critical importance, such as bettering the quality of education, providing more infrastructure for sports, and to adequately prepare learners for tertiary education.

“Currently, we still have children using pit latrines, poor infrastructure at schools, and four out of every 10 children who start Grade 1 not finishing Grade 12. Instead of focusing on these issues, the department wants to tackle obscure issues,” said NFP leader Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam.

“The introduction of unisex toilets fails to grasp the seriousness of teenage pregnancies at schools, and is tone deaf to the reality of teenage hormones and the hyper-sexualised era in which we currently live,” he said.