Transgender woman refused access to women's toilet in UK pub
- 8 years ago
Shocking footage shows a transgender woman being refused access to the women's bathrooms in a Kent, UK pub on Tuesday night.
The video, captured by Joanna Louise at the Foresters Arms in Ramsgate, Kent, shows her remonstrating with pub staff over the ban - being told it was management policy.
The bartender can be seen saying "it's not my rule" as she bars Joanna from using the toilets, adding that when she ran a pub before she had no such policy.
According to Joanna she even went as far as to show the bartender her ID and credit card, with her gender listed, but the pub's manager had allegedly given strict instructions to staff in order to 'avoid losing business'.
Joanna can be seen telling the bartender that she needs to use the bathroom and that the manager has no way of knowing anything about her transgender status from the pub's CCTV, which was cited as a reason why the policy couldn't be waived, but to no avail.
Since being published online the incident has sparked outrage among the transgender community, with the pub's Facebook page attracting low ratings and critical comments for their behaviour.
Joanna is "determined to raise awareness of the issue" and has since reported this incident to the police. In a similar case in Halifax, UK in 2014 a trans woman won a landmark claim against a pub that prevented her from using the women's bathrooms and barred her for complaining - with her being awarded compensation.
Joanna, aged 30, is around six months into her Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and says she is "progressing well", adding earlier this month on her blog that she "feels amazing".
The managers of the Foresters Arms did not respond to repeated requests for comment by phone and email, with an employee answering their listed phone number saying "no thank you" before hanging up.
When LGBT news site Gay Star News previously contacted the premises, the manager reportedly said cryptically: "from this information printed on the sheet it says I don’t have to answer" and took issue with the publication of the video - before terminating the call.
Regarding the pub's license, a Thanet Council spokesperson said: "We do not condone this type of approach, however, the public house would not be breaching its license as the use of facilities is not part of the licensing conditions."
++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: Contains mild swearing++
The video, captured by Joanna Louise at the Foresters Arms in Ramsgate, Kent, shows her remonstrating with pub staff over the ban - being told it was management policy.
The bartender can be seen saying "it's not my rule" as she bars Joanna from using the toilets, adding that when she ran a pub before she had no such policy.
According to Joanna she even went as far as to show the bartender her ID and credit card, with her gender listed, but the pub's manager had allegedly given strict instructions to staff in order to 'avoid losing business'.
Joanna can be seen telling the bartender that she needs to use the bathroom and that the manager has no way of knowing anything about her transgender status from the pub's CCTV, which was cited as a reason why the policy couldn't be waived, but to no avail.
Since being published online the incident has sparked outrage among the transgender community, with the pub's Facebook page attracting low ratings and critical comments for their behaviour.
Joanna is "determined to raise awareness of the issue" and has since reported this incident to the police. In a similar case in Halifax, UK in 2014 a trans woman won a landmark claim against a pub that prevented her from using the women's bathrooms and barred her for complaining - with her being awarded compensation.
Joanna, aged 30, is around six months into her Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and says she is "progressing well", adding earlier this month on her blog that she "feels amazing".
The managers of the Foresters Arms did not respond to repeated requests for comment by phone and email, with an employee answering their listed phone number saying "no thank you" before hanging up.
When LGBT news site Gay Star News previously contacted the premises, the manager reportedly said cryptically: "from this information printed on the sheet it says I don’t have to answer" and took issue with the publication of the video - before terminating the call.
Regarding the pub's license, a Thanet Council spokesperson said: "We do not condone this type of approach, however, the public house would not be breaching its license as the use of facilities is not part of the licensing conditions."
++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: Contains mild swearing++