Note to friends and allies: the main press release is below. Meanwhile, if you would like to know how to borrow the trans loo for your event/pride/protest/whatever, check out https://transactual.org.uk/the-trans-loo/
And if you are writing it up, ‘sitters’ for our photoshoot on Monday were Olivia Campbell-Cavendish from the Trans Legal Clinic (pictured in photograph outside the Supreme Court), Carla Ecola from the Outside Project, Hafsa Qureshi, from TransActual, writer, speaker and activist, Eva Echo, Leng Montgomery, diversity, equity & inclusion leader, and Libro Levi Bridgeman, writer, editor and lecturer.
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LONDON, 21st May 2025 – Trans advocacy organisation TransActual UK has unveiled an eye-catching installation outside the UK Supreme Court: a “Third Toilet” created by BBH London, demanding urgent answers and protection for trans people’s rights in the wake of a controversial court ruling.
The bold question at the heart of the campaign: Where, exactly, are trans people supposed to go?
In April, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman within the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex – a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for who can access single-sex spaces and services, including public toilets.
The “Third Toilet” installation is a direct response to comments made by Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who suggested that trans rights groups should push for a separate “third space”.
The toilet – placed prominently outside the UK’s highest court, reflects the exposure, isolation and risk trans people face when excluded from public life and legal recognition. It challenges the notion that safety and dignity can be optional.
The installation aims to build pressure on policymakers to provide clarity and protection, particularly as many trans people are left wondering not just where they can go to the toilet -but how they can access safe spaces in education, healthcare, work, and society at large.
Hafsa Qureshi, a Director of TransActual UK, said: “The Supreme Court claimed it brought clarity to an area of difficulty. However, it did the exact opposite while also diminishing the rights or status of trans people in the UK. The impact on the trans community, to date, has been devastating.
“This campaign is a powerful statement – about being forced to exist without safety, privacy, and rights, in full view of a society that refuses to see us; a demand for legal clarity, human dignity, and real, lived safety for all trans people; and an attempt to put pressure on public policy makers to ensure they are answering questions and, ultimately, are held to account.”
Olivia Campbell Cavendish, a Founder & Executive Director of the Trans Legal Clinic, who sat on the Third Toilet outside the Supreme Court said: “We need to move the conversation on from ridiculous things like bathrooms and onto the things that matter. And that is the safety of trans people everywhere.”
Camila Gurgel and Ieva Paulina, Associate Creative Directors at BBH added: “We can’t call it a victory when so much has been lost. The trans community was left out of a decision that directly impacted their lives. So we set out to create something that will help their voices be heard and their demands recognized.
“Our hope is that the Third Toilet installation sparks awareness, conversation, solidarity and inspires more people to stand with the trans community.”
The activation was shot by the photographer Rhiannon Adam. Rhiannon is known for capturing striking images that feel both natural and authentic and her subject matter is often focused on complex narratives relating to climate change, social injustice, outsider communities, and abuse of power.
If you want to know more about what you can do to help, go to: http://transactual.org.uk/equality-act-campaign/
ENDS
Further Information
For further information, or for an interview in respect of this campaign, please contact jane fae via press@transactual.org.uk
About the recent UK Supreme Court ruling
In April 2025, the UK’s highest court, the Supreme Court, ruled that the legal definition of a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex – a decision with far-reaching implications for who can access single-sex services and spaces.
Specifically, the court ruled that the definition of sex as used in the Equality Act 2010 is “binary” and decided by biology – a person who was not born as a biological female cannot obtain the legal protections the Act affords to women by changing their gender with a Gender Recognition Certificate.
About TransActual UK
TransActual UK is the UK’s leading trans advocacy organisation. Founded by a group of British trans people in 2017 as a response to increasing press hostility, transphobia and misinformation, we are a national, trans led and run organisation working towards a world where trans people can live safely, in dignity and with access to the healthcare that we need.
We are run by the trans and non-binary communities, with the trans and non-binary communities, for the trans and non-binary communities.
About BBH London
BBH is one of the world’s most famous creative agencies. Founded in London in 1982, we now also have offices in Dublin, New York, Mumbai, Singapore, Stockholm and Shanghai.
For 42 years BBH has made the public laugh, cry and their hearts flutter; we’ve mad endlines, headlines, history, celebs and number ones in the charts – all to help our clients win at what they do.
Our logo, the black sheep, represents our Zag philosophy – our belief in the power of difference. This BBH thinking, combined with our craft and creative conviction, has secured BBH clients including Audi, Burger King, Paddy Power, the Premier League and Tesco.
Credits
Executive Creative Director: Felipe Serradourada Guimarães
Associate Creative Directors: Camila Gurgel & Ieva Paulina
Senior Account Director: Keren Moss
Head of Experience Production: Susan Liu
Head of Art Production: Sally Kursa
Directors of TransActual: jane fae & Hafsa Qureshi