SWIMMING DISCRIMINATION AT SALE LEISURE CENTRE

Just over a year ago the site highlighted how Leicester Council banned men from using a library one afternoon a week as it was women-only and Bristol Council did the same at a swimming baths.

Well one regular reader was barred from going to Sale Leisure Centre in Trafford Borough recently. On a Thursday morning, there is an hour set aside for women only as can be seen here. 

The reader has asked for the site to publish a request for help and of course we are happy to oblige (see end).  Help offered to be posted in the comments section please.

As well as helping the reader, what would be useful is if someone has the time (I know, who has?) could someone volunteer to undertake some Google research to find out how many other councils have these sorts of policies. If anyone wishes to undertake this project, can they contact me at [email protected] just so there is no duplication etc.

Posted by Skimmington

Update - See new post

Letter

I live in Trafford Borough in Cheshire and I really want to take my council to court over what I consider is either Sexist or Discriminatory practice against men.

 I was astonished and angered to discover that, when I turned up for my swim the other day at Sale Leisure Centre, that I was not allowed in because I was a man. The staff told me it was ladies only swimming. I protested to the manager and was subtly told that it was really meant to cater for Muslim woman because of their religious requirements. He said he sympathised with me but these decisions were made higher up the food chain by a committee.

I feel very passionately about discrimination towards men (and woman for that matter) and I would like to challenge my council in court over this issue. The problem is I don’t really know how to go about this challenge. Can you give me some information and advice or point me in another direction to seek advice and/or a very good solicitor/barrister who specialises in this area?

 Thanks for taking the time to read this,

 Mr C (white, lower to middle class, and yes, you’ve guessed it, MALE  L!)

 

Comments

[John Kimble]

I read about a previous case like this and such sessions are only illegal if they fail to also have a men only swimming session (presumably of equal length):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-374862/Council-hot-water-women-swimming-sessions.html

I didn't see such a session on that schedule, so assuming the council offers no such session nearby then the case has an excellent chance of success. In fact there's probably no need for the matter to even go to court.

The daily mail has a lot of coverage of such sex discrimination, so that's a good starting point for finding more cases:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=+site:www.dailymail.co.uk+women+only+swimming+session&sa=X&ei=tq0qTNWaKZz20wTo-_joAg&ved=0CAIQqAQwAg

[Chris]

several years ago I tried to take my then toddler swimming in a local pool only to be told that it was a 'mothers and toddlers' session. 'no problem' I said, 'I'll come back for the fathers and toddlers session', the look on the womans face was once of complete contempt, finally she said 'there is no such thing as a father and toddlers session'.

[Pierce Harlan]

Between anonymity and British Airways and the retirement age and everything in between, it's not difficult to believe that the UK just doesn't care about men. But this is among the worst examples: http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/2010/06/it-is-official-britain-pays-women-to.html

[Groan]

Good advice John. Wythenshawe near to sale offers male and female only sessions. It is worth rembering most councils don't opperate leisure centres themselves. It is often done through a cotractor or "trust". Complaints should go the trust board. However it is always worth getting a local councillor on board. Freedom of information requests can be helpful. Most council's have a leisure strategy and van be asked what evidence they have about single sex provision.

[Dave]

If you are a working male under 50 then swimming here is a bit tricky.

http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/content/edu/Arts_Leisure_Hospitality/leisure_centres/shelton-pool-folder/activity-programme-shelton-pool.en

[John Kimble]

That's a quite incredible find Dave.

On Monday there's various private hire session

Tuesday has 50+, tots and natal (many fathers won't have access to their kids so can't go to the tots session).

Wednesday has THREE ladies only session, a 50+ session AND an osteoartritis session (a condition far more common in women than men).

Thursday again as osteoartritis, 50+ AND aquarobics (again something appealing to women)

Friday has aqua natal, 50+ and more private hire.

Saturday has a "Ladies, girls & tots" - so even boys over 4 can get lost!

Sunday has family swim, so if you're a single man then get stuffed just like every other day of the week.

And all the above is assuming Early "Birds" isn't some sort of sexist slang term for women only.

[croi]

You realise that Islamists insist on female-only sessions because radical Islam is a patriarchy that tries to keep women separate from the world of men beyond the family? The logic behind this is the same logic as insisting women hide their faces behind a veil. You probably know how women are treated in hardline Muslim countries like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This isn't about anti-male discrimination, quite the opposite.

[John Kimble]

Croi, the motives for sex discrimination against men really aren't very significant when you're the victim.

If the fact you have a penis means you can't go swimming, use the library, get a job, receive state benefits, or see you kids then any whatever "justification" given is meaningless because there is none.

This site is concerned with all types of sex discrimination, whether by gender feminists or religious extremists. Also I expect you'll see a great many feminists supporting and insisting on women only this and that.

I suppose women only business support centers, and all the women only gyms are solely Muslim inventions too?

[croi]

All sexual discrimination is wrong, that's clear. The point here is that in this case, women are the victims of a much greater discrimination than men. Men are being stopped from going swimming for an hour or two once a week at a certain leisure centre in Leicester; (some) women are being confined to going swimming at a very specific time, date and location and forbidden from mixing with the opposite sex. They are the ones suffering far greater controls. What is an inconvenience for the men is a symptom of much wider oppression for the women.

Incidentally, I personally believe that some sexual segregation is justified for reasons of modesty. Not everyone wants to share a hospital room, communal showers etc with members of the opposite sex. Mixed sex hospital wards can be quite stressful for some patients and in the case of psychiatric wards, sexual harassment can be a very serious problem.

[Sick of Lies]

Whilst on the subject of banning men from leisure activities, US Rapper, Snoop Doggy Dogg has even banned men from the VIP area of his concert at Hyde Park:

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/Snoop+Dogg-33430.html

Btw...technically he's breaking UK sex discrimination law here; specifically Section 2 of the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act which categorically prohibits discrimination in the provision of goods and services to consumers on the grounds of sex.

Although, let's face it: he is an American and so he can do what he likes over here as the Yanks own us!

[Dave]

Croi, Surely it would be much better to stop such controlling behaviour from happening. By putting on female only swimming and other activities you are facilitating the continuance of such behaviour.

This is just a mote point anyway. With our nearest pool the unisex changing rooms and open nature of the pool would mean that the required level of segregation would not be achieved for religious purposes. These swimming sessions are pure sexism by the local council and some of the users. Out of the swimming sessions which are open to the public 3 out of 36 are women only and the only swimming session convenient to me to use during the week is female only.

[John Kimble]

I agree with Dave - such segregation encourages the oppression of women so everyone is losing out.

"Incidentally, I personally believe that some sexual segregation is justified for reasons of modesty"

Yes but they rarely have any men only sessions do they? Women can go to the pool whenever they want, the only the only thing they notice is that sometimes the men are kicked out and sometimes they aren't.

"Men are being stopped from going swimming for an hour or two once a week at a certain leisure centre in Leicester"

No they aren't - this issue is becoming increasingly widespread. Look at this schedule for example:
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/content/edu/Arts_Leisure_Hospitality/leisure_centres/shelton-pool-folder/activity-programme-shelton-pool.en

If you're a single man there isn't one day where you won't get kicked out. Tuesday has 4 or 5 sessions where men are banned.

Most men work long hours and can't get time off easily or flexible hours. Imagine if Tuesday is the day you have the most time off and you're perhaps have injuries whereby swimming is the only exercise you can manage?

If people are so sexist or racist they won't swim with certain other people then they should build their own private pool rather than imposing their prejudices on public facilities.

[Sick of Lies]

"Incidentally, I personally believe that some sexual segregation is justified for reasons of modesty. Not everyone wants to share a hospital room, communal showers etc with members of the opposite sex. Mixed sex hospital wards can be quite stressful for some patients and in the case of psychiatric wards, sexual harassment can be a very serious problem."

Croi: just out of curiosity, what do you think should happen in such circumstances when somebody is transgendered?

I'm not talking about people who have had full, sex reassignment surgery here, but people, for instance, with a penis who live, and perhaps are indistinguishable from women and vice versa people with a vagina who live and look (to all intents and purposes) as men?

[Carl Whitworth]

Hi all, its Carl the guy who started this thread. Thanks for all your responses.

I recently wrote to the Head of Trafford Leisure Trust (Bernie Jones - Chief Executive) that runs the leisure facility in question.

He replied stating numerous feeble excuses as to why these "women only" sessions take place. Every excuse could be easily shot down in flames. I now want to take this further and intend to reply to him shortly perhaps to request a face to face meeting with him.

Can any of you guys offer any advice as to what to do next for maximum effect?

Also, feel free to write your own letter of condemnation to him in support of my complaint.

Need to speak to John Wallace who has challenged his council over exactly the same issue.

Thanks, Carl.

Men are rapidly becoming the new pariahs of British society. It needs to be stopped, NOW!!!

[Carl Whitworth]

Will post the (lengthy) reply I received from Bernie Jones shortly for all to see.

Carl.

[Groan]

Carl ask him for his Equality Impact Assessment,or that of the Council that commissions his service. See if it takes any account of Men in its Gender Section.

See comments on Ministry for men

[Carl Whitworth]

Here is the letter I sent to the Chief Exec 3 weeks ago..........and the reply I received shortly afterwards

Dear Mr Jones,

I really wish I did not have to write this letter to you. But, sadly, I do. A copy of this letter has also been sent to Helen McFarlane, the Director of Community, Safety, Leisure and Sport, someone I am sure you are familiar with.

Here is the issue that is making me angry, unhappy and feeling let down. Indeed I feel demonised for being male. Recently, I visited Sale Leisure Centre for my usual swim. I go 4 times a week to do intensive lane swimming. I went through to the male changing rooms, got changed and went poolside only to be told by poolside staff that I was not allowed in because it was “ladies only hour” on Thursday’s between 10.30am and 11.30am.

I then went back inside the changing rooms and got talking to 4 or 5 gentlemen who, like me, were angry that, in this great age of equality, because we were male, we were not allowed to swim. There was a consensus amongst us that it was fundamentally wrong that this sexist discrimination is practised today.

The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act makes it an offence to discriminate on the grounds of gender. This is what happened to me. I spoke to the duty manager of the centre who subtly informed me the reason for ladies only hour was to accommodate Muslim women due to their religious beliefs. I was horrified. He went on to say that these policies and decisions are taken higher up the food chain by a “committee”.

Please may I state that I completely agree with the concept of equality for all. However, this is not equality, it is either sexism, discrimination, or at worst, both. Whichever way you look at it, I was excluded from accessing a council provided service, because of my gender. That’s illegal today.

I am completely determined that these discriminatory practices are stopped. Therefore, unless an undertaking is given that this illegal, discriminatory policy is ceased, I will be consulting with my human rights barrister with a determined, principled view to taking immediate legal action against both Trafford Council and Trafford Leisure Trust.

I hope you treat this letter with the utmost seriousness it deserves. I hope that, some real equality can begin to pervade the services you offer. Sadly though, I feel that we may end up meeting in the High Court someday very soon. I am steadfastly determined to put this outrage, right, for the sake of true equality.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr Carl Whitworth

REPLY..............

Dear Mr. Whitworth,
Thank you for your letter dated 25th June 2010, which unfortunately I did not receive until late on Friday afternoon, so please accept my apologies for not responding sooner.
Trafford Community Leisure Trust is responsible for the programming of all of the Centre’s it manages in the Borough and I can assure you that as a registered charity the Trust is committed to equal opportunity for all sections of the community.
There are significant health inequalities across the Borough and the Trust is taking positive action to try and increase participation amongst under represented target groups within the Borough. This includes 60+, people with disabilities, unemployed and low income earners, children as well as women. To increase participation we have to identify and understand the barriers preventing people from participating and then take positive action to provide the opportunities for these people to take part in physical activity.
The particular session you are referring to at Sale Leisure Centre, the Thursday morning 'Ladies Only' session has been operating for just over three years and was introduced after consultation with our customers, the results of which indicated that for many women personal barriers such as body image (self consciousness in front of men) and religious and cultural beliefs prevent them from taking part when men are present. As a result of this the Trust introduced the 'Ladies Only' session at one of the most underutilised times within the Centre programme. The session is staffed by females only and this has encouraged a number of new women to take up and begin swimming regularly and has therefore been successful in increasing participation.
We do not believe that we are being discriminatory in any way. In deed we are trying to ensure that there are opportunities for all sections of the community. The 'Ladies Only' session is less than 1% of the total main swimming pool allocation provided by the Trust and if we are to reduce health inequalities then occasionally positive action is required. In the three years that the session has been operating there hasn't been a single other complaint. However, if there was proven demand for a 'Men Only' session then we would be more than happy to accommodate such a session.

You may wish to note that under 1975 Sex Discriminate Act there is an exception in Section 35(1)(c) which allows facilities to be restricted by sex where the users or would be users of the facility would suffer 'serious embarrassment' at the presence of the opposite sex. Traditionally many local authorities and Leisure Trusts such as Trafford Community Leisure Trust have provided women-only sessions, in some cases aimed at women from ethnic communities who for cultural and/or religious reasons will not use the pool when men are present.

The Equal Opportunities Commission consider in such circumstances section 35 (1)(c) would render such provision lawful.

I hope the above answers your comment, but if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,
Bernie Jones,
Chief Executive

[Carl Whitworth]

After reading the above.......

Does anyone know any solicitor/lawyer friends that could help? Or someone expert in human rights? A friend of a friend perhaps?

Cheers,

Carl.

[Kevin Wilson]

Hi, just found this page on a Google. Glad there are others concerned about this issue. My nearest leisure centre, the 'Synergy' Leisure centre in Langley, Berks is still operating a policy of closing the whole place (gym, pool, coffee shop, the works) to men for three hours between 7 - 10 on Wednesday nights, despite the fact that men and women pay the same membership charges. I went round the houses with them on this when I took out a years membership in 2008. I wasnt informed of the women only rule when I signed on the dotted line and didnt find out until I turned up for my first session at 7:30 the next Wednesday night. They have an offer on at the moment that I wanted to take up, and I had mistakenly believed that the male exclusion had ended because a seperate gym had recently been built.

Without going into too much detail, my understanding from the reams of correspondence I had with them at the time, is that the justification is identical to that in Carl's case above. This is the result of a council (Slough in this case) policy to encourage 'disadvantaged' members of the community to make use of the leisure facilities. Again, from the tenor of their comments this is primarily to benefit the Moslem community. However, if it is a cultural consideration, gender modesty presumably works both ways?

To be honest, I am sensitive enough to see that some women (whether Moslem or not) might be uncomfortable wearing swimsuits in front of men, and maybe some compromise could be worked out there, but there is no justification for closing a gym to men for 3 peak hours a week.

After an email squabble I let this go first time round. Part of the problem is you feel so isolated, and you have the nagging thought, 'Am I behaving like an over-sensitive twat, or *gulp* a feminist about this?'. The 'Equality and Human Rights Commission' arent really interested in this kind of descrimination, and having had my complaints dismissed I thought I was probably faced with having to initiate legal action on my own. Anyway, this isnt on and I've decided to take up the cudgel once again. First stop a chat with my local councilor. I'll post anything useful and if anyone else has any suggestions I'm all ears

[John Kimble]

Hi Kevin, welcome to the site, I think you'll like it here.

I'm pleased to see this issue attracting so much interest. Surely if women feel so embarrassed swimming then they just need to get a slightly more flattering swimsuit? Similarly, all the Quaran requires is that women are dressed modestly.

Also how far do we go with this, what if you are a lesbian female who would be embarrassed in front of other females? Does everyone get their own private swimming pool now? That would appear to be the only solution.

There's also the cost side of this, if one set of taxpayers is receiving restricted access to services then presumably they'll get a discount on their tax bill to reflect this? This aspect might be worth pursuing this just to make a point.

Also note the hypocrisy in terms of the health aspects. We're constantly told how men neglect their health and that's why they all die so young and it's not the government's fault, yet when it comes to use of facilities it's somehow the women's health that is the problem. It doesn't make any sense.

[John Kimble]

I just contacted the pool in question.

They were quite helpful and attempted to explain the policy.

I suggested that in order to be fair and non sexist they should either drop the policy or offer men a discount on membership fees due to their restricted access to facilities (they confirmed there is no discount at present).

[John Kimble]

Just contacted Langley leisure centre.. They defended the policy and told me there was a men only session at the same time in a nearby pool.

Further investigation shows the men only session runs from 8.30pm-10pm - it's half the length of the female only session! I guess that's about as good as equality gets if you're male!

Even worse, that pool has another 4 or 5 women only sessions too!

[Groan]

I suspect you will be advised that legal action will be costly and unlikely to succeed. A more productive line may be to use Freedom of Information to get the information on need the policy is based on. It is likely to be poor or vague. Then ask for information they have collected about men (I'd be amazed if they had any). Then take them to the Ombudsman on the grounds they didn't base the policy on proper process or evidence and did too litlle to investigate the needs of men.

[John Kimble]

I found some info on the legal aspects of this. Basically if they don't have proof that the users in question would be embarrassed by having mixed sessions then the sessions are illegal. Therefore any such sessions set up on a whim or just for the hell of it are illegal.

Serious embarrassment and state of undress - s.35 (1)(c)
Services may be restricted to one sex if the users are likely to suffer 'serious embarrassment' at the presence of a member of the opposite sex or the users are likely to be in a state of undress and the users my reasonably object to the presence of the opposite sex. This exception may for example apply to sauna facilities. Some service providers have identified a need to provide women-only sport sessions such as swimming or badminton. This would be unlawful unless the provider could prove that mixed groups would cause serious embarrassment to the user(s).

[Fucktard]

This is a bit misguided because if you look a bit deeper, this is probably a result of abuse of women by their Muslim husbands and the Muslim way of life. If this wasn't provided, the women probably wouldn't be allowed to go swimming at all.

On the other hand, if it was just normal women who don't want men (= rapists) "looking at them" (= mental rape) or whatever, then fuck them, I hope they get raped and murdered.

[John Kimble]

"this is probably a result of abuse of women by their Muslim husbands and the Muslim way of life. If this wasn't provided, the women probably wouldn't be allowed to go swimming at all."

The Koran states women should dress modestly when swimming. There's no requirement for gender segregation whatsoever. This means the only "Muslims" who would insist on such facilities would be severly misguided extremists.

Also, there's an argument that by providing such facilities you're endorsing their position and keeping their wives relatively happy. Creating facilities like this does nothing to tackling the underlying problem.

[Carl]

Guys, thanks for your posts to date.

I'm currently in the very early stages of requesting information from Trafford Leisure Trust with a view to taking legal action against them.

I will continue to view the site and hopefully garner help and advice from you all. At some stage, I will be looking to involve the national press (Daily Mail or The Express) in this.

I am looking for a ballsy solicitor to take me on with this. Anyone know who might be up for a fight that could end up on the 6 o'clock news in about 6 months time outside the High Court?

Surely there has to be a Solicitor out there who feels the way I do about this, and wants to use their skill in taking this Leisure Trust apart, bit by bit?

This could be a very sweet victory for true equality with the right brief in my corner.

I just need some quality help guys, but I'm a man of limited means.

[Jenny]

The Muslim argument is a red herring. The sexists don't have the guts to admit their sexism so they blame the Muslims. Does that make the racists as well?

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[Alex]

I have complained to Gateshead Council who also operate female only sessions at all of their council-operated swimming pools.

I am not against female only sessions, however if they are to be provided then I feel an equal amount of sessions should be provided for men, considering that we pay the same cost for the monthly membership yet are worse off.

I sent the following letter to the Head of Sport and Leisure at Gateshead council, and received an acknowledgement letter back a few days later. However it is now over 5 weeks since that acknowledgement, I have yet to receive any further response.

My letter to Gateshead Council is below:

---

I have recently moved to Gateshead from North Tyneside and I have enjoyed making use of Gateshead Leisure Centre since I have moved to the area, in particular the swimming facilities.

I am writing to you as it appears in the Swimming Pool timetable dated April - August 2010 that there is only 1 hour scheduled for male only swimming between 8.30-9.30pm on a Monday evening, however there are 3 ½ hours assigned for female only swimming spread throughout the week (Mon: 7.30-8.30pm, Wed: 8.30-10am, Thurs: 8.30-9.30pm).

I appreciate that there are also adult only swimming periods available, however I find it remarkably unjust that on many occasions I am unable to use, or fully make use of, the pool and leisure centre facilities on many weekdays due to my gender.

I understand the justification behind having gender specific swimming periods, and I myself have made use of the Monday evening male only session for these same reasons, however when I enquired about the relative lack of male only swimming sessions it was suggested that this was due to the greater popularity and profitability of the female sessions, which I consider to be most inequitable.

In addition, the single 1 hour male only session on a Monday evening is not the most ideal time as with it being timed at the end of the day not all of the leisure centres facilities, such as the cafe, can be made use of due to centre closing. The pool staff conducting their evening cleaning and preparing the poolside areas can also be extremely distracting whilst swimming.

I have been reading Gateshead Councils own literature on Equality and Equal Opportunities, and the current swimming provision at Gateshead Leisure Centre seems to oppose the councils own recommended policies and best practice.

May I suggest that the next version of the swimming pool timetable is reassessed in order to address this gender inequality as soon as possible?

May I please also request that the council provide me with the ‘Equalities Impact Assessment’ relating to the Council’s leisure facilities (related to swimming in particular, if possible)? I believe that this document is required to be completed by the Council’s service providers in order to continuously examine and review all policies and services to ensure that they do not discriminate against any part of society.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[Groan]

I can understand you wish to be polite but you can demand the EIA as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request that the council has to respond to. Good luck

[Michael]

This discrimination has been an ongoing gripe for me for years having been asked to leave a pool because I was male.

The issue is council swimming pools are allowed to discriminate because of swimming costumes etc.

However from what I can make out
1) They must have carried out a survey and updated regularly like once a year to ensure the policy still holds. Most councils do not want to do a survey because it costs money.

2) If a single man requests men only swimming then the council will have to investigate and provide a service if a group of men want it.

3)Very often when they have women only sessions they have male lifeguards. Also men can still see the women from the visitors gallery or through the glass walls of the pool. Crazy sittuation to argue then about embarrassment.

I think that it will take one case for a lot of them to cave in. Look at following article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-374862/Council-hot-water-women-swimming-sessions.html

My approach would be to write to the council asking for evidence of the recent survey which found a need for female only swimming.
Request copies of the council minutes where the single sex swimming sessions was discussed.

My guess is that they will not be able to provide these! I am sure the survey is not recent.

Then request for a survey to be carried out cost is about £10K. The council will not want to pay out £10K on a survey.

After this raise it in the courts as a discrimination case.

If the council cannot provide the above evidence then they will be on a very sticky wicket!

If a group of men from this forum requested men only swimming at a council run pool the council would have to investigate.

[M Smith]

North Warwickshire County Council Leisure Services

I recently complained that a new gym facility about to open at the Atherstone Leisure Centre(local authority) was to have "Women-only" sessions. This is as well as the swimming pool having many "Women-only" and "Over-50 only" sessions. I did not challenge the swimming ban - however when this new facility was advertised with women-only sessions I felt I had to make my point.

I asked whether I was entitled to a refund on my Council Tax; a reduced membership fee; and whether there could be any "Under 40, male with 1 child" sessions. This is the reply I received:

North Warwickshire Borough Council Leisure Facilities is responsible for the programming of all the premises it manages and I can assure you the Council is committed to equal opportunity for all sections of the community.

There are significant health inequalities across the North Warwickshire and through the operation of the Leisure Facilities, we attempt to take positive action to try and increase participation amongst under represented target groups identified through various sources and partner organisations. These under represented groups and groups classified as most at risk includes 60+, people with disabilities, unemployed and low income earners, children as well as women.

To increase participation we have to identify and understand the barriers preventing people from participating and then take positive action to provide the opportunities for these people to take part in physical activity. The particular issue you are referring to at Atherstone Leisure Complex new Studio facility with the introduction of 'Female Only' sessions was introduced to the programme following acknowledgement of these local and indeed national issues and following previous and ongoing consultation with our customers, the results of which indicated that for many women personal barriers such as body image (self consciousness in front of men) prevent them from taking part when men are present. As a result of this information, analysis of the Equalities Impact Needs Assessment that was undertaken and feedback from the local community and other similar business models we introduced the 'Female Only' sessions within the Studio programme. This approach in the swimming pool has encouraged a number of new women to take up and begin swimming regularly and has therefore been successful in increasing participation which we believe is a clear indication that a similar model can be successfully adopted within the new Studio. We do not believe that we are being discriminatory in any way. In deed we are trying to ensure that there are opportunities for all sections of the community. The 'Ladies Only' session is less than 5% of the total Studio time allocation provided by the Leisure Complex and if we are to reduce health inequalities then occasionally positive action is required.
You may wish to note that under 1975 Sex Discriminate Act there is an exception in Section 35(1)(c) which allows facilities to be restricted by sex where the users or would be users of the facility would suffer 'serious embarrassment' at the presence of the opposite sex. The Equal Opportunities Commission consider in such circumstances section 35 (1)(c) would render such provision lawful. Cont/…

Traditionally many Local Authorities and Leisure Trusts provide women-only sessions, in some cases aimed at women from ethnic communities who for cultural and/or religious reasons will not use the facilities when men are present. You will note that we have timetabled a ‘male only’ session in the Studio in an effort to balance the programme this despite there being no request for such a session to date.
I hope the above answers your comment, but if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

[John Kimble]

M Smith

you can't have any complaints if there are an equal number of men only sessions - that's not discrimination merely segregation (or are you saying there are less men only sessions?)

[M Smith]

John -
There are currently NO men-only sessions at the Leisure Centre, but many Women-only sessions.

At the new facility they were planning 5 women-only sessions and no men-only (I don't WANT men-only particularly but just think it is so unfair to be restricted in the times I want to exercise!)

The Council have now added in 1 Men-only session to placate me. So - some progress; but still not fair.

[John Kimble]

M Smith - Thanks for clarifying things.

Might be worth asking to see what evidence they have proving the sessions are needed. Some authorities actually do the required work in this regard, whereas others just add female only sessions for the hell of it and therefore you can potentially force a u-turn on those grounds too.

[Lindsey]

My husband and I went swimming at Urmston Leisure Centre last Tuesday evening and at 8pm, my husband was asked to leave the pool because it was a Women Only session. The situation was utterly bizarre. The attendent overseeing the pool (and thus all the swimmers) was male and the pool is overlooked by other centre users walking past it so it devoid of any logic at all. Certainly none of the women in the water were behaving as if they were uncomfortable. In fact, one of them commented how silly and unnecessary it was. Amazingly, no deeper rationale (beyond "you're a man") was offered for asking my husband to leave the pool, but clearly the implication is that he personally could be seen as a sexual predator, which is really offensive. I'm proud to say we refused to get out.
Urmston has no Men Only sessions. We are also going to complain and I've considered getting an online petition going. Have local newpapers covered this before? Might they be interested?

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[Pandora Jewelry]

I just sent this post to a bunch of my friends as I agree with most of what you’re saying here and the way you’ve presented it is awesome.

[gucci]

your articles. Keep up the good work Smile Hoping more excellent articles from you soon.

[louis vuitton]

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[T]

Hi all, I came across this website when looking for female-only swimming sessions in my local area, and was quite..well, surprised, to say the least, about some of the comments on here. I would like to highlight that I am a young Muslim woman and my reason for wanting to attend a ladies-only swimming session is not that I am being forced by my husband (I'm not married), but because it is my choice to follow my religion. Islam specifies that a woman's body is sacred and is not to be revealed to any man, as no-one other than her husband should have that privilege. As well as not being able to find a swimsuit that covers my shoulders and legs, if I were to wear leggings & a t-shirt, as well as being stared at even more for looking different to everyone else, I wouldn't be able to swim properly for being weighed downn by the water my clothes soaks up, and the water would still make the clothes see-through & skin tight, leaving little to the imagination and defeating the purpose. I agree that swimming sessions being only for women is a pointless concept when the lifeguards are male, which is why I struggle to find somewhere I can actually go swimming. I also struggle to understand why, out of a 24-hour day, some people would begrudge 1 hour for women to be able to swim without male members, maybe once or twice a week? Yes I believe in equality so I also call for men's-only sessions, but there is also diversity, which calls for extra measures where needed to allow everyone to have the same opportunities - which would mean allowing for some sessions to be available to women only to allow them to go swimming. Is it unreasonable for a workplace to have a lift installed for staff who are wheelchair users? Is it unreasonable for those who are able to, to use the stairs, or wait while the wheelchair user goes in the lift first, because that's their only option; or will this also be classed as 'discriminatory,' because why should we who can walk have to wait? Equality & Diversity covers a range of aspects, from disability to religion, and if Britain is truly as diverse as we claim, then I fail to see why this is an issue. My final comment is that the article highlighted above about a council which decided to cancel women-only sessions, lost all credibility by stating that the reason they did not have men-only sessions was that there was no demand for them - this highlights a child-like attitude of 'I don't want it but you can't have it either.' That is, just because there aren't enough men who want men-only sessions, that is not to say the womens-only sessions should suffer.

[Pawnbrokers]

I agree that swimming sessions being only for women is a pointless concept when the lifeguards are male, which is why I struggle to find somewhere I can actually go swimming.

[Pawnbroking]

I would like to challenge my council in court over this issue. The problem is I don’t really know how to go about this challenge.

[ianisace]

Nexus leisure centre in Thame are offering swimming sessions for £1 until end of October, but only if you are a WOMAN.

South Oxfordshire Council chief for leisure (Bill Service) said : "this offer provides a great opportunity for WOMEN in S.Oxfordshire to give swimming a go at an incredibly cheap rate". Well isn't that nice.

Could there be a clearer example of discrimination ? Someone needs to take these sexists to court.