A traumatized 13-year-old teen says she is afraid to go back to school after being attacked by a boy in a gender-neutral toilet.
The unidentified girl was hit on the head by the swinging door of the cubicle during the altercation in a scene of humiliation as she was battered and suffered bruises.
The incident sparked outrage among MPs and campaigners who slammed Caludon Castle School in Coventry for the ‘disgusting’ lack of security.
Speaking for the first time since her ordeal last week, the victim said the girls were forced to keep toilet doors closed while using them as the locks were kicked by unruly boys.
And the teenager said she dreaded returning to class after two days off.
Mother Gemma Brennan, 40, said she fears for her daughter while gender-neutrality persists, accusing the school of prioritizing the needs of a small majority over girls’ safety.
‘I was embarrassed because I was with all my friends,’ she added. ‘All my mates were telling him to stop. I locked the door, but a group of boys kept trying to force their way in. It’s just scary.
‘The toilets are open to all, the cubicles have doors, but no actual toilets. I have no secrets because everyone hears everything.
She was taken to hospital where she was x-rayed for a bruised arm and treated for a wound to her forehead.
Her mother Gemma Brennan, 40, said she fears for her daughter while gender-neutrality persists, accusing the school of prioritizing the needs of a small majority over girls’ safety.
‘I’m absolutely terrified,’ she added. ‘When I saw his cut, I couldn’t believe it. But I knew straight away what it was because I emailed the school about the toilet problem saying the lock was broken and the girls couldn’t go to the toilet in privacy.
‘Boys can’t either. Girls and boys need separate toilets – it’s annoying. I fear for her safety every day.
‘It will get worse and it will happen again. I fear the worst.’
The school said the student responsible for the sad’ incident has been sanctioned.
The extensive sheds were renovated in 2017 to create some ‘open plan with unisex private cubicles’.
Sir John Hayes, chairman of MPs’ Common Sense group, said: ‘We need to have women-only spaces and men-only spaces – especially in schools.
‘We should ditch all this modern, liberal claptrap and just accept that there are times when girls need privacy, and so do boys.
‘The idea that a girl can’t safely use the toilet at school is absurd.’
