TransActual UK Installs 'Third Toilet' Outside UK Supreme Court

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 and 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 recognised.

“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.

Check out more work from BBH London here.