Some of the country’s biggest retailers, including H&M and Primark, have been criticised by transgender and non-binary individuals for not implementing their own policies of free access to dressing rooms.

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Both companies claim they allow customers to choose the changing facility freely, however there have been incidents of non-binary and transgender individuals who were denied that access. Jared Kaleta, a non-binary student of University of East London, has experienced issues accessing changing rooms in the female section during black Friday week shopping in H&M store in Westfield Stratford, one of the largest shopping centres in Europe.

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Kaleta was able to use the dressing room, however an employee informed them that next time, if the store was be busier, they will not be let into the female changing facility. The explanation provided by the employee was that Kaleta’s presence in the fitting room would offend Muslim women.

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Kaleta said “I don’t understand why comfort of one community is prioritised over another’s. Why one person shopping at the exact same section is allowed to use the allocated changing room, but the other is not”.

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The employee preferred to stay anonymous, however she explained that even though the changing facilities are unisex, they are not adapted to assure all customers’ comfort. “There are no doors separating the cabins, just the curtains, which is really H&M’s fault”, she commented, “that’s why I have to try to accommodate other customers”. On the other hand, the store manager reported that there is no official policy regarding the issue.

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After Kaleta placed an official complaint, H&M’s customer service has responded: “Our stores will typically have fitting rooms located within our menswear and womenswear departments, but [changing facilities] in the UK are allowed to be used by any customer no matter what they choose to identify as”.

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Two transgender non-binary individuals have also reported not being allowed in Primark’s men’s changing room but were given no explanation from the employees. Primark’s customer service said that the company’s official policy is that all customers are welcome to use the fitting room of their choice.

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The transgender officer at the University of Roehampton, Sasha Jude said: “I think it is perpetuating stereotypes to say that letting a non-binary person in would offend Muslim women”. Jude pointed that using the ‘comfort’ excuse on a cultural or religious basis is hurtful for both sides and that employees should be trained to avoid, not to spark potential conflicts.

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The Office for National Statistics estimates the number of transgender people in the UK to be approximately 200,000-500,000. Recognition of non-binary individuals in UK’s passports, which now requires them to specify whether they are male or female, has also now been taken to the Court of Appeal. Jude has pointed how some restrictions in public spaces are understandable due to safety, however more inclusive adjustments could still be made.