Woman sues city over 'sexist' toilet fees after being charged to use cubicles while men use urinals for free

An Austrian woman is suing the city of Vienna over 'sexism' claims after she was charged to use a public cubicle – while men can use urinals for free. 

Melanie Gradik, 27, who has begun legal action against the Austrian capital, said her experience was 'an example of how women are treated unequally in everyday life'. 

She was visiting a park in the city with her male friend when they both needed to use the public facilities but Ms Gradik had to pay 50 cents while he could go for free. 

The 27-year-old said: 'I was in a park with a friend and we both needed to use the bathroom. 

'He could go for free, but I had to pay 50 cents. I thought to myself, 'how is that possible?'

'I want everyone to be able to use the bathroom on an equal footing. Either we all pay 50 cents or no one pays 50 cents.

'It's a small thing, but it's also an example of how women are treated unequally in everyday life.' 

Ms Gradik has now filed a legal complaint against Vienna, arguing that exclusively charging women for access to public toilets violates the city's anti-discrimination laws. 

Melanie Gradik, 27, and her male friend were visiting a park in Vienna when they both needed to use the public toilets. She had to pay 50 cents while he could enter for free

A sign stating that users must pay 50 cents to enter a toilet cubicle is pictured in front of public facilities at Rathauspark in Vienna

If she wins her case, it will 'certainly have an impact on other municipalities', her lawyer, Petra Laback, has said, adding that it could set a precedent across the whole of Austria. 

Ms Laback said the fact that some public facilities offer free urinals for men creates inequality between the sexes.

'Men have an additional free alternative, women do not,' she said.

Vienna currently has 168 publicly managed toilet facilities, 139 of which are free to use.

According to the city authorities, the 29 facilities that charge a fee do so because they employ toilet attendants.

Sandra Holzinger, a spokeswoman for the municipality, said: 'In very busy locations with intensive use it is necessary for organisational reasons to ensure supervision in order to guarantee proper use and cleanliness.

'In these 29 facilities, a usage fee of 50 cents must be paid for the use of cubicles by people of all genders,' she said. 

Ms Holzinger added that urinals were additionally provided 'in order to prevent fouling caused by urinating in public spaces'. 

But Anna Gamper, a law professor at the University of Innsbruck, said this system raises serious questions about equality.

Under Austrian law, 'a distinction between men and women may only be made if there is a special, objective justification for it', she said.

In the case of public toilets, such a justification 'does not appear to exist' since the cost of building, maintaining and cleaning cubicles and urinals is basically the same, the professor said.

Ms Gradik is pictured with her lawyer Petra Laback, who said the case could set a precedent across the whole of Austria if it is won

Even if cubicles were slightly more expensive to maintain or consumed more water, this would not necessarily be enough to justify a price difference compared with urinals, she added. 

She said the argument that men also have to pay to use a cubicle does not hold up because they still have a free option that is not available to women.

In Ms Gamper's view, women should not be financially disadvantaged because of their anatomy or because they need cubicles for safety reasons, for example.

Women in Austria face several extra costs compared with men in everyday life, such as having to pay for menstrual products and more expensive cosmetics, according to a spokesman for Elke Hanel-Torsch, the city of Vienna's representative for women's issues.

In their coalition agreement for governing the city, the Social Democrats and liberals pledged to expand public toilet provision and examine whether public toilets could be made free for everyone.

In the Augarten park, new public toilets were opened last year that replaced older facilities and were intended to provide free and accessible toilets for everyone, regardless of gender.