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# Butch lesbian speaks out against harassment in single-sex spaces
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/butch-lesbian-speaks-out-against-harassment-in-single-sex-spaces/
- Published: 2021-01-20T11:11:55.000Z
- Updated: 2021-01-20T16:55:42.000Z
- Description: 32-year-old Eloise Stonborough, a cisgender, butch presenting lesbian, has spoken out against harassment in single-sex spaces.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Gender diverse, Lesbian, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+ rights, Stonewall, Trans Rights, UK News

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/eloise-ston.jpg)

Eloise Stonborough

32-year-old **Eloise Stonborough**, a cisgender, butch-presenting lesbian, has spoken out against harassment in single-sex spaces after reflecting on the hostility she frequently faces when using public toilets. Stonborough, who is the associate director of policy and research at LGBTQ+ organisation **Stonewall**, told [**i News**](https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/butch-lesbian-public-toilet-women-abuse-government-review-gender-neutral-facilities-833787?ref=scenemag.co.uk) that she is often challenged when using women’s public toilets as a result of her appearance, and found the attacks have increased ‘significantly’ over the last two years.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/all-gender-toilets-1.jpg)

She said: *“I think there’s been tens of times someone has questioned me using the women’s toilet, and ten of those experiences have been particularly frightening – and they’re just the ones I can remember. I have developed behaviours to minimise the risk of going into a toilet and facing abuse. If I’m going into public, you know, shared toilet rather than a single store, I’ll often try and bring my girlfriend with me or a friend with me, someone who will clarify my gender by standing next to me.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l-with-the-t-1-1.jpg)

She continued: *“I have barely left my house in the last ten months, and one of the handfuls of times I’ve had to use a public toilet, a woman challenged me when I was quietly standing in line to use the facilities in a park. She stormed off in a huff when I refused to leave.”* Stonborough said many gender diverse people and women who don’t present as feminine face harassment frequently: *“Experiences like mine do end up undermining your confidence. This affects all gender-diverse people out there, who are at risk of withdrawing from public life because they cannot use the toilet without worrying about abuse, which I think is a huge tragedy.”*

She also highlighted *“not everyone’s appearance easily correlates to their gender”,* as she hopes sharing her story will raise awareness of the public hostility many LGBTQ+ people face on a daily basis.