Accessible - but not for everyone
Denmark prides itself on equality and inclusion, yet for those who need more than a standard accessible toilet, everyday life can become restricted. Lyndsay Jensen asks whether it is time our building regulations caught up.
Photograph: AI-generated
Text: Lyndsay Jensen
For most of us, going to the toilet is something we barely think about.
We go to work. We meet friends for lunch. We spend an afternoon shopping, visit a museum, attend a concert or take our children somewhere for the day. Somewhere along the way, if we need the toilet, we find one.
Now imagine having to plan every one of those activities around whether there is a bathroom you can physically use.
A door displaying the familiar wheelchair symbol might suggest the problem has been solved. Inside there may be grab rails, additional floor space, an accessible washbasin and a toilet designed for wheelchair users.
But what if you cannot transfer independently from your wheelchair? What if you need assistance from one or two people? What if you require a ceiling lift to transfer safely or need to lie down on an adult-sized changing bench?
Suddenly, that “accessible” toilet isn’t accessible at all.
For many people living in Denmark, this isn’t hypothetical. It is part of everyday life.
When the wheelchair symbol isn't enough
A Changing Places toilet is designed for people whose needs cannot be met by a conventional accessible toilet.
The difference is practical. A Changing Places facility provides significantly more space, a ceiling lift, an adult-sized, height-adjustable changing bench, and enough room for the person, their wheelchair, and, where needed, assistants.
These facilities can be essential for people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries, neurological and progressive conditions, profound and multiple disabilities and others who require assistance with personal care. We also need to remember people with stomas and other additional or invisible toilet needs, older people and the carers supporting them.
This is not luxury equipment. For the people who need it, it is simply what makes going to the toilet possible.
And this is where Denmark has a problem.
Our building regulations already require accessible toilets. BR18 addresses things such as access, manoeuvring space, the positioning of the toilet and washbasin and support rails.
But the specialist equipment at the heart of a Changing Places facility – particularly an adult changing bench and ceiling lift – is not part of those basic requirements.
So we can construct a public building, meet the required accessibility provisions and still have a toilet that some disabled people cannot use.
That is a gap I believe we need to address.
“Imagine being qualified, willing and able to work, but the building where you are expected to spend your working day doesn’t have a toilet you can use.”
When it becomes personal
I became involved with the Changing Places movement around two years ago, but my understanding of the problem began long before that.
My son Bjørn is a wheelchair user with complex disabilities and requires full assistance.
When you live with that reality, accessibility stops being an abstract discussion about measurements, doors and symbols. You quickly learn to look at places differently.
Families like ours become very good at planning.
Before going somewhere, you find yourself asking questions other families rarely need to consider. What facilities are available? Is there somewhere suitable for personal care? Can we safely transfer him? How long can we realistically stay?
And sometimes the alternative is something none of us should find acceptable: adults and older children being changed on toilet floors.
Think about that for a moment.
We wouldn’t consider a public toilet floor an acceptable place to change a baby. Yet people with disabilities can find themselves with no other option.
That was one reason I became determined to push Changing Places forward in Denmark.
During the past two years, that work has grown into Changing Places Danmark. We have been raising awareness, identifying and certifying facilities and talking to businesses, architects, manufacturers, municipalities and organisations about what is actually needed.
And the more I have become involved, the clearer it has become that we cannot rely entirely on a few organisations and businesses choosing to do this voluntarily.
A toilet should never decide whether you can work
Recently, this issue received much-needed attention in the Danish media through the experience of Antoniett Vebel Pharao, a young woman with muscular dystrophy.
Her story brought home the consequences of what we are talking about.
Antoniett has spoken publicly about how the lack of appropriate toilet facilities affects her ability to be away from home for long periods – including something as fundamental as being able to go to work.
Imagine being qualified, willing and able to work, but the building where you are expected to spend your working day doesn’t have a toilet you can use.
The choices become unacceptable ones: drink less, hold it, leave early or don’t go.
This is where the discussion becomes much bigger than bathrooms.
We talk a great deal about getting more people with disabilities into employment and creating a more inclusive labour market. But inclusion cannot simply mean giving someone a desk and step-free access to the building.
The basic facilities have to be there too.
Antoniett’s decision to speak publicly about something so personal has put much-needed attention on an issue that many families and disabled people have quietly dealt with for years.
Three countries, one shared purpose
Last week, I travelled to Göteborg to meet with people from Sweden and Norway who, like me, are trying to change the way we think about accessible toilets.
We were also joined by White Arkitekter, which was particularly valuable because if we really want to change things, architects need to be part of the conversation too.
We are not all working under the Changing Places name. Veronica and Victoria have their own project in Sweden, but they strongly believe in the principles behind the Changing Places movement and, importantly, we all want the same thing: toilets that people with more complex needs can actually use.
Sitting around that table made me realise just how much has happened in two years.
When I started Changing Places Danmark, much of my time was spent explaining what a Changing Places toilet actually was and why we needed them. Now I was sitting with people from three countries talking about what we had learned, what was working, what wasn’t and where we could help each other.
And that makes sense to me.
If Bjørn travels with us to Sweden, his needs don’t change when we cross the bridge. A Swedish family visiting Denmark faces exactly the same problem if the toilet they arrive at doesn’t have the equipment their son or daughter needs.
We don’t need three countries constantly reinventing the wheel. We can learn from each other, share knowledge and hopefully make our voices a little louder by working together.
We also talked about something I feel very strongly about: the Changing Places name has to mean something.
If I look at a map and plan a family day out because a venue says it has a Changing Places toilet, I need to know what will be waiting behind that door. Is there a ceiling lift? Is there a proper adult-sized changing bench? Is there enough space? Can Bjørn actually use it?
Families shouldn’t arrive and discover that someone’s idea of a Changing Places toilet is simply a slightly larger accessible bathroom.
That is also why having architects involved matters. It is far easier to create the right space when a building is being designed than to discover afterwards that the room is too small, the ceiling cannot take a lift or there isn’t enough space for a changing bench.
Those are the kinds of practical conversations we need more of.
Now Denmark needs to act
For the past two years, much of my work with Changing Places Danmark has been about asking people to listen, understand the need and, where possible, choose to create better facilities.
And some have. We are beginning to see progress.
But I don’t believe we can rely on goodwill alone.
I would like to see Danish politicians look seriously at what we currently call an accessible toilet and whether our building regulations go far enough.
That doesn’t mean putting a Changing Places facility into every café, restaurant or small business. That would neither be practical nor necessary.
But I do believe we need a serious discussion about requiring them in major new public buildings and developments where large numbers of people are expected to spend significant amounts of time.
Hospitals, shopping centres, transport hubs, universities, cultural venues, arenas, tourist attractions and other major public destinations should all be part of that conversation.
There is precedent for this. England changed its building regulations to require Changing Places toilets in certain new large public buildings.
Denmark doesn’t have to copy another country’s model. But we should at least be asking why our own regulations allow us to continue constructing major public buildings that we already know some people will not be able to use fully.
And we need architects, municipalities and developers asking the question much earlier: who might not be able to use the toilet we are designing?
If accessibility expertise is involved while a building is still on the drawing board, the solutions become much easier.
So, what needs to change?
Changing Places Danmark will continue working with facilities, providing guidance and certification, raising awareness and strengthening our cooperation across the Nordic countries.
But we also need the people making decisions about Denmark’s buildings and public spaces to join us.
So my invitation is simple.
If you are a politician, architect, municipality, developer or organisation responsible for a public space, talk to us.
If you are planning a new building or renovation, involve accessibility expertise before the drawings are finished.
And if you already have a facility that you believe could meet Changing Places standards, let us know. We can help assess it and make sure people who need it can find it.
Because ultimately this is not about asking for something extravagant.
It is about being able to go to work without worrying about whether you can use the toilet.
It is about a family being able to enjoy a full day out together.
It is about dignity, independence and being part of everyday life.
We have spent long enough explaining why these toilets are needed.
Now it is time to start building them. Contact: Team Lead - Lyndsay Jensen (lyndsay@changingplaces.dk)
