Teen calls for end to loo blues
Thirteen-year-old Nicole Thornton has described her daily bathroom battles to a select committee.
The Lower Hutt teenager, who lives with Crohn’s disease, made headlines last year when she presented a 3000-strong petition to Labour MP Trevor Mallard, asking for the right to use the toilets of any nearby workplace.
Nicole was back yesterday for a health select committee hearing, sharing her experience living with the disease and reasons why the Government should turn her petition into legislation.
Nicole was diagnosed with Crohn’s when she was 8. Her body’s immune system attacks healthy cells, causing serious inflammation and, on bad days, a desperate need to use a toilet.
‘‘It can be a scary thing,’’ she told the committee.
She said she couldn’t imagine anything worse than being out and having an accident because a store owner wouldn’t allow her to use the bathroom.
Her petition calls for people with debilitating health conditions such as Crohn’s, colitis and multiple sclerosis, and for pregnant women, to be able to access workplace bathrooms.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment representative Karl Woodhead said it didn’t support legislation requiring business to give toilet access.
‘‘One of the key issues [businesses] would face is around perceptions of liability in terms of workplace safety.’’
Businesses may be worried about costs if they need to improve facilities and smaller businesses may not have enough staff to cover their counter if someone needs to be escorted to the bathroom.
Instead, Woodhead suggested an education campaign, letting business owners know how to deal with situations people like Nicole found themselves in.
The health select committee will report back to the House.