Lengthy queues for the bathroom have long been a fact of life for women. Analysis now shows when lines are at their worst women wait 13 minutes, compared with men's nine. But a new proposal is trying to reduce those waits, by amending national building standards.
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00:00Libby trainer Parker knows how to draw a crowd, but when she's not on stage, she'll be racing
00:12half of them to the bathroom.
00:14As a performer, women's bathroom lines can be so hectic that it can delay the performance.
00:21I have been known to pop into the men's occasionally, but it gets really dire.
00:26The queues have been counted down to the minute by the Australian Building Codes Board.
00:31It's put forward a proposal to curb long bathroom queues at public entertainment venues.
00:37At the worst of queuing, we could see women queuing for 13 minutes, compared to only 9
00:41minutes for men.
00:42Research shows women use toilets more frequently, and take longer once inside due to menstruation,
00:47pregnancy and accompanying children.
00:50The board is proposing to relieve long wait times by altering a national building code.
00:55It would encourage states and territories to increase the number of cubicles built
00:58in women's bathrooms inside new theatres and cinemas.
01:02A small facility of a target capacity of 300 people would have, at the moment, four closet
01:09pans for women.
01:11Under our revised proposal, that would increase by 50% to six.
01:16Under the proposed changes, the agency says wait times for women during busy periods could
01:21be reduced by around 50%, but they would still have to wait three to seven minutes
01:26longer than men across different venue sizes.
01:30Experts say other improvements could also help long wait times.
01:34Improving access to gender neutral or accessible toilets for families, for people who are trans
01:42and gender diverse.
01:43It would certainly help to keep shows on track, to keep them on time.
01:48Time better spent for performers and patrons alike.
01:51For more UN videos visit www.un.org