Amsterdam to build more public toilets, also for women, at a cost of €4 million

After years of discussion about the lack of public toilets for women in Amsterdam, the city is investing 4 million euros into rectifying the issue. The city cannot yet say how many public toilets it will add to the supply, but expects that the first new wheelchair and woman-friendly toilet will be installed this year, NOS reports.

The discussion around public toilets in Amsterdam started with student Geerte Piening. In 2015, she was fined for public urination. She challenged the fine in court, arguing that she had no choice but to pee in public because there were too few public toilets for women in the Amsterdam city center. The court ruled that the fine was justified because Piening could also have gone to a male urinal.

The ruling caused outrage among women in the city, who asked the authorities to explain how a woman should sit down and pee on a urinal built for men to stand and use. They protested by urinating in public en masse and demonstrating in at urinals. In 2020, the Amsterdam Court of Audit found that less than half of the city’s public toilets could easily be used by women or people in wheelchairs.

In 2018, the D66 submitted a motion to the city council, arguing for more public toilets that are accessible to everyone. The motion passed, and the city will start implementing it this year. The first new toilet will be installed in the Oosterpark in October, according to NH Nieuws.

More public toilets feel like a victory for Piening, even seven years after her lawsuit. “It took a while, but the fact that it is happening is very good,” she told the Amsterdam broadcaster AT5.