North Cowichan report details ‘hysteria’ and fight resulting from man in women’s change room at aquatic centre
‘I was showering naked and a man came in the change room. This was completely unacceptable.’
A North Cowichan internal investigation into a “verbal and physical” altercation resulting from a man in the women’s change room at Cowichan Aquatic Centre one year ago has made five recommendations.
But none of those recommendations address the root cause of the incident — public concern over an adult male, in this case a father, allowed in the same change and shower area as females.
An investigation report obtained by sixmountains.ca through freedom-of-information states that the dispute erupted on Mar. 23, 2024, between two families near the front desk.
"The incident stemmed from a male in the female change room,” the report says. “Verbal incident that lead to a physical fight between families, with young children involved/witnessed the fight.”
Here’s the described timeline of events:
— 5 pm: Family #1, including the adult male, “used the female change room and exited and proceeded to swim.”
— 5:45 pm: one of two adult women from Family #2 complains about a naked man in the women’s change room. The aquatics programmer, identified only as Betty, informs the front-desk reception clerk, Janet, that “staff cannot discriminate by gender and usage of change rooms.” Another complaint is received, but neither staffer enters the change room to investigate.
— 6:10 pm: as the pool is closing for the evening, two other female patrons advise Betty they are “not comfortable with a male in the female change room.” Betty informs the two female patrons that the “policy states that he is allowed in there as long as he is following our code of conduct.” The male re-enters the female change room.
— 6:25 pm: Janet hears “screaming down the hallway” coming from Family #1 and Family #2. The male from Family #1 tells Family #2 that he was in the “female change room to help change the children in his family.” Janet then witnesses a female from Family #1 knock the cell phone out of the hands of an adult from Family #2. A fight ensues between the two families, and Janet witnesses a baby head’s from Family #1 “hit the wall.” The report describes a tense situation: “lots of hysteria, children were crying, male from Family #1 was screaming ‘you assaulted my child.’”
— 7 pm: RCMP arrive to question Family #1, and a woman from Family #2 who returned to the aquatic centre.
Several "customer comment” cards were filled out that evening.
One read: “It is NOT ok for a straight up man to go in the women’s change room. He identifies as a man, too…”
Another read: “I was showering naked and a man came in the change room. This was completely unacceptable. A dad and his family in the female change room with young girls. Wrong.”
The investigation ultimately fizzled out because the various parties declined to participate further or return phone calls. RCMP spokesperson Alex Bérubé confirmed Tuesday the case is closed.
The municipal report did make five recommendations, but none relate to the question of whether men should be in a female change room:
— Implement regular training sessions for staff on conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques.
— Increase the presence of security personnel during peak hours and consider installing additional surveillance cameras in high-traffic areas.
— Launch a campaign to educate patrons on acceptable behavior and the consequences of inappropriate actions within the facility.
— Review and update the current incident reporting protocol to ensure timely and efficient documentation and response to such incidents.
— Establish a formal partnership with the local RCMP Victim Services to facilitate better communication and collaboration in handling incidents that require law enforcement involvement.
On Tuesday, Barb Floden, North Cowichan communications manager, said: "I can confirm that all five recommendations have been actioned or are in process of being actioned."
The aquatic centre posts signs referencing the municipality’s Respectful Spaces Bylaw: https://www.northcowichan.ca/media/488.
It also clearly marks the male and female change rooms as well as a “gender diverse” universal change room that allows people to change in cubicles rather than in front of others.
CHEK News coverage of the incident: https://cheknews.ca/man-using-womens-changeroom-in-north-cowichan-sparks-anti-trans-hate-1196857/
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— Larry Pynn, Mar. 11, 2025
