A woman has filed legal action against the city of Vienna after being forced to pay for a public toilet while her male friend used one for free. Melanie Gradik, 27, was visiting a park in Austria when she noticed the double standard: her male companion could use an open urinal without charge, but she had to pay €0.50 (£0.43) to access a locked cubicle.
Legal complaint filed
Ms Gradik has submitted an official legal complaint against the city, arguing that charging exclusively for cubicle access violates anti-discrimination laws. She branded the charge a glaring "example of how women are treated unequally in everyday life".
Speaking about the incident, Ms Gradik said: "I was in a park with a friend and we both needed to use the bathroom. He could go for free, but I had to pay 50 cents. I thought to myself, 'how is that possible?'"
Equal footing demand
She added: "I want everyone to be able to use the bathroom on an equal footing. Either we all pay 50 cents or no one pays 50 cents." Since men can use urinals for free while women almost always require a cubicle, the 43p charge effectively amounts to a tax on female visitors.
City defends policy
Local authorities have defended the controversial policy. Sandra Holzinger, a spokesperson for the municipality, said: "In very busy locations with intensive use it is necessary for organisational reasons to ensure supervision in order to guarantee proper use and cleanliness."
"In these 29 facilities, a usage fee of 50 cents must be paid for the use of cubicles by people of all genders," she continued, adding that urinals were introduced to ensure the prevention of fouling, which is caused by urinating in public spaces.
Despite the city's defence, critics point out that maintaining urinals and cubicles incurs similar operational costs, leaving women unfairly out of pocket for a basic human need.
