Student activists are calling on universities to install sanitary towel bins in men’s toilets so that biologically female transgender students who use them do not face discrimination.

The Mail on Sunday has found that equality rights campaigners at three leading universities have called for the changes – resulting in family groups branding the move ‘madness’.

They include Southampton Student Union, which has drawn up a ‘Trans Inclusion Policy’, in which ‘trans’ is defined as a ‘wide umbrella term, covering those who transcend traditional boundaries of gender and sex, those who are gender variant, and those whose gender identity does not match their assigned gender’.

Student activists are calling on universities to install sanitary towel bins in men’s toilets so that biologically female transgender students who use them do not face discrimination (file photo)

It says the majority of ‘negative experiences’ among trans students was caused by single-sex toilets and changing rooms.

It says: ‘All suggestions for improvement included either increasing the number of gender neutral toilets available, or adding sanitary bins to male toilets for men who menstruate.’

Students at Cardiff University and Birmingham University are also pressing for the change.

Although there are no official figures, the National Union of Students has estimated that there are up to 28,000 trans students in UK universities, out of about 2.3 million.

The Mail on Sunday has found that equality rights campaigners at three leading universities have called for the changes – resulting in family groups branding the move ‘madness’

Chris Hall, of Universities UK’s Equality Challenge Unit, said: ‘Trans staff and students should be consulted to understand their requirements. It’s important institutions are supportive.’

But Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘This underlines the madness of the gender ideologues.