Anti-trans graffiti has been written on a public toilet near Knaresborough Castle.
The message was spotted yesterday afternoon in the Castle Yard car park toilets by a woman who was visiting the town with friends.
The use of single-sex toilets has become a battleground for trans rights issues in recent years.
Trans rights campaigners believe that trans people should be able to use the toilet in whichever gender they identify as, however there has been pushback against this by some women who say it makes them feel uncomfortable.
The message read:
“Single-sex spaces matter. Trans women are men. Male pattern violence doesn’t decrease if a man ‘feels’ like a woman.”
Jess, who asked us not to use her surname, tweeted her disappointment at the message:
“What kind of hatred do you have to feel in your soul to write this…in the car park toilet of Knaresborough Castle?”
“Trans women are women and if your issue with trans women is male pattern violence then your issue is not with trans women your issue is with predatory men who would do anything to take advantage of or harm women.”
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Jess told the Stray Ferret that she found graffiti at about 2pm and it looked like someone had tried unsuccessfully to wipe the word ‘men’ from the message.
She described the sentiment of the message as “very vitriolic”, adding:
“And in such a strange place, it was really shocking to sit down and see it.”
Leanora Wassel, chair of local LGBT charity Pride In Diversity Harrogate said there was some anti-trans feeling in the area but graffiti was rare.
She said:
“We as a community find anti-trans abuse abhorrent. It’s important we stand together.”
Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the car park, said today the graffiti had been removed.