Charlotte Kirby: TikToker reveals chilling moment 2 men walked into unisex changing room she was using
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND: On Saturday, September 24, Charlotte Kirby was doing some shopping at a Primark store located in Cambridge and she headed towards the unisex changing room to try out the products when two guys pulled up the curtain she was behind. In order to raise awareness about incidents like this, Kirby shared her opinion on the event via her TikTok profile.
Kirby, 25, stated in the TikTok video's title, "Please be aware/spread the word and stay safe girls. Don't go in changing rooms alone. This never even crossed my mind when I went into a unisex changing room. Thank you @primark for dealing with this so well. I know worst things could have happened but I still feel very shaken up."
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Kirby said in the video, "I feel like I need to get the word out. I was just in Primark in Cambridge and I was trying on some clothes and it was a unisex changing room — which I'm all for and I love that because it makes everyone feel included. But twice men opened the curtain and walked in on me. Luckily, both times I was wearing clothes but I could easily not have been."
Kirby continued, "It was two different people but they were clearly from the same group. There was so many changing rooms available so it's not like they just were checking if someone was in there or not. The first time, the man just walked in and the second time he said before 'have you tried it on? Can I see?' and then he did it [opened the curtain]."
"Both times I was so shocked and I said 'oh, sorry' as if it was my fault," Kirby added. "I just want to say to everyone to please be careful. And if you are going in a changing room, don't go in on your own. I know I will never be doing that again." The Primark staff then reportedly escorted the shaken Kirby back to her car. On Monday, September 26, Primark tweeted, "We've received questions about an incident in our fitting rooms this weekend. We're sorry for the customer's experience & want to ensure this doesn't happen again."
We’ve received questions about an incident in our fitting rooms this weekend. We’re sorry for the customer's experience & want to ensure this doesn’t happen again. This is something we’ve been looking into to ensure everyone always feels safe & comfortable - we’ll share more soon
— Primark (@Primark) September 26, 2022
"This is something we've been looking into to ensure everyone always feels safe & comfortable - we'll share more soon," Primark concluded. Some anti-trans Twitter users condemned Primark's changing room policy as the hashtag "Boycott Primark" rose in popularity. The inexpensive clothing retailer made a move toward inclusive, gender-neutral changing areas earlier this year.
Prior to making them available across the country, Primark first introduced the facilities in 2019 at its Kent and Hastings stores. This is not unique to Primark stores. In recent years, there has been a trend among businesses toward gender-neutral facilities, from clothes outlets to gyms.