The eight Darlington nurses were subjected to a “hostile, humiliating and degrading environment” by the NHS after a transgender male colleague was allowed to use female changing rooms, a judge has ruled. The Telegraph has more.

The group brought a claim against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust after Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman, was allowed to use the women’s changing facilities at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The nurses claimed the trans woman stared at colleagues, repeatedly asked one of them why she was not getting changed and walked round the room in boxer shorts.

The nurses filed the claim against the trust on the grounds of sexual harassment, discrimination, victimisation and breaches of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

In a judgment handed down on Friday, the tribunal concluded that the trust unlawfully discriminated against the female nurses by requiring them to share female-only changing rooms with their transgender colleague.

Employment Judge Sweeney and tribunal members Denise Newey and Malcolm Brain said that this “had the effect of violating the dignity” of the nurses and creating a “hostile, humiliating and degrading environment”.

Bethany Hutchison, a Darlington nurse who led the claim against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, called the ruling a “victory for common sense”.

She added: “Women deserve access to single-sex spaces without fear or intimidation. Forcing us to undress in front of a man was not only degrading but dangerous.

“Today’s ruling sends a clear message: the NHS cannot ignore women’s rights in the name of ideology. We stood up because we knew this was wrong. No woman should be forced to choose between her job and her safety.

“This ruling is a turning point, and we will keep fighting until every woman in the NHS is guaranteed the dignity and protection she deserves.”

Tracey Hooper, one of the nurses, told the tribunal she feared being branded a bigot if she reported her colleague and “kept quiet” because she thought “it would be seen as offensive”.

Karen Danson, another nurse, said encounters in the changing room had triggered a flashback to her own traumatic memories of child sexual abuse.

Read More: NHS “Violated Darlington Nurses’ Dignity”