The day Nikki Penrice was shouted at by a member of the public for using a disabled toilet she just crumpled.
She had just got over a major operation for bowel cancer and was wearing a stoma. She needed the extra space and privacy disabled toilets afforded, but was left devasted and angry after the stranger accused her of not having a disability and of being inconsiderate.
Nikki, 36, put the woman straight and she quickly apologised, but it got her thinking.
She knew she was not alone in living with a hidden disability and feeling anxious about using accessible toilets, so she joined Colostomy UK’s purple sticker campaign to change public perception towards the people with many different disabilities who need to use these facilities.
The idea is that stickers are also a visual guide for people with disabilities that the toilets meet a specific criteria– they should have a hook, mirror, sanitary bucket, sink and surface space.
Nikki and her son Reggie, seven, want residents and businesses across Oxfordshire to get involved.
Nikki, who was pregnant with her daughter Connie, now three, when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, said: “I never expected motherhood to be challenged by cancer, but during my pregnancy that’s exactly what happened and on top of that, it all happened during COVID.
“I had to have an emergency operation to remove the tumour in January 2022, and two days later I was fitted with a stoma. During my time of wearing the stoma I had to use disabled toilets and on one occasion was confronted by a lady who was very rude just because she couldn’t see my disability.
“I told her just because you cannot see my disability it does not mean I don’t have one – I wear a stoma. She was horrified and apologised but the damage had already been done. Since then, my stoma has been reversed, but I realised that other people will still be going through this and may not feel confident to respond.
“I want to make things comfortable so people feel confident going into a disabled toilet. Just because you don’t have a walking stick or are not in a wheelchair, it doesn’t mean you don’t need the facilities offered by disabled toilets.”
The Hummingbird Centre, a cancer support centre based in Launton, near Bicester, which supported both Nikki and Reggie, is the first establishment to proudly display the purple sticker thanks to Nikki’s campaign.
The Hummingbird Centre founder Mechelle Harris said: “We are delighted to support Nikki and Reggie’s purple sticker campaign. This is a really important campaign in terms of both changing public perception of who need to use disabled facilities; and to make people aware at a glance that the toilet will meet their needs.”
Nikki and Reggie, who live in Banbury, have set themselves a target of getting 50 establishments in Bicester and Banbury to sign up by the end of this year. This could include a pub, restaurants, coffee shops, stores, work places, basically anywhere that has disabled toilets.
Anyone interested in taking part should contact Mechelle Harris at The Hummingbird Centre can email mechelle@thehummingbirdcentre.org.uk