‘Children safety is number one:’ Nanaimo mother shines spotlight on disturbing incident at local pool

Wright said a person wearing a wig in a neighbouring women’s change room made an unmistakable and clear attempt to look under the stall at her daughter.

Wright confronted the person, who stated they had a human right to be there since they identified as female.

According to Wright, she responded by telling the person that this was not an issue of gender, but rather pedophilia.

She said she escorted the alleged peeper out of the change room.

Wright said a NAC staff member informed her that kicking people out of the change room was a human rights violation.

“I do feel very disheartened that the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre didn’t take into account the multiple complaints that there have been about this individual in the weeks leading up to this because if they had done something about it this incident would never had occurred,” Wright said.

Following the incident, Wright reported a complaint to Nanaimo RCMP and also took to Facebook to warn others.

The post quickly went viral, having been shared from her personal account more than 1,000 times so far and garnering well over 600 comments.

On Sunday, Feb. 5 Wright conducted an event where about 100 people showed up for the rally-style event where numerous people held signs.

A mix of people of all ages, including numerous children attended a rally style gathering where Wright spoke for a television interview. (Submitted photo)

Wright said going public with her story has been a nerve-wracking experience.

She said questioning the actions of someone who identifies as transgender was not meant to target a certain group based on their identity, but rather to illuminate an obvious safety issue requiring immediate action.

“Unfortunately due to the self-identification, it is now giving predators a loophole to appropriate transgender identity to gain access to our children. This is not an attack on the LGBTQ2+ community. I stand with them. However, we need to come up with a solution to ensure children’s safety.”

People of all ages attended an impromptu rally outside the Nanaimo Ice Centre on Sunday, Feb 5. (Submitted photo)

Wright said she’s been approached by several other people reporting multiple other similar occurrences at the NAC women’s change room in recent weeks.

While unsure where her unplanned advocacy to protect children from sexual exploitation is going, Wright said she isn’t staying silent.

“We need to speak out and we need to keep our children safe. Children safety is number one.”

Nanaimo RCMP confirm their detachment is looking into the complaint filed by Wright.

City of Nanaimo responds
In a detailed statement, the City of Nanaimo said there have been two reported incidents recently regarding the activities of a potential transgendered person at the NAC women’s change room.

“The City of Nanaimo takes these types of incidents very seriously and have a Code of Conduct to follow with a reporting procedure in place in all our recreational facilities,” the statement read, which noted their staff regularly do change room inspections as part of providing a safe and welcoming recreational environment.

The City stated their staff have been in contact with Nanaimo RCMP multiple times over the last two weeks to provide information regarding public complaints made at the NAC.

Alleged criminal behaviour by any patron is unacceptable and is a breach of their Code of Conduct and will be reported to the RCMP, the statement read.

“Further, facility bans are implemented when the Code of Conduct has been breached and the individual cannot commit to safe and respectful behaviour.”

Transgender individuals have the right to access gendered spaces, washrooms and change rooms corresponding to their felt gender as part of their human rights, the City stated.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

‘Children safety is number one:’ Nanaimo mother shines spotlight on disturbing incident at local pool

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