A nurse has recounted an emotional ordeal during a pivotal employment tribunal, describing how she was left “sobbing and shaking in a panic attack” after being required to share a changing room with a transgender coworker clad in boxer shorts.

Karen Danson, aged 46, is among seven nurses who are challenging a health trust on grounds of sexual discrimination and harassment. Their complaint centers around nurse Rose Henderson, who was assigned male at birth but now identifies as a woman, sharing female changing facilities.

The group contends that the actions of the County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust (CDDFT) contradict a Supreme Court decision from April, which clarified that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act pertain strictly to biological women and biological sex.

Among the supporters of this case is JK Rowling, the renowned author of the Harry Potter series and a vocal advocate for women’s rights, who stated prior to the tribunal: “Millions of women support them.”

Rose Henderson joined Darlington Memorial Hospital as an operating department practitioner in 2019. Recognizing Rose’s gender identity as female, the hospital provided a locker in a changing room that had previously been reserved for female nurses.

The tribunal has decided to address Henderson using the name “Rose” and the pronoun “they” throughout the legal proceedings.

A picture of Henderson was also shown at the tribunal after Ms Danson was asked if this image, taken from social media, was representative of how Rose presented at the time of the incident, which she said it was.

At the end of September 2023, Ms Danson said she encountered Henderson at close quarters, wearing just nursing scrubs on their upper half and tight black boxer shorts with holes in them.

In her witness statement, she said she had first encountered Henderson around August 2023 and thought that the colleague was male.

The tribunal was shown this image of Rose Henderson (pictured) after Ms Danson was asked if it was representative of how Rose presented at the time of the incident

Annice Grundy, Lisa Lockey, Jane Peveller, Karen Danson, Carly Hoy, Tracey Hooper and Bethany Hutchinson are the nurses taking on the health trust  

‘RH looked masculine, had facial hair, and there was nothing in RH’s appearance to suggest RH was anything other than a man,’ she said.

She added that when she heard a rumour a trans person had joined the trust she ‘expected a trans person to look and dress and generally present themselves as a woman’.

Giving evidence today, Ms Danson said that when she encountered Henderson in the changing room, they asked her three times whether she would be getting changed.

Ms Danson was horrified and told the tribunal that the incident reignited sex abuse trauma she suffered as a child.

In her evidence to the hearing in Newcastle she said: ‘I had walked into the changing room, and I had to walk past Rose Henderson’s locker to get to mine, which is right at the bottom of the L-shaped changing room.

‘Rose Henderson and I did not know each other at all, and we were alone in the changing room. I was rummaging through my bag trying to find the keys for my locker when I suddenly heard a male voice from behind my back asking, “Are you not getting changed yet?”

‘I simply said “No”. I kept rummaging through my bag and found my keys.

‘I opened the locker and started rummaging through it to find my cream. And then Rose Henderson’s voice again said, “Are you not getting changed yet?” I again said “No”.

‘I kept rummaging through my locker, but I was forgetting what I was looking for because all I could think about was: “Why is this man asking me if I am getting changed? Is he trying to provoke me for a reason?”

She said Henderson was standing just two metres away from her with no one else in the room.

She added: ‘I started messaging my husband, “Finished work. Just getting changed, see you soon”.

‘As I was typing, Rose Henderson once again said: “Are you not getting changed yet?”, asking that three times within the space of not even five minutes. 

‘Once again, I said “No”. Then a kind of “fight or flight” reaction kicked in. I literally felt like I was glued to my seat. I could not move. I felt sick. My hands were sweaty.

‘I did not know Rose Henderson at this point, and I did not know that he identified as a woman. It just seemed like there was a man in our changing room who wanted to watch me undress.’

Ms Danson said she ended up ‘shaking, hyperventilating and sweating’.

‘My eyes filled up with tears, which I was trying to hold back, but some of them might have rolled down my cheeks,’ she added. ‘I was quietly sobbing and rubbing my hands on my trousers because of the sweat.’

The nurse said the incident took her back to when she was sexually abused as a child.

‘I have reflected on the incident many times since,’ she said. ‘Rose Henderson must have known that I was very upset. He was only about a metre-and-a-half away from me. 

‘I was sobbing, shaking and breathing heavily due to a panic attack. Rose Henderson was smirking at me.’

The hearing heard that since the incident she has suffered daily nightmares and flashbacks.

Simon Cheetham, KC, for the hospital Trust, said Rose Henderson denied quizzing her about whether she was about to get changed.

Ms Danson is the first of the seven Darlington nurses who will be giving evidence detailing their distress at sharing changing rooms with their transgender colleague.

The others are Bethany Hutchison, 36; Annice Grundy, 56; Lisa Lockey, 52; Carly Hoy, 31; Tracey Hooper, 47, and Jane Peveller, 51.

They are bringing a claim for sexual harassment, discrimination, victimisation and breaches of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The hearing continues.