A genuinely chilling story, and an even more disturbing psychological outcome. Are you taking note of this very serious and very real effect, Sturgeon and your ideologically pandering cronies? No, of course you are not.
This is the logical outcome of your 'policies', and you should all be held to account. For each rape or attack inflicted on a woman who then feels unable to report it, or afraid to seek help for it, from the very services that have need set up to do so, let's add another 10 years onto your prison sentence. IT IS YOUR FAULT! This cannot be allowed to go unopposed.
What a disgusting and unprincipled environment for women there is developing in Scotland. Utter shame on the authorities that have not only allowed this shocking and disgustingly dangerous state of affairs, but are actively encouraging and seemingly promoting it.
She happens to be a friend of mine and that brings home to me the message of the state of fear that this poor woman feels now, after the brutal attack.
Shame on the Scottish authorities, government enablers and Sturgeon's gender and self ID enforcers and her ideological acolytes. For absolute shame on you all.
She is ok. She is tough, and has support I know. We shouldn't even be discussing this, of course though. What a nightmare for her and others in similar situations. And we know who to blame, and we MUST blame them, and then effect rapid change.
This is so distressing and rage-inducing, to read. I cannot begin to imagine how your friend is coping but am so pleased to read she has support. My thoughst are with her. I have only contempt for Wadhwa and ERCC
Seeing this published and also seeing and hearing others talking about the incident helps her a lot she told me earlier. It helps ameliorate the deep shame she feels.
I am glad it helps even a little. I hope she knows the sheer incandescent rage I, and many others, feel at what has been done to her and that it is her feeling the shame not others. I hope that eases and passes with time - it is not hers to carry.
Wonderful words, if I may say so. That is the impression she gives me. Sharing this story, as beak as it is for her - even amongst like-minded strangers - helps, and will continue to do so over time.
Some great comments in here. I generally don't 'like' things because I'd end up having to like too many things, but I really appreciate the insights you all bring. And it's very easy to forget things like this from GetAwayFromHerYouBitch "And Wadhwa's partner was until a few months ago the CEO of a business that is mopping up contracts for services that have been lost by women-only organisations. £££ and narcissism. It's a heady combination."
Thanks for posting. It’s easy to get caught up in Twitter fights but by god this is who we are fighting for. I’m so sorry this happened, and sorry she felt she couldn’t access the support and service she is entitled to. Raging doesn’t even cover it.
Should add that rape crisis centres were set up by WOMEN at a time when marital rape wasn’t a criminal offence and victims were treated horribly by police in many cases. How dare these males appropriate OUR services and ignore women’s trauma, just as they did then?
I find it strange that people do not see the Rachel Dolezal connection. Her being president of the NAACP chapter of Spokane, Washington, was incredibly inappropriate. I remember watching the documentary about her on Netflix and I remember one scene in particular where a black woman confronts her (kindly) and says to her that she loves her style, but that doesn’t make her black. Basically you can’t identify into blackness. Being black from birth affects the way your life unfolds in a profound depending on where you live, similarly, Being a woman profoundly affects how your unfolds. The genetic differences between a black person and a white person and a male and a female are far smaller. The genes that make a person black simply involve melanin production. The genes that make you a man or a woman have a profound effect on your physiology.
If black Americans can rightly object to a white woman pretending to be black by changing her appearance and serving as the chapter president of the NAACP, why can’t women object to a man masquerading as a woman running a rape crisis shelter?
I agree re the SNP. I don't want to get into the pros and cons of the Union/Scottish Independence, but it seems to me that a lot of Scottish voters (many unwittingly) have given away women's rights in return for the promise of autonomy.
Not me. I voted NO last time and will do so again when the time comes ! Never could stand the SNP anyway but I never dreamt they could sink so low ,especially all the female MPs ( of all parties ) who support th e horror that is self ID .The huge irony of all this is that the TORIES are now the least supportive of it !!
I support independence, but not if it comes with the cost of Sturgeon's way of doing things. She is dangerous, and recklessly useless. Everything she's touched, since coming into office in 2014, has turned to shite. I won't stand for a Scotland where women are unsafe, and where none of us are allowed to express legitimate concerns about the direction of policy: concerns which could land us in prison for thoughtcrime. What has become of our country?
I know. I can't vote for any of these parties that will allow self i.d. which is a shame, as I am not a natural supporter of the Tories, but this is where things are at.
Same here. Sadly ,all the other parties have fallen for the woke nonsense and have completely betrayed women and children !!Wish all those MPs ( of all parties ) who disagree with it would hand together and have the courage to speak up for truth and justice !!
The Women's Equality Party turned pretty foul fairly quickly in selling out the people (that would be women) they were set up for. It seems very difficult to stay true to founding ideals without being captured. Come on guys the clue is in the title! Maybe The Still Yet Even More Misogyny Party would be better.
The Conservatives actually conserving some elements of what was formerly known as reality might be a clue as to why they are appearing to be more sensible on this issue (at the moment). Green Party might stand for men with green hair? Who knows. Labour seems lost in a very big desert with Lib Ferring Dems. Alba? Plaid? Interesting who voted or failed to vote in Parli today.
Thank you for posting this story. It is enraging. I want to send my warmest wishes to her.
My local homeless hostel, run by St Mungo's, is a Stonewall champion, and allows GRC AND non-GRC-holding males access to its Womens Hostel, as a matter of policy. It knows about the Equality Act; knows it can exclude men, but it chooses not to. When challenged on this, after the Mail broke the story of Mark/Melissa Addis, a man convicted of domestic abuse, who harassed women there, it used its membership of Stonewall as part of its argument. St Mungo's said they they were proud to be trans-inclusive and were 'a top LGBT employer'...As if women who've ended up homeless give a shiny shit how happy Stonewall Membership makes those who are meant to be putting THEM first feel...
This is what makes me so angry, when I first learned about the issue, and having been a licensed social worker, I could see right away that there were some serious safeguarding issues involved. I think it’s a huge mistake to house Trans women and women together in places such as homeless shelters and prisons. The two populations are very different, with different needs, and it is frustratingly obvious that predatory individuals can exploit these policies.
Also- This is another situation where there are serious consequences. Homeless people die every year due to exposure. The thought of vulnerable women not going to a homeless shelter because they are afraid is terrifying.
No one is going to forget Mridil Wadhwa, at least no one who cares about the rights of women. It seems almost inconceivable that this is a real life situation, it's like scary fiction.
If Wadhwa was a woman touting some ideology as a way of judging and punishing highly vulnerable women she was supposed to be providing a service to, on religious grounds, for example, she wouldn't be considered suitable, she'd rightly be removed. And one fit to be in the positions they hold would be supporting her.
But Wadhwa isn't a woman, he is a misogynistic man who is not only judging, and enforcing the judgement of vulnerable women, he is potentially causing them further harm. And he's doing it with the consent and approval of people who could get rid of him. But instead they're yielding to the exponents of a toxic gender ideology.
How is this being allowed to happen? No one is trying to conceal what's going or hushing up the people responsible. They are saying this isn't just tolerable, it's right, it's meritorious. But I don't think it's madness, it's the result of the most chauvanist, exploitative and repugnant men getting what they want. They're not going to stop until they're made to stop.
And Wadhwa's partner was until a few months ago the CEO of a business that is mopping up contracts for services that have been lost by women-only organisations. £££ and narcissism. It's a heady combination.
I agree, I'm not even sure it's potentially causing further harm, I think it's become quite clear the damage this has done and is doing - the damage to those needing or seeking help and the damage to the reputation of ERCC. And the wider very chilling effect that discourages women from seeking help or even realising they deserve to receive it. It is fairly pointless 'encouraging' us to speak up when this happens and is part of a wider DARVO culture. Some of Mridul's quotes are seared so deep in my mind and I will not forget as I can't. Meanwhile they continue on at ERCC and SNP pretending we will all just wheesht. Who is protecting Mridul? And why? How did the glitter get stuck so deep?
You're absolutely right that stories like this seem like scary fiction. I feel exactly the same way about men being allowed to serve their sentence in women's prisons. This sounds to me like a dystopian horror story about a society that has so little respect for women prisoners it puts them in real and immediate danger from predatory men. But this really is happening - in Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere. Like a man running a Rape Crisis centre, it's an abominable scandal.
Unimportant, irrelevant but hey, if you do get the courage to speak up and need counsel, a little guilt tripping and indoctrination won’t hurt, right ?
This leaves me with a feeling that this is actually a weird perversion, under the guise of guidance and healing.
Spot on. Some people target vulnerable people, which many others just can't admit or get their heads around. Prefer to look away. When you have people gaining advantage - in this case career and business advantage - you hope it couldn't ever be state sanctioned. But here we are. Again. Those who have compared it to the abuses of the Catholic Church and other religious organisations and children's homes are sadly spot on. And that extends to the cover ups too.
The account above is heartbreaking- no one should feel unsafe accessing a crisis center or calling the police due to fear of being characterized as a bigot, having no guarantees about being able to work with someone who is the same sex, and worse, concern that your views, if expressed could be viewed as criminal. I really hope that in the meantime, that the woman who wrote the account above has found the support necessary to seek legal redress against the man who inflicted serious physical and emotional injuries in her.
It is my hope that the SNP will be forced to reckon with their appalling policies at the ballot box. These policies are inherently misogynistic, and do not protect women.
Absolutely appalling that a woman feels like this when she should be cared for and protected. We are losing what we fought hard for, just to appease a handful of entitled male fetishists!!! So angry!!!!
I am hoping some of the Women's organisations mentioned here will be collecting any information they can, often from media reports or social media mentions. Maybe Karen Ingala Smith or Baroness Nicholson? Collecting data seems something many state bodies have a few problems remembering how to do properly (or at all). I was even collecting a spreadsheet of social media mentions/media reports of dodgy Covid testing companies at one point as I couldn't believe what was appearing to be happening in front of my eyes with little official comment. Seems a fair few others were too, thank goodness.
It might be worth alerting the relevant local Edinburgh MPs or whichever constituency that person is based in. There's also Joanna Cherry of course :-)
Yes, maybe I'm naive, but surely it must be possible to get this p.o.s removed from his job? Is anyone trying to, at least? That's a campaign I would back. Especially if he doesn't even have a GRC. Surely he is taking a reserved-for-natal-females job?
This is now pervasive. I saw a job ad for Suffolk Rape Crisis recently. The ad was in green and purple and talked about SRC being a woman centred service. But in the small print of the person spec, there it was: 'applications are welcomed from transwomen'.
In the 80s I helped to set up a Rape Crisis centre as a volunteer. We were a small group of women and we did it on a shoestring. We had fundraising discos, applied for grants and our centre was 'by women for women'. As RCCs began to receive more mainstream funding, the funding could be made conditional. The term 'CEO of a Rape Crisis centre' still feels like an oxymoron to me.
My guess is that women will once again somehow find the energy, alongside looking after their kids and doing their jobs, to set up women only services for survivors of rape and domestic abuse, on their own terms and with women's safety and needs put first. But it's so galling that women have to do this all over again - and what about the women like your friend who need this support NOW, not in a year or two's time?
Support from local authorities, central government funding and other fundraising. The amounts of money I know slosh around and are not getting to people who need it is scandalous. Stonewall earn a pretty penny and there is a lot up for grabs if you're good at putting in funding applications while other services and the communities they serve are starved of funds.
Women (and men) who know what they are doing have been speaking out about the reduction in safe spaces for women - and only women and girls - and been silenced. I am furious.
Exactly. If there is existing 'provision' they are unlikely to fund 'other' provision for actual women, that's women who identify as women, because they are women not because they 'identify into' being that. It will be up to individuals - local decision-makers and those determining funding - to decide and to justify it. It will take noticing and spotting where it's happening. And it will be up to those managing those services to reinforce single sex provision and fight the accusations of 'transphobia' which is another burden for already stretched services. Many in women's services have spoken out for years, but anonymously as they are too scared about losing funding as has already happened across the UK.
Some women's refuges and rape crisis support services have said they are still single sex, and will uphold that, but it differs across the UK. Some Stonewalled services and locations have been allowing any men in who 'identify' as women or girls, as in self ID, for a while and not so under the radar. There have been incidents. It would help where local PCCs or other services and agencies work well and know what's happening on their patch. It also depends how Stonewalled the local police and politicians are. Or local NHS as these are sometimes the referring or signposting bodies, or who identify vulnerability and are purse holders.
But most of these decision makers NHS, police etc, are captured. It's now a lottery as to whether men are excluded or not. And the funding will be peanuts compared to what these big male-inclusive organisations get. Women again being marginalised while men get the lion's share. Women being pushed out of their own services by men. Is this where we are at in 2021? It's unbelievable. It's like we are starting all over again. I know women will apreciate these efforts, but why should we have to do this? It shouldn't be at the discretion of organisations or agencies. It should be enshrined in law that only women can use these spaces.
Agree but hope it's starting to change. We shouldn't have to and it's not at their discretion, but for some odd reason some like to pretend it is. It is very strange that it is enshrined in laws, for very good and clear reasons, yet some are now choosing to misread, ignore or misapply those laws. When the rule of law has gone I'm not sure what's next. These recent cases where the police are acting outside of, or stretching, the application of laws are more and more bizarre and it's as if some of them think no one is noticing.
I am very tempted to give or withdraw my support where it will count, but am aware that this will mean funding might get pulled from places and women that need it, so inevitably women will suffer. Women are in a lose lose position thanks to a very small proportion of very selfish activists and some truly ignorant in positions of authority. And then some 'be nice' people who are clueless or easily influenced waiting to see which way the wind is blowing.
I don't like to boycott or withdraw support but it looks like the only option sometimes. In particular when those seeking support may not be directed, or know where else they will get support. We need to be smart and ensure other support for women and girls is active and funded.
And someone needs to get the head of ERCC to stop saying such unbelievably ignorant, vile, callous and retraumatising things and being asked to speak in public as some representative of rape crisis services. And if this can't be stopped, they need to be relieved of their position. It is doing untold damage.
A genuinely chilling story, and an even more disturbing psychological outcome. Are you taking note of this very serious and very real effect, Sturgeon and your ideologically pandering cronies? No, of course you are not.
This is the logical outcome of your 'policies', and you should all be held to account. For each rape or attack inflicted on a woman who then feels unable to report it, or afraid to seek help for it, from the very services that have need set up to do so, let's add another 10 years onto your prison sentence. IT IS YOUR FAULT! This cannot be allowed to go unopposed.
What a disgusting and unprincipled environment for women there is developing in Scotland. Utter shame on the authorities that have not only allowed this shocking and disgustingly dangerous state of affairs, but are actively encouraging and seemingly promoting it.
She happens to be a friend of mine and that brings home to me the message of the state of fear that this poor woman feels now, after the brutal attack.
Shame on the Scottish authorities, government enablers and Sturgeon's gender and self ID enforcers and her ideological acolytes. For absolute shame on you all.
I'm so sorry this happened to your friend.
She is ok. She is tough, and has support I know. We shouldn't even be discussing this, of course though. What a nightmare for her and others in similar situations. And we know who to blame, and we MUST blame them, and then effect rapid change.
This is so distressing and rage-inducing, to read. I cannot begin to imagine how your friend is coping but am so pleased to read she has support. My thoughst are with her. I have only contempt for Wadhwa and ERCC
Seeing this published and also seeing and hearing others talking about the incident helps her a lot she told me earlier. It helps ameliorate the deep shame she feels.
I am glad it helps even a little. I hope she knows the sheer incandescent rage I, and many others, feel at what has been done to her and that it is her feeling the shame not others. I hope that eases and passes with time - it is not hers to carry.
Wonderful words, if I may say so. That is the impression she gives me. Sharing this story, as beak as it is for her - even amongst like-minded strangers - helps, and will continue to do so over time.
Me too
Some great comments in here. I generally don't 'like' things because I'd end up having to like too many things, but I really appreciate the insights you all bring. And it's very easy to forget things like this from GetAwayFromHerYouBitch "And Wadhwa's partner was until a few months ago the CEO of a business that is mopping up contracts for services that have been lost by women-only organisations. £££ and narcissism. It's a heady combination."
I think you should avoid liking any comments. You never know who might unsubscribe if they get jealous!
Might start posting comments on the blog so non-subvscribers can see what they're missing!
It's some of my best work! Well, most aggressive and angry anyway!
Seriously, that is a good idea...
Thanks for posting. It’s easy to get caught up in Twitter fights but by god this is who we are fighting for. I’m so sorry this happened, and sorry she felt she couldn’t access the support and service she is entitled to. Raging doesn’t even cover it.
Should add that rape crisis centres were set up by WOMEN at a time when marital rape wasn’t a criminal offence and victims were treated horribly by police in many cases. How dare these males appropriate OUR services and ignore women’s trauma, just as they did then?
One would be hard pushed to think of a bigger 'fuck you' to women than this.
I find it strange that people do not see the Rachel Dolezal connection. Her being president of the NAACP chapter of Spokane, Washington, was incredibly inappropriate. I remember watching the documentary about her on Netflix and I remember one scene in particular where a black woman confronts her (kindly) and says to her that she loves her style, but that doesn’t make her black. Basically you can’t identify into blackness. Being black from birth affects the way your life unfolds in a profound depending on where you live, similarly, Being a woman profoundly affects how your unfolds. The genetic differences between a black person and a white person and a male and a female are far smaller. The genes that make a person black simply involve melanin production. The genes that make you a man or a woman have a profound effect on your physiology.
If black Americans can rightly object to a white woman pretending to be black by changing her appearance and serving as the chapter president of the NAACP, why can’t women object to a man masquerading as a woman running a rape crisis shelter?
Sturgeon's SNP is the reason he's in this position. Thank god Posie was there for her.
I agree re the SNP. I don't want to get into the pros and cons of the Union/Scottish Independence, but it seems to me that a lot of Scottish voters (many unwittingly) have given away women's rights in return for the promise of autonomy.
Not me. I voted NO last time and will do so again when the time comes ! Never could stand the SNP anyway but I never dreamt they could sink so low ,especially all the female MPs ( of all parties ) who support th e horror that is self ID .The huge irony of all this is that the TORIES are now the least supportive of it !!
I support independence, but not if it comes with the cost of Sturgeon's way of doing things. She is dangerous, and recklessly useless. Everything she's touched, since coming into office in 2014, has turned to shite. I won't stand for a Scotland where women are unsafe, and where none of us are allowed to express legitimate concerns about the direction of policy: concerns which could land us in prison for thoughtcrime. What has become of our country?
I know. I can't vote for any of these parties that will allow self i.d. which is a shame, as I am not a natural supporter of the Tories, but this is where things are at.
Same here. Sadly ,all the other parties have fallen for the woke nonsense and have completely betrayed women and children !!Wish all those MPs ( of all parties ) who disagree with it would hand together and have the courage to speak up for truth and justice !!
Or form a new party. I would vote for them.
The Women's Equality Party turned pretty foul fairly quickly in selling out the people (that would be women) they were set up for. It seems very difficult to stay true to founding ideals without being captured. Come on guys the clue is in the title! Maybe The Still Yet Even More Misogyny Party would be better.
The Conservatives actually conserving some elements of what was formerly known as reality might be a clue as to why they are appearing to be more sensible on this issue (at the moment). Green Party might stand for men with green hair? Who knows. Labour seems lost in a very big desert with Lib Ferring Dems. Alba? Plaid? Interesting who voted or failed to vote in Parli today.
Or SDP - they've set themselves up again. Not sure if they've got to Scotland yet, but....
Thank you for posting this story. It is enraging. I want to send my warmest wishes to her.
My local homeless hostel, run by St Mungo's, is a Stonewall champion, and allows GRC AND non-GRC-holding males access to its Womens Hostel, as a matter of policy. It knows about the Equality Act; knows it can exclude men, but it chooses not to. When challenged on this, after the Mail broke the story of Mark/Melissa Addis, a man convicted of domestic abuse, who harassed women there, it used its membership of Stonewall as part of its argument. St Mungo's said they they were proud to be trans-inclusive and were 'a top LGBT employer'...As if women who've ended up homeless give a shiny shit how happy Stonewall Membership makes those who are meant to be putting THEM first feel...
See:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6894599/When-man-called-Mark-locked-threatening-kill-mother-child.html
One day the BBC and the Guardian will report these events. But today is not that day
This is what makes me so angry, when I first learned about the issue, and having been a licensed social worker, I could see right away that there were some serious safeguarding issues involved. I think it’s a huge mistake to house Trans women and women together in places such as homeless shelters and prisons. The two populations are very different, with different needs, and it is frustratingly obvious that predatory individuals can exploit these policies.
Well and clearly said Lydia thank you.
Aww thank you
Also- This is another situation where there are serious consequences. Homeless people die every year due to exposure. The thought of vulnerable women not going to a homeless shelter because they are afraid is terrifying.
No one is going to forget Mridil Wadhwa, at least no one who cares about the rights of women. It seems almost inconceivable that this is a real life situation, it's like scary fiction.
If Wadhwa was a woman touting some ideology as a way of judging and punishing highly vulnerable women she was supposed to be providing a service to, on religious grounds, for example, she wouldn't be considered suitable, she'd rightly be removed. And one fit to be in the positions they hold would be supporting her.
But Wadhwa isn't a woman, he is a misogynistic man who is not only judging, and enforcing the judgement of vulnerable women, he is potentially causing them further harm. And he's doing it with the consent and approval of people who could get rid of him. But instead they're yielding to the exponents of a toxic gender ideology.
How is this being allowed to happen? No one is trying to conceal what's going or hushing up the people responsible. They are saying this isn't just tolerable, it's right, it's meritorious. But I don't think it's madness, it's the result of the most chauvanist, exploitative and repugnant men getting what they want. They're not going to stop until they're made to stop.
And Wadhwa's partner was until a few months ago the CEO of a business that is mopping up contracts for services that have been lost by women-only organisations. £££ and narcissism. It's a heady combination.
Deeply depressing, highly unsurprising. But great times for misogynist, abusive con men to cash in.
I agree, I'm not even sure it's potentially causing further harm, I think it's become quite clear the damage this has done and is doing - the damage to those needing or seeking help and the damage to the reputation of ERCC. And the wider very chilling effect that discourages women from seeking help or even realising they deserve to receive it. It is fairly pointless 'encouraging' us to speak up when this happens and is part of a wider DARVO culture. Some of Mridul's quotes are seared so deep in my mind and I will not forget as I can't. Meanwhile they continue on at ERCC and SNP pretending we will all just wheesht. Who is protecting Mridul? And why? How did the glitter get stuck so deep?
You're absolutely right that stories like this seem like scary fiction. I feel exactly the same way about men being allowed to serve their sentence in women's prisons. This sounds to me like a dystopian horror story about a society that has so little respect for women prisoners it puts them in real and immediate danger from predatory men. But this really is happening - in Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere. Like a man running a Rape Crisis centre, it's an abominable scandal.
Pushing back women, in crisis, further back.
Unimportant, irrelevant but hey, if you do get the courage to speak up and need counsel, a little guilt tripping and indoctrination won’t hurt, right ?
This leaves me with a feeling that this is actually a weird perversion, under the guise of guidance and healing.
Nasty, and quite sickening!
Spot on. Some people target vulnerable people, which many others just can't admit or get their heads around. Prefer to look away. When you have people gaining advantage - in this case career and business advantage - you hope it couldn't ever be state sanctioned. But here we are. Again. Those who have compared it to the abuses of the Catholic Church and other religious organisations and children's homes are sadly spot on. And that extends to the cover ups too.
The account above is heartbreaking- no one should feel unsafe accessing a crisis center or calling the police due to fear of being characterized as a bigot, having no guarantees about being able to work with someone who is the same sex, and worse, concern that your views, if expressed could be viewed as criminal. I really hope that in the meantime, that the woman who wrote the account above has found the support necessary to seek legal redress against the man who inflicted serious physical and emotional injuries in her.
It is my hope that the SNP will be forced to reckon with their appalling policies at the ballot box. These policies are inherently misogynistic, and do not protect women.
Absolutely appalling that a woman feels like this when she should be cared for and protected. We are losing what we fought hard for, just to appease a handful of entitled male fetishists!!! So angry!!!!
I know someone who won't use the Ed RCC either. Who should it be reported to?
I am hoping some of the Women's organisations mentioned here will be collecting any information they can, often from media reports or social media mentions. Maybe Karen Ingala Smith or Baroness Nicholson? Collecting data seems something many state bodies have a few problems remembering how to do properly (or at all). I was even collecting a spreadsheet of social media mentions/media reports of dodgy Covid testing companies at one point as I couldn't believe what was appearing to be happening in front of my eyes with little official comment. Seems a fair few others were too, thank goodness.
It might be worth alerting the relevant local Edinburgh MPs or whichever constituency that person is based in. There's also Joanna Cherry of course :-)
I am seething but being enraged isn't enough and changes nothing.
How do we get Wadhwa removed?
Yes, maybe I'm naive, but surely it must be possible to get this p.o.s removed from his job? Is anyone trying to, at least? That's a campaign I would back. Especially if he doesn't even have a GRC. Surely he is taking a reserved-for-natal-females job?
So sorry to hear this. It made me want to cry. Thank goodness for Posie and everyone else fighting this.
Christ!
That’s terrifying. And totally - but totally - predictable.
This is now pervasive. I saw a job ad for Suffolk Rape Crisis recently. The ad was in green and purple and talked about SRC being a woman centred service. But in the small print of the person spec, there it was: 'applications are welcomed from transwomen'.
In the 80s I helped to set up a Rape Crisis centre as a volunteer. We were a small group of women and we did it on a shoestring. We had fundraising discos, applied for grants and our centre was 'by women for women'. As RCCs began to receive more mainstream funding, the funding could be made conditional. The term 'CEO of a Rape Crisis centre' still feels like an oxymoron to me.
My guess is that women will once again somehow find the energy, alongside looking after their kids and doing their jobs, to set up women only services for survivors of rape and domestic abuse, on their own terms and with women's safety and needs put first. But it's so galling that women have to do this all over again - and what about the women like your friend who need this support NOW, not in a year or two's time?
And where will the money come from?
Support from local authorities, central government funding and other fundraising. The amounts of money I know slosh around and are not getting to people who need it is scandalous. Stonewall earn a pretty penny and there is a lot up for grabs if you're good at putting in funding applications while other services and the communities they serve are starved of funds.
Women (and men) who know what they are doing have been speaking out about the reduction in safe spaces for women - and only women and girls - and been silenced. I am furious.
Will the LAs/gov be willing or able to fund them though, if the services refuse to allow trans women i.e. men to use them?
Exactly. If there is existing 'provision' they are unlikely to fund 'other' provision for actual women, that's women who identify as women, because they are women not because they 'identify into' being that. It will be up to individuals - local decision-makers and those determining funding - to decide and to justify it. It will take noticing and spotting where it's happening. And it will be up to those managing those services to reinforce single sex provision and fight the accusations of 'transphobia' which is another burden for already stretched services. Many in women's services have spoken out for years, but anonymously as they are too scared about losing funding as has already happened across the UK.
Some women's refuges and rape crisis support services have said they are still single sex, and will uphold that, but it differs across the UK. Some Stonewalled services and locations have been allowing any men in who 'identify' as women or girls, as in self ID, for a while and not so under the radar. There have been incidents. It would help where local PCCs or other services and agencies work well and know what's happening on their patch. It also depends how Stonewalled the local police and politicians are. Or local NHS as these are sometimes the referring or signposting bodies, or who identify vulnerability and are purse holders.
But most of these decision makers NHS, police etc, are captured. It's now a lottery as to whether men are excluded or not. And the funding will be peanuts compared to what these big male-inclusive organisations get. Women again being marginalised while men get the lion's share. Women being pushed out of their own services by men. Is this where we are at in 2021? It's unbelievable. It's like we are starting all over again. I know women will apreciate these efforts, but why should we have to do this? It shouldn't be at the discretion of organisations or agencies. It should be enshrined in law that only women can use these spaces.
Agree but hope it's starting to change. We shouldn't have to and it's not at their discretion, but for some odd reason some like to pretend it is. It is very strange that it is enshrined in laws, for very good and clear reasons, yet some are now choosing to misread, ignore or misapply those laws. When the rule of law has gone I'm not sure what's next. These recent cases where the police are acting outside of, or stretching, the application of laws are more and more bizarre and it's as if some of them think no one is noticing.
I am very tempted to give or withdraw my support where it will count, but am aware that this will mean funding might get pulled from places and women that need it, so inevitably women will suffer. Women are in a lose lose position thanks to a very small proportion of very selfish activists and some truly ignorant in positions of authority. And then some 'be nice' people who are clueless or easily influenced waiting to see which way the wind is blowing.
I don't like to boycott or withdraw support but it looks like the only option sometimes. In particular when those seeking support may not be directed, or know where else they will get support. We need to be smart and ensure other support for women and girls is active and funded.
And someone needs to get the head of ERCC to stop saying such unbelievably ignorant, vile, callous and retraumatising things and being asked to speak in public as some representative of rape crisis services. And if this can't be stopped, they need to be relieved of their position. It is doing untold damage.
Going to all this effort to establish new spaces because those which are rightfully ours already have been taken from us. It's not on. I'm SO angry.