Vancouver City Council responded to my complaint re VRR funding

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

And I'm utterly raging. They don't give a damn about women and children. This is outrageous!

Hope you can all read it.

[definitelygc]

Not a single word about how this decision will affect women who have been raped. What utter bastards.

[PaleBlueMoonlight]

Do VRR accept transmen and women who identify as gender diverse or two spirit?

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

They truly don't give a shit. I'm so damned angry right now.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

They accept those born female which is as it should be

[LynnSchmob]

The man thing is penis owners get their own way. As usual.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

I feel so damned deflated at the moment. I want to compose a response but need to calm down first.

[definitelygc]

Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

Thanks @definitelygc

It's just so heartbreaking to have it spelled out to you just how little the world cares about women.

[BigFatLiar]

Reading the response I get that they could get funding if they showed a reason why the service should be targeted at women but the service had basically not bothered. Did the service engage with the authorities and submit a reason why it should be single sex?

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

From what I can gather they've been having to justify themselves for years.

[RiotAndAlarum]

This is why it's so important that laws like this NOT be passed.

A group of GC Canadian women have been petitioning to have the impact assessment of Bill C16 (I think: I've had to have a twitter break!) released, so everyone can see either how little interest was shown in how this would affect women and children or (b) that no-one cared enough to do it. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first trans-inclusive impact assessment which failed to take any account of the impact on people the trans folk were being included with ...

[BigFatLiar]

From what I can gather they've been having to justify themselves for years.

ANy group seeking public funds should justify why it gets those funds and show compliance with the rules. If the rules applied are unacceptable try to get them changed but you can't complain about the employed staff of the authorities applying the rules that the elected officials have put in place.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

So you think that women shouldn't have the right to their own spaces free from male-bodied people then @BigFatLiar?

This is about common decency, something which Vancouver Council seem to know nothing about.

[ChickenonaMug]

That is just awful, however surely Vancouver Rape Relief Centre is meeting VCC’s funding criteria which allows for “instances where the exclusion of some group is required for another group to be effectively targeted”. We know that some women will not feel able to access help and support following rape if they have to share spaces with males or males who identify as trans women. So in order to effectively target the needs of these women then in a city where there are other rape relief centres that provide support to trans and two spirit people then it is appropriate to have a centre that just targets and caters for a group of women whose needs cannot be met within the other centres. The funding criteria states that it allows for this.

[TheProdigalKittensReturn]

People can complain about anything they like. What a very odd thing to object to women doing on the internet, or VRR doing.

[TheProdigalKittensReturn]

The City could just say "we have committed to ensuring that no traumatized woman is ever able to access a penis free space". It would at least have the virtue of being honest.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

This is it. All of the other centres cater fr anyone yet they're targeting the once place that only admits women and girls. The only reason they'd do that is spite.

VRR are saying no and they're paying the price for putting vulnerable, abused women first while the likes of Oger rub their hands with glee.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

I don't think the word honesty's in their vocabulary unfortunately @TheProdigalKittensReturn

[BigFatLiar]

The center may well satisfy the criteria for funding but from what the response says is basically the center haven't submitted a reason. To get public funding you jump through the hoops, even applying for lottery funds you fill in the paperwork. It doesn't say what they did do, it does say they didn't fit the criteria for excluding trans so they need to make their case and not just assume they deserve the funding.

[ChickenonaMug]

Although it is possible, I do think it very unlikely that VRR did not provide the evidence to why they need to exclude certain groups in order to effectively target another group. They have the evidence so it is not as though it would be difficult to include it in their funding request. It seems more likely to me that the council just didn’t accept and agree with the evidence. Obviously just my thoughts but wonder if it is possible to find out in Canada with FOI requests or similar.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

From the response I got, it looks as if all the council cares about is that the VRR is 'inclusive' according to their gender shopping list.

Nothing short of VRR admitting blokes s part of their service will satisfy them. I know it, you know it, we all know it.

[TheProdigalKittensReturn]

This fight has been going on for over 20 years, since Kimberly Nixon first sued them, so assuming that VRR just haven't bothered filling in their paperwork correctly is just a tad ungenerous.

[lionheart]

It says 'may result' in a denial of funds. Doesn't that suggest they have some choice about this? Especially in conjunction with ChickenonaMug's point about exceptions.

[SisyphusLangClegRocks]

Exactly Prodigal

[Oldstyle]

I think they did argue their case re female only. A large number of staff, victim/survivors and allies (including some men) gave testimony to the city council, in person and in writing. This was ignored. Also, they were applying for funding for their well-regarded education programme which is available to all genders, spirits, goblins and unicorns. It's only their core services that are women-only.
This is a despicable decision which will directly and negatively impact on women of the cunty (and vulnerable) kind.
You can donate to the VRRC from the UK. Please do.