New CEO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis

@PlanDeRaccordement

This is a legal question that is important , and I agree would not apply IF the job had not been advertised for women only . In theory there must be a good solid reason for that .

That should read that is this discrimination against men ?

Question

Legally is this non discriminatory against men ?

Because they have legally employed a transwoman when a man would legally not be able to apply for the post .

Would be interesting for a man to launch a legal challenge .

I expect I’ll be disagreed with but I don’t therefore think it’s too much of an issue re this new appointment.

It is an issue if the job description specified the applicant had to be women. It shows that this is an organisation not able to set and maintain its own boundaries.

Does that inability to maintain boundaries run throughout this organisation?

And just BTW, has Edinburgh gone completely, batshit mad? 'The New Canada', it's been called on a previous thread.

God help the women of Scotland.

This stops any trans widows in Scotland from being able to access Rape Crisis. It has a chilling effect which I can't help thinking is deliberate.

Scottish Trans Alliance say a trans widow is abusive if she refuses to affirm her transitioning husband's gender identity.

Imagine being an abused Scottish trans widow and knowing you can't access help firstly because you're likely to be accused of abuse yourself and secondly because the person in charge of the organisation has more in common with your perpetrator than they do with you.

For what it is worth, I don’t think it matters if the CEO is a man or a woman. It’s more important to me that the person actually be qualified for their job. I agree that after restricting the position to females per the equality act, they’ve done wrong by hiring a male.

I know this is controversial, but I am in favour of staff members and counsellors who are men as well as women, both for male victims of rape and the odd female victims of rape who prefer a male counsellor to a female one (like me..I know we are tiny minority, but we do exist). I absolutely think all rape victims have the right to request a female counsellor or male counsellor. And this is by sex, not gender. So Transwoman is not female and a transman is not male.

Enough said

Part of that, too, has come from the Scottish government as a funder - there has been pressure to support men as a condition of funding.
Probably because men haven't set anything up for themselves.

I think my point was that it doesn’t appear to be solely a rape crisis centre.

I do completely agree that this person should not have kept the sex a secret and that there is an issue with them and the organisation having ignored the organisation’s policy.

Looks like there’s been massive scope creep in terms of the services they offer and to whom.

What strikes me about this announcement is they clearly feel that this person is a transwoman and BME gives them a particular insight and ability to support transwomen and BME women - otherwise why call those two attributes out? Have they thought that the corollary might also be true? That being a biological woman would give someone a particular insight and ability to support women.

gender reassignment being a protected characteristic is to allow someone with a certificate to say they were discriminated against because they had one, whether about housing, shopping or whatever.

But - no one characteristic trumps another. That's why the provision for single sex services is always advertised with the wording about genuine need (ie for it to be women only).

So they are in breach of the law.

I wonder what Rape Crisis Scotland has to say about this - assuming they have a federated system like WAFE where you are meant to adhere to certain standards etc..

Even if the new management committee is really new wouldn't they have had to have training prior to taking up the posts. (One of the biggest threats to voluntary sector groups and charities are their trustees. Young and ignorant is one thing, but make no mistake if a so call professional person is coopted onto a committee all too often they can turn out to be a bigoted tyrant who think MCscan behave like dictators. And too many join MC because it looks good on their CV. Just because someone can add up figures, and understands what audited accounts are, doesn't make them qualified in any other area of work, and yet they will be in a position to take decisions on those other areas.)

If anyone is on facebook there are quite a lot of comments on the ERC post about this appointment. Add your voice! www.facebook.com/edinburghrapecrisis/photos/a.156340431121264/3978227878932481/?type=3&theater

What a message to send.

Sheesh.

What is the point of a GRC when it can’t be used as any kind of differentiator, and we have effective self ID anyway?

I expect I’ll be disagreed with but I don’t therefore think it’s too much of an issue re this new appointment.

I do however think they should change the name of the organisation to clarify it’s not just about rape victims.

If you don't think it matters whether the head of a rape crisis centre is a man or a woman that's a debate that can be had.

But, for Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, according to their own advert for this job it was only available for a woman. Why didn't they stick to their own rule?

Rape crisis not tape!

I think it's a very deliberate action on the part of Edinburgh rape crisis. When MW applied for MW's previous role in a tape crisis centre MW applied knowing they were ineligible due to the single sex exemption. MW may 'pass' convincingly but MW was given that job against the equality act. Everyone knows that - so giving MW the CEO role is a deliberate piece of TWAW signaling

This is nothing to do with the ability of those people to offer a good service, it's about their ability to see a wider perspective in safeguarding and boundary maintaining.

Which Wight Dash absolutely have considered.

This sends a clear message to the women and children they help.

And what does it tell us about the charity's ability as a whole to respect boundaries?

A charity in which safeguarding should be of the utmost priority, whereby they are aware of boundaries and the importance of maintaining them for these vulnerable women and children.

If the job was advertised as 'women only' then Mridhul shouldn't be in that position, whatever the demographic of the service users - otherwise, why advertise it as 'women only'?

Please forgive me if this already been discussed, but I’ve just read the following on their website:

We offer free and confidential emotional and practical support, information and advocacy to women, all members of the trans community, non-binary people and young people aged 12-18 in Edinburgh, East and Midlothian, who have experienced sexual violence at any time in their lives. This includes, rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation.

To me, this looks like men and boys (who are victims of sexual abuse) can get support there.

Link: www.ercc.scot/

I expect I’ll be disagreed with but I don’t therefore think it’s too much of an issue re this new appointment.

I do however think they should change the name of the organisation to clarify it’s not just about rape victims.