Surely Mridul Wadhwa has to go now? Report into ERCC out.

Agreed for the high-profile lesbians.

I'd be profoundly disappointed if the majority of lesbians-without-a-high-profile supported such actions or perspectives. Seldom heard, seldom listened to.

Many of the lesbians enabling this are. See also Ruth Hunt, Linda Riley.

Isn't the esteemed Nancy Kelley of 'sexual racist' fame a lesbian in a long term relationship with a woman? It's all a bit, it's OK for me, but not for thee.

Failures of leadership and governance.

These are always involved.

All too often, also cronyism.

This is Denton writ large.

It's quite astounding how callous these women have been.
I know women aren't cuddly, lovely, snuggly comfort blankets, I'm perfectly capable of being mean and rude and aggressive myself. But there's a time and a place and a rape crisis centre is most certainly not either of those.

This. And it's astounding how many of these women are working in the women's sector, worldwide. Even if they disagree politically they shouldn't be letting that get in the way of supporting victims of rape.

There's a clear conflict of interest here.

Is it appropriate for someone with these views to be in the same orbit as the head of rape crisis scotland, never mind the same bed???

It makes me wonder a HUGE number of things.

As a rule its healthy not to agree with your partner on a lot of things, but the scale of this one and the nature of the job just make you think the Head of Rape crisis scotland MUST agree with the concept of relaxation of sexual assault laws and not necessarily believing and centring the victim. ESPECIALLY given that they back Wadhwa and didn't see a problem with a whole pile of things that were going on.

Regardless of the scandal at ERCC, Sandy Brindley's position seems hugely at odds with her beliefs if that is the case. They aren't really compatible with the job.

Its rather like have having a vegan managing an abattoir.

One of the points of the RCS report was Wadhwa overstepped the role. Another was the failure to centre victims. Thus if this is an employee rather than a survivor its irrelevant too. If its a service user it raises concerns about inapprioprate relationships and potential grooming and coercion.

Literally no explanation of the multiple emails to the newspaper is healthy nor good.

The newspaper clear has thought it odd enough to comment on it. Its peaked their interest.

That doesn't strike me as a bright move.

One could even step further back and look at the 'queer' theory espoused and promoted by Brindley's partner (academic working on 'queer law') and ask how undermining norms and boundaries might have this kind of effect on an organisation. On a government. On a whole society.

I feel for all of these women, tbh. They all are working within an incredibly unhealthy and dysfunctional dynamic. The organisation needs to be taken in hand, by someone with a clear sighted and balanced view that understands boundaries.

Good question @lechiffre55 .
Who are the commissioning management?
Unless it's an incestuous self selecting board, there will be a hierarchy.

It's quite astounding how callous these women have been.
I know women aren't cuddly, lovely, snuggly comfort blankets, I'm perfectly capable of being mean and rude and aggressive myself. But there's a time and a place and a rape crisis centre is most certainly not either of those. Then again, this is a world where a rainbow dildo butt monkey is deemed suitable to read to toddlers so what the fuck do I know.

Confidentiality and data protection issues/GDPR surely.

"Hi sisters! Our leader has had a slightly negative report in the hated Tory probably bigoted Sunday mail. Can you email them at this address with something along the lines of the following? " I'm a rape survivor and Sandy is GRATE! Don't listen to the HAYTAZ etc etc"

The boundaries here are absolutely non existent. Between boss and staff, counsellor and counselled, etc.

People working in this sector would need a very strong awareness of appropriate boundaries. For self protection, self preservation, healthy interactions, safeguarding. All sorts of reasons.

Charitably, these are people who are not even aware of what their role ought to be or how to maintain professional and personal boundaries. It's very concerning.

Thank you for this. I'd not heard of the concept of "untermensch" before but it really does make sense that this is the root of this.

I wonder if perhaps I've fallen into a trap of the opposite - of expecting more from these women (not MW, he's a bloke) because they're women and will understand the pain and suffering that is specific to our sex. I don't know if there's a word for that. "Gullible", perhaps.

Well there's a sinking ship. If you want to stay onboard...

One of the former users says she works/worked 'with' Brindley for several years. It's not clear whether this means that she was accessing services or employed by SB.

At the heart of this is corruption.

Its fascinating to see the relationship here between all the individuals concerned and political parties. This is a mates club with them all covering each others arses and not upholding their statutory duties.

This is the authoritarian left in power - the cause is the only thing that matters and humanity gets forgotten along the way.

I have no problem with the left. What I have a problem with is a closed club of unaccountable people who have got drunk on power and are turning a blind eye, giving inappropriate access to friends and family to both vulnerable individuals and people in power and then engaging on smear campaign and cover up to cover their own arses.

The Scottish Government are on the brink of getting chucked out in an election.

My suspicion is that, at that point, some rather dirty laundry will start to stink even more than it already does.

It will be a very useful tool for the incoming Labour Party when the time comes.

There is a strong, unpleasant odour emanating from that lechiffre55

Only conclusion I can draw is that Brindley spoke to Cowan and troops were rallied.

I can imagine Eresh, just horrendous.

I want to ask another question. The "spontaneous" emails from former users of ERCC to The Sunday Mail defending Brindley.

My question is how do those service users even know who Brindley is?
The very last question on the mind of someone who's in need of ERCC services is going to be "I wonder who in the public sector is responsible for hiring the manager of this place?"
If you're showing up at the ERCC you've got more urgent things on your mind.
So how are these users even knowing who Brindley is? She doesn't work there. They won't have any contact with her like they would have Wadhwa who actually worked at the site.
Is there anyone on this forum who knows who the comissioning management are over the head of any public facing service they interact with face to face? It seems absurd on the surface.
How do these ERCC users who "spontaneously" emailed The Sunday Mail defending Brindley even know who Brindley is?
I can understand someone defending the ERCC if they thought they were well treated, but defending outside upper mangement? That seems a very long stretch.

Here's a paper on 'a feminist and queer critique of recent ‘fraudulent sexual consent’ cases, arguing that the application of criminal law here signals a failure to acknowledge the stigmatization and social exclusion of already structurally disadvantaged defendants'

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3429592

'current criminalisation practices regarding fraudulent sexual consent threaten to condone and enable discrimination against HIV+ and trans people'

https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-june-14-2022

Sharon Cowan, Brindley's partner, gave evidence during the GRR Bill consultation.

Unfortunately the page that gives the minutes isn't working, but the video is still up.

The only satisfaction was watching Naomi Cunningham in action completely showing up their incompetence and lack of care for women.

This is what I was feeling for women, as a rape survivor myself, watching the tribunal remotely, and seeing all MW's silly handmaidens come and defend that cruelty, it was despair-inducing to watch.

Going back to the power, I'd like to point out places like ERCC are places of last resort, the importance of that being if the ERCC is also treating you abusively there literally is nowhere else to turn to. You're at you very lowest, the whole world is nothing but pain, you turn to the rape crisis centre for help, and they start giving a bollocking because you asked for single sex support. Can you imagine what it must feel like for a person in the most painful mental space to be told how awful they are by the organisation supposed to be helping them? The self worth taking another battering from the people meant to help, "maybe it's me after all?" How can a person do that to another person in such need, and think they are the good guy? How is that a safe space? Idiots drunk on power has bloody awful consequences. The sooner this festering atrocity ends the better. Brindley must go to stop others being harmed.

There are just no words to adequately express the sheer horror of this. It is beyond cruel.