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

Oh thanks.

Vahanomy has been running for years.

Interestingly he has just started a new business which seems to be project managing installing electric car charging points. So that Green Party position might be in the pipeline. www.vahanomy.com/mridul-wadhwa

LGBT Youth Scotland??? The one that had paedophiles in positions of power? That LGBTYS???? The one that has had serious questions and concerns swirling about it for years?

Deleted- sorry just seen this is a duplicate

They are probably recruiting him right now!

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/13/edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre-boss-resigns-review

Guardian report only uses 'she' when quoting from the report or ERCC statement. Refers to Wadhwa as a transgender woman. I think that's progress.

Any comments from the Greens on this?

Oh I'm fairly confident I've left other relevant points out.

I just thought it important to try and start putting it all together in a coherent and clear form about the sheer extent of issues over Wadhwa's lack of regard for women and ALL about his own personal political agenda.

He used raped women. And that was his intention from the outset.

is this also the guy with apparent interest into whether women orgasmed during rape. Not at all inappropriate and creepy, oh no!

I suspect this sorry saga at ERCC has not yet run its course unfortunately.

Sandy Brindley is culpable and should be gone. Hopefully #BrindleyMustGo will trend - although her account is now deleted.

I only skim read the report but this seemed pretty clear.

It seems to confirm not only the legality of organisations in this field having single-sex services but also that organisations who don't provide them have a duty to refer onwards.

The women who were responsible for recruitment did not do any gatekeeping or due diligence and should bear some responsibility.

Excellent summary @RedToothBrush thank you.

That's the kind of summary WH needs to include.

Lets do a summary of Wadhwa sexism:

• Applied for a job advertised only for women under exemptions in the EA

• Only told them he was trans once he got the job.

• Two months into the job did an interview say:

By his own admission, he made therapy as a political tool to enforce adherence of women to his ideology. This was deliberate. He was deliberately targetting vulnerable rape victims to spread his political agenda. Two months in. Thats why he wanted the job.

• Has no qualifications to do counselling yet insisted on taking such sessions. This would not be consistent with safeguarding.

• Didn't forfill other basic legal safeguarding requirements such as making sure the data protection policy mentioned the current law - it hadn't been updated for SEVEN years. Safeguarding training more generally wasn't up to date.

• Instead he allowed allowed male non-binary and trans individuals to access the service without thought: One had a history of predatory behaviour for eight years. He was convicted of physically attacking two women; perpetrating domestic abuse against a man, whom he’d blackmailed into having sex over several months, by threatening to falsely accuse the victim of rape if he didn’t submit. The judge presiding over his trial observed that this individual had shown “hostility towards women, lack of concern for others, sexual preoccupation, and deviant sexual preferences.”

• Fostered a culture and made it known publicly that anyone applying for a job who was gender critical would not be welcome.

• Did not even ensure that there was a Employee Handbook so that workers could uphold their own rights and obligations to themselves and to clients.

• Fostered a culture of work where questioning sex v gender was not acceptable, leading to the work tribunal involving Roz Adams which found in favour of Roz citing harassment and unlawful discrimination.

• Used the displinary process against Adams as a show trial to other members of staff by assuming her to be guilty from “the outset” to “make an example of because of her gender critical beliefs" humilating her in the process.

• The court found in the case of a 60 year old woman asking for female only services “she was advised that ERCC [was] trans inclusive,” and when she said she was uneasy about seeing someone who was not biologically female, “she was advised that she was not suitable… and excluded from the service".

• According to court documents, Wadhwa refused to refer clients to Beira’s Place or even mention its existence.

• Refused to take the stand in court, instead forcing very junior staff to do so instead and defend the workplace culture that he had created. The employment tribunal made the point about saying the Wadhwa was the invisible hand behind everything

• This report by Rape Crisis Scotland found that he was chief executive who “who did not understand the limits on her role’s authority” and it said Wadhwa “failed to set professional standards of behaviour” within the organisation. Repeatedly he did not keep Trustees in the loop and failed to share appropriate information with them.

• Put his political agenda ahead of women, failing to centre women: decisions regarding Self ID were made unilaterally and were not refered to the board as they should have been. Women were only mentioned once in strategy document which also used dubious language which both inappropriate and to rised boundary issues.

• Wadhwa personal conduct was found to be directly responsible for women self excluding and being harmed.

• Got onto a women's only shortlist to become an SNP MSP

• Then quit the SNP when it backed a law allowing rape victims to ensure that their medical examinations would be conducted by someone of the same sex

• Tried numerous times to smear, slur and shame women. Regarding Beira's place he said:

• All these actions have exposed the ERCC to a huge financial and reputational hit. At the expense of women. He has created a situation where they have lost funding and now will have to make redunacies. Meaning they are not able to help as many vulnerable women.

• Wadhwa refused to accept any responsibility for this, and instead some what belligerently remained in the job, rather than recognising that a change in culture had to happen and that was unlikely to be possible with someone who had been identified as domineering and overstepping their remit remaining in post.

• Even after the employment tribunal Wadhwa failed to implement Trustee requests. This eventually resulted in Wadhwa going on paid leave. Whilst a redunacy consultation was ongoing.

• It has taken until this point for Wadhwa to leave the job. Even then it hasn't been due to removal. Throughout Wadhwa has been supported by people who have enabled all of the above without regard for women. To the point that Wadhwa STILL is listed as being a victim.

Never at a single point of this, has Wadhwa put the interests of raped women first. NOT ONCE. And thats why I use male pronouns. I do not owe this man respect.

And thats the biggest travisty. No one stepped in and did anything about it. They all cheerled him on.

Well reported on Woman's Hour. Hurrah for JKR and the centre's promise to work with her refuge.

Rani said WH were going to follow the story.

We need to make sure they do continue to.

I noticed that this started with a few "she/hers" and then became "they". I didn't notice if the first bit was RR and the rest LG

I’m glad she mentioned Beira’s Place and JKR.

Yes, and made it clear that JKR had set it up to provide Edinburgh with a female only service.

How is someone like Rani going to fit an abusive male harming women by using a 'trans' identity into her worldview, I wonder.

Lorna did well, although I suspect she was treading on eggshells a little. I’m glad she mentioned Beira’s Place and JKR. She could have gone further than she did about the awful behaviour of MW but it will hopefully be enough to give the fence-sitters some food for thought.