To think that a Rape Crisis centre should not have a transwoman CEO?

[ArabellaScott]

Mridhul Wadhwa has just been appointed CEO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis. The job was advertised as for women only. Mridhul is a transwoman (born male) without a Gender Recognition Certificate.

AIBU to think that women survivors of rape and sexual violence should be able to have a female only space?

theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2021/05/new-boss-for-edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre/

@ArabellaScott she has worked in rape crisis and the like for 15 years. If her aim was to allow all these transwomen rapists (that are everywhere according to mumsnet) access to women she’s gone a bloody long way about it. I don’t think anyone is that dedicated.
They chose to give her the job despite her being trans so she must be good at it. That’s what matters.

@everybodysang

It's not an issue. She'll be an excellent CEO. YABU, however, for bringing your trans-bashing out of the Feminism boards. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks so. MN isn't just for transphobes.

How is it trans-bashing to say that a role specifically for women should be for women?

I have nothing against trans people. I just think that traumatised women who require a female-only space to recover from rape are entitled to that.

Who on earth said anything of the sort, Owl?

My concern is for the women using this service - their trauma, their need for a women-only (or male free) space. I think they should be respected.

think she was an excellent choice for CEO, best of luck to her.

Why?

@seadreams

Totally ignoring this particular issue (which I don’t think is an issue). Why should Men not also be able to avail of RCC services. Men can and do get raped and deserve all the supports that are available for women. Besides group therapy, nearly all services are on an individual basis anyway. In my local RCC, all services are for people who have been assaulted and the only reference to gender is in regards to group therapy. I would be horrified to think that men could be turned away and not receive the supports I was offered after my assault.

This is what I was thinking too. Does the centre only deal with female rape then because that seems really odd.

Personally I don't see the gender of a CEO as an issue. It is how they relate to victims and run the organisation that matters.

Rape crisis services for women should be entirely staffed by women. This person is not a woman in any way, either physically or legally. I've also read some disturbing accounts of the kind of counselling that MW gave when a counsellor, apparently looking bored and glancing at their phone. Why has this person been able to get this job? That is the question 🤔

Are any of the people saying "excellent choice ra ra" actually familiar with this person, and what they stand for?

@OwlBeThere

Do you have to be a woman to be a good ceo? No Does it matter then? No

Simple as that.

Then it should have been open to all men to apply. There may have been a better person for the job.

Why the hell would you advertise for 'women only' and not hire an actual woman??

@Graffitiqueen
What was the context? That women can experience orgasms during rape (documented fact), but that it's an involuntary physical reaction and does not lessen the trauma or mean women should be ashamed?? I think it's a valid point and know that women are put off reporting rape because of it. That they feel betrayed by their own bodies. That it makes them feel it wasn't 'really rape because of it. Or do we keep it a secret so they continue to feel ashamed?

Is rape crisis centre a designated women's only space? Refuges are, but not the whole service. Are only women allowed be rape counsellors? As pp said men get raped too. As do transwomen and transmen (scarily high proportion i believe). Should women not be allowed a choice of gender in their counsellors?

I get that women of course need their own space but surely the organisation should be providing help and a space (separately) for men too.

I do actually recall reading that most men request female counsellors when accessing support after rape, Things, but I can't remember where. Will see if I can find it. Certainly most women request females.

Why did this person not disclose their status previously when applying for a job in a rape support organisation and why are they so drawn to rape crisis organisations for women? Why haven't they applied for a Gender Recognition Certificate? Why don't they want women who are victims of rape to be able to request a female born person to carry out intimate examinations? They were one of the opponents of protecting women's right to request a female examiner. Indeed the "call to action" comment comes from this person:

"While many female rape survivors cheered the decision as a safeguard of their right to bodily autonomy, transgender activists and allies on social media organized a “call to action” and shared outrage as it became clear that men who self-identify as transgender women would not be entitled to conduct intimate medical examinations on rape victims. Section 9 of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 allowed rape victims to request an examiner of a particular “gender.” However, the act did not define ‘gender’. Johann MacDougall Lamont, a politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014, pushed for the wording to be amended. “Sex is defined in law, and gender is not. A right is not a right, if it’s unenforceable.” The Health and Sport Committee wrote, “We consider the definition of gender could be ambiguous in the bill, which has the potential to cause distress to individuals undergoing forensic medical examination. We recommend the bill be amended to guarantee an individual’s right to choose the sex of the examiner.” The Scottish government initially denied that there was “legislative ambiguity.” Ms Lamont pointed out that such organizations as Rape Crisis Scotland, Engender, and Zero Tolerance have “sought definitions of gender” that describe a person’s identity and make the definition of gender “explicitly not interchangeable with the word ‘sex’.” Monica Lennon, a Member of Scottish Parliament and health spokeswoman for Labour, complained, “there are some people who want to exclude trans women from working with women and girls to have disclosed rape or sexual assault.” Ms Lamont countered: “Forgive me if I focus on survivors in this debate. We should centre the experience of survivors and ask what is right for traumatised women. … These are women who are traumatised and have asked through the years that things should change.” The amendment, which had strong cross-party support, passed into law by a 113-to-nine vote, with one abstention. The Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Bill also mandates health boards to provide forensic medical services to victims of sexual offences, and allows victims over the age of 16 to seek a medical examination without having to involve police."
Continue reading Law Lets Female Rape Victims Select Female Forensic Examiners; Trans Activists React With Outrage | Women Are Human. Read more at: www.womenarehuman.com/law-lets-female-rape-victims-select-female-forensic-examiners-trans-activists-react-with-outrage/

It's not an issue. She'll be an excellent CEO. YABU, however, for bringing your trans-bashing out of the Feminism boards. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks so. MN isn't just for transphobes.

Believing women's single sex services shouldn't be used as a tool for politically furthering the interests of biological males isn't "transphobia".

Then it should have been open to all men to apply. There may have been a better person for the job.

Simple as that. Why were other males not considered, why did they wrongly use the Equality Act sex based exemption to restrict who could apply for the role?

That’s awful 😞

So a rape crisis centre is now being run by someone who doesn’t think that biological women should be allowed a refuge from biologcal men. I find it beyond creepy that this person sought that job. It’s part of a very deliberate campaign to destroy safe spaces for women.

I suppose there were no biological women suitable for the role.....

I don't know anything about the individual in question, but I think a man could be a good CEO of a rape crisis centre, and a woman a poor one. Depends on the individual, their leadership skills, their background and experience, their empathy.

If you knew more about the individual in question, you would no doubt agree that they would be ruled out on the last ground, at the very least.

It's not transphobic to believe there should be women-only services and spaces. This appointment is really quite worrying.

This person should not have this role. It’s inappropriate on every level.

ERC also provide counselling and support services for male victims of rape, it isn’t a women-only service. On that basis, I don’t think a male or trans woman CEO is problematic.

I thought posts like that are restricted to women applicants only and are exempt under Schedule 9, Part 1, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010?

The guidance notes for the Act mention rape crisis services specifically -
'A counsellor working with victims of rape might have to be a woman and not a transsexual person, even if she has a Gender Recognition Certificate, in order to avoid causing them further distress.'

She should not have this job. She is not a woman either biologically or legally. She is a transwoman = male.

In the UK the Equality Act 2010 allows for single sex exemptions. This is clearly such an exemption.

This has nothing to do with not thinking transwomen should have rights. It is recognising the fact that there are biological differences and there are times when single sex provision is entirely appropriate.

As for the fact that as CEO she won't have direct access, I don't buy that argument. This is an agenda on the part of Nicola Sturgeon to bring self ID into law through the back door in Scotland. There is no consideration to the needs of biologically born women in this appointment. None whatsoever.

Transwomen need access to refuge but this should not be in the same setting to biological women who may very well, reasonably, avoid services if they are open to women with penises.

This is how male sex offenders, who are now saying they trans identify, are finding their way into the female prison estate and crime stats in this country. It's horrific.

But who cares about the needs of women, hey! Second class citizens in the name of trans ideology.

The majority of victims of sexual assault and rape are female. (98% of offenders are male, iirc).

rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/about-sexual-violence/statistics-sexual-violence/

'Most Rape Crisis counselling is woman-centred and provided by women counsellors in a women-only safe space'
...
'Half of our member Rape Crisis Centres provide counselling services to male survivors, and/or to male partners, parents etc., often within a separate space or on different days / at different times. They might also have male counsellors available.'

rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/looking-for-information/rape-crisis-services/counselling-therapies/

This is why everyone thinks Mumsnet is shit and transphobic. I really like it here generally but I’d be embarrassed to mention it in real life.