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/

Who is responsible for this appointment?

I agree that its a very strange, specific choice of career for someone holding these characteristics.

@fruitbrewhaha

Mridhul Wadhwa, a trans activist, was very much against legislation protecting the legal right of female rape victims to be attended by female forensic teams.

Not who I'd want heading up rape crisis centres, someone who centres men.

This has been referred to before, but needs highlighting again.

Wadhwa is so diametrically opposed to women (biologically female people) being able to request that the person who carries out the forensic medical examination on them after they’ve been raped also be female, that Wadhwa actually left the SNP over it, and defected to the Greens.

This despite having been active in the SNP (a Women’s Officer, of course) and even on a (supposedly “all female”) shortlist to be selected as a candidate last year.

The SNP was initially arguing for the wording of the bill to say “gender”, not “sex” (because, “what difference does it make anyway?”) but in the end they backed down and didn't oppose amending “gender” to “sex” after all.

The Greens did though. The Scottish Greens told their MSPs they had to vote against the amendment, and they duly did. (One of them, Andy Wightman, ended up leaving the Green Party over it later, when his conscience kicked in.)

So Wadhwa’s new home is with the Greens.

This is how committed this person is to ensuring women and girls have no boundaries when it comes to male people who wish to be seen as women.

And this is the person who is now running a service which is supposed to support Edinburgh’s women’s and girls at a time of the most extreme vulnerability.

A person with political ambitions, too.

It is honestly so very, very disturbing. I see no evidence that the priority for this person is the well being of women and girls who have experienced sexual violence. It seems to me that this person’s foremost priority is the furtherance of an ideological agenda that would bring about the total erosion of women’s boundaries around biologically male trans people.

The fact that this is who ERCC have appointed as their CEO, and the absolutely horrifying fact that Rape Crisis Scotland also opposed the “six words” amendment, should be making women very, very worried indeed. We need to be aware of what is going on here.

Great piece from Jo Bartosch here on the “six words” amendment, and the situation in Scotland:

thecritic.co.uk/women-in-scotland-risk-having-their-rights-virtue-signalled-away/

And in the CEO role, they will actively work to change Scottish government policies to suit themselves. They are well connected, which is why they have been given the role in a time when rape centres and refuges are fighting for funding.

Yup

Thanks dementedma!

Having googled "trad wife" I'm none the wiser why the pp thinks this is connected with anyone disagreeing with circumventing the protected nature of the role of a rape survivor charity CEO.
"A tradwife is a woman who prefers to take a traditional role in marriage. Some may have chosen to leave careers in business or in public life to focus instead on their families and raising children. They tend to agree with statements like "a woman's place is in the home"

The work is incredibly emotionally draining, so Wadhwa has to be balanced and mindful of her own emotional state. The Student asked her what she does to take care of herself: “Well I don’t deal with individual survivors every day, so for me what I do in terms of self-care is a lot of avoidance. I do see survivors – four a week usually – who help me stay connected to the cause…but it’s important to keep it fun. We should be able to laugh and use humour atwork.In terms of my team, I try to cook for them once a week or every other week.”

Oh good, MW knows how important self care is, and utilises avoidance as part of that Because men's feelz trump women's trauma, and "keeping it fun" as a counsellor is crucial when speaking to women who have been raped.

That a natal man was considered for the position for more than a minute is revolting misogyny. Thoroughly unacceptable.

I voted SNP and Green at the last election for the SP. I won't be voting that way on Thursday.

It is honestly so very, very disturbing. I see no evidence that the priority for this person is the well being of women and girls who have experienced sexual violence.

There is nothing. One might say -
this individual has committed themselves to fighting violence against women and girls. One has their persistent attempts to be part of organisations that support some of the most vulnerable women and girls in society. And then one has evidence that they have consistently argued for women who have experienced sexual abuse not to have the right to a female person to examine them intimately, someone who a woman observed yawn and check their phone during a counselling session, someone who posted an image of a goddess enacting a decapitation on an enemy in response to t*rfs annoying them. That's the sort of person I want in charge of a rape crisis centre!

"Graffitiqueen

What I do have an issue with is this person does not agree that women should be allowed female only services and spaces and will be influencing policy not only for this centre but government policy."

Totally agree with this, this cause and this work should be led by a woman (biological woman)...

I find it very sad that some women are socialised to such a degree that they put the wants of a transwoman ahead of the needs of a female victim of sexual violence.

This.

To follow on from previous posters, Johann Lamont who is the MSP who requested the 'six words' amendment to the Forensic Medical Services Bill (which succeeded) and who fought for an amendment to be made to the Hate Crime Bill to include sex as a category to be included for protection against hate crime (which did not succeed), made this speech in which she addressed the accusations made by the Scottish Green's leader (Patrick Harvie) about her supposed 'transphobia'. It's a powerful read - www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2021-03-10.22.3

You would think that a person getting a job in a rape crisis center by pretending to be the opposite sex and not telling the truth to their bosses in a safeguarding setting would set off every alarm and red flag on the planet, no one seems to mind.

@AvocadoBathroom

You would think that a person getting a job in a rape crisis center by pretending to be the opposite sex and not telling the truth to their bosses in a safeguarding setting would set off every alarm and red flag on the planet, no one seems to mind.

Exactly! I don't get it.

@Mistressinthetulips

Having googled "trad wife" I'm none the wiser why the pp thinks this is connected with anyone disagreeing with circumventing the protected nature of the role of a rape survivor charity CEO. "A tradwife is a woman who prefers to take a traditional role in marriage. Some may have chosen to leave careers in business or in public life to focus instead on their families and raising children. They tend to agree with statements like "a woman's place is in the home"

Presumably SAHMs are 'tradwives?' I don't know any SAHMs who would say a woman's place is the home. Actually I don't know any woman who would said that full stop. They would say women have the right to choose to stay at home to raise their families without being labelled a derogatory term.

I am incredulous that this can be in any way acceptable for a publicly funded organisation to behave, they have appointed someone who doesn’t even meet the essential criteria as they are legally a man, they haven’t even bothered to apply for grc. Why isn’t there a public outcry, why aren’t our journalists not all over this.
Scotland is in a very dark place at the moment for women but I do hope that there is enough of us to use our vote on Thursday to show our concern.

The individual in question clearly has an agenda. It is so sad to see women’s rights trampled on.

Sorry, I think you seem to have misread the article. A woman has been appointed for the role of CEO. Hence why women and children are still safe in her presence.

Somewhat flawed reasoning upthread from BetterKateThanNever and it neatly demonstrates exactly why we need to be able to recognise and acknowledge the fundamental difference between biologically female people and biologically male trans people.

Women and children are not as statistically safe around biologically male trans people as they are around biologically female people. Biologically male trans people present no less of a risk to women and children than other biologically male people. Because they’re male.

Their risk factor lies not in their transness but in their maleness.

We’ve had a surge in the last few years of crimes that are typically committed by men and hardly at all by women suddenly being committed more frequently by women. Except that these people are only “women” on their own say-so, not by any objective measure of reality.

Take this “woman” for example, just last week:

www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/19264825.woman-exposed-glebe-house-car-park-haverfordwest/?fbclid=IwAR1D2DuBg4UvPfQhbkiR5ELwqJvIqE6RYVeCuqNo_ORjLv0S1cdOAurZLvk

Nowhere in the article does it give any suggestion, apart from the accused’s middle name, that this person is not an adult human female. Although you might wonder exactly what part of “her” body this “woman” was exposing.

But there have been so many cases like this that some women did due diligence and fairly easily found out that this “woman” is in fact male (surprise!!) and the (male) body part he was exposing was the same one that every other flasher has chosen to expose for his own sexual gratification.

There are many more examples on transcrimeuk.com/ - “women” paedophiles, rapists, murderers, stalkers; some very violent, dangerous individuals, all male, all claiming to be women, many reported in the press as women.

Here’s one from last year:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-53410019

And another from this year:

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/amy-gray-fred-west-prank-4877180

All reported as “women” because trans rights activists have successfully lobbied the CJS and the media to make sure that any male person who wishes to be seen as a woman will be referred to as a woman both in court and in the reporting of the offences, because anything else would be “transphobic” or “discriminatory”. Even when the offending is absolutely text book male pattern. Even when the victims are female.

This one at least is referred to as a “trans woman” but still referred to as “she” throughout the piece; I wonder if the woman he raped also had to refer to him as “she” in court? Quite possibly.

metro.co.uk/2021/01/18/trans-woman-jailed-for-15-years-for-raping-another-woman-13921362/

It is important we recognise this. Male people who identify as women do not automatically stop posing a risk to women and children. They continue to pose the same risk as they did when they were bog-standard male.

Of course not all male trans people are predators, just as all other male people are not predators, but the risk they pose to women and children is significantly higher than that posed by female people.

I am of course not saying that I have any grounds to suspect that Wadhwa is a predator in this way. I categorically don’t; that’s not the point I’m making. But saying that women and children are automatically as safe around a male person who identifies as a woman as they are around women is just demonstrably false, and it is part of this false narrative that needs to be challenged openly and robustly.

My company use extended screening during and after recruitment. The discovery of any lie on your C.V. will result in immediate screening failure.

Strict governance policies now required by the government.

Where is the governance for charities / refuges?

You really do have to be hard of thinking to not understand why raped women would want someone of their own sex to counsel them when they have just been traumatised.

Or maybe you just don’t think female rape victims are as important as affirming someone’s gender identity.

Either way, I’d be surprised if there were any single sex rape centres left in Scotland, certainly none with Govt. funding.

I’ve been careful with what I have said, don’t want to be arrested under the HCB!

Under his Aye.

So the job was advertised a position for a woman

A man who feels they are a women applied

And got the job

Now if that isn’t a perfect example of male privilege then please provide another

The role was for a women for valid reasons. And even if the new CEO was a woman and felt that trans women can come into women only spaces I would feel that are completely wrong for the role and lack understanding and knowledge of how safe women need to feel at times (a rape support centre being one such place)

I want to cry reading this thread, some people really don't care about women at all.

YANBU

@AvocadoBathroom

You would think that a person getting a job in a rape crisis center by pretending to be the opposite sex and not telling the truth to their bosses in a safeguarding setting would set off every alarm and red flag on the planet, no one seems to mind.

Exactly. Some random bloke off the street being given the job would raise less red flags at this point.

This is a new low and I didn't think Scotland could go much lower.

To answer all the 'men get raped and men make good CEOs of rape crisis centres' comments...

AN Other man may be a perfectly good CEO of AN Other rape crisis centre. But this rape crisis centre is a feminist organisation set up, funded and run for the benefit of women and children. It's generally accepted within feminism that feminist services need to be women-led. I wouldn't expect the CEO to do any face-to-face counselling or work with victim/survivors but I would expect them to uphold a feminist ethos that places women's needs at the heart of their service.

So did the board I guess, because they made the post women-only under the Equalities legislation. So while 'a man' could hold a similar job, 'a man' can't hold this job.

RCS is funded by the Scottish Government's violence against women and girls fund (Equally Safe). A condition of ScotGov funding is that women's services have to be trans-inclusive, but they don't have to be male-inclusive. This is particularly pertinent in Scotland after Lanarkshire Women's Aid (council funded) was defunded in favour of a gender-neutral service provided by a charity called SACRO.

@ComtesseDeSpair

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.

Then why did they advertise the CEO position as women only need apply?

Actually their website (see photo) seems to explicitly rule out clients who are adult males & not trans/non-binary.

Facilities for male survivors exist & always have done. The idea that there are only women's facilities & that's not fair & so men should be allowed into women's facilities is simply false.

A better question would be why there seem to be no trans facilities. Why have trans people not been setting them up to take care of their own community & their specific needs, just like women & men did? Replies along the lines of marginalised, no funds, etc will not be entertained, because what d'you think it's like for women? I was involved in one such organisation, & anyone would be astonished at the tiny budget & primitive provision we had: they would NOT believe it. But the work got done. The trans community could've done what we did, to the level at which we did it. They could've looked after one another, like we did. I've yet to hear any explanation for the lack of existing trans-specific facilities which should now be getting government funds to expand their work. Instead, we're seeing funds being made available to women's facilities on the condition that they take trans people of both sexes, thus removing women's vital single-sex facilities.