Women only rape crisis group, that I saw a sign for today

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Open to all self identifying women.

Now I’m glad, truly I am, that trans women can access a rape support group. But would a rape survivor really feel comfortable walking into a group and finding someone that they identify as a man there, even if that person identifies as a woman.

No.
If the Trans Activists spent a quarter of their efforts on making support networks for trans people, they'd be sorted by now.

But that wouldn't validate a large number of AGP males so fuck women's rights.

My dh asked how women could be safe in such situations, because he thinks that the abuser will try and follow the woman.

No. They definitely wouldn't in many cases

I think a man pretending he is a woman to get into womens spaces is more scary than a man being a man and I find that scary enough

I do think there should be rape support groups for transwomen and transmen.
I can see why there might not be as funding is so stretched at the moment.

The fact that a male has gone to a womens’ rape support group would set my alarm bells positively clanging. That’s exactly the kind of boundary stomping the women need to heal from.I think it would make me feel sick, and scared, if it was me in that group, and I wouldn’t go back, that’s for sure.

Honestly what sort of perverted kicks would a man get from going to a female rape support group? That would be my immediate thought. It makes my skin crawl.

Exactly spasmodic

The issue of support groups and refuges for *trans victims of sexual violence has got me thinking of late.

Firstly, I can't seem to find any figures that are broken down to include *trans categories. Secondly, I'm wondering if those "post-op" and in posession of a GRC would be subsumed into women's figures.

I'm not entirely sure whether policies "per centre" vary and how many support the TWAW ideology.

Any ideas where I would find this information?

I unequivocally support the need for separate *trans / women centres as both psychological / physical needs are undeniably different.

However without "figures" or idea of "need" and therefore "capacity" required, it's really difficult to determine what / how many services WOULD be needed.

I do agree wholeheartedly with MrsWooster's comments. The TRAs are all full of piss and wind, and no substance - and I hate to say it, but as a transsexual person (who is literally weeks away from being post-op), I wouldn't want a bunch of AGPs in any centre / support service for "medical endpoint" / GD transsexuals either.

Every time you post you demonstrate that transsexuals and women don't need to be on the outs, Hamster. Thank you.

Until the dramas of recent years, women were fine with transsexuals because they posed no threat to us and were as unobtrusive as they could be when in our spaces.

Now all bets are off. The men attempting to invade our spaces have changed everything. And here on Feminism Chat I can't count how many times I've seen posters mourning this change, which neither women nor transsexuals sought.

Good luck with the surgery.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery, Hamster.

I would think that experiencing rape as a transwoman or transman is going to be a different experience to that of a woman. It would think it would need handling in a different way.

Could the refuge issue be helped by designating a proportionate to population number of refuges single gender, while maintaining the rest single sex? It will mean travelling, but then many women escaping with children in tow have to deal with travelling hundreds of miles to take up whatever place there might be available, it's an unfortunate reality of too few refuges and too little funding.

It would then be a case of monitoring, is that sufficient to meet referral needs, and while there will be many women who will only be willing/able to accept a place in the single sex provision, are there enough women happy/willing to go to mixed sex/single gender shelters and is the situation working well for all users, or do trans/mixed sex specific shelters need to be created?

The answer for changing rooms, refuges, groups, all of it, should be additional provision, additional choices, not forcibly redesignating existing provision in a way that makes it unusable for many women it was originally set up for. (Yes, I do know the TRA lobby response to that)

I can see why there might not be as funding is so stretched at the moment.

Stonewall has plenty of money for this if they wanted to - their funding has nearly doubled since 2013

This is it. The trans lobby is very well funded. If they wanted to they could set up facilities for this, easily.
The refuge movement was entirely grass roots; women recognised a need and made it happen, initially on NO fucking money!
I would support, and even donate to mens refuges, trans refuges. Rape happens to men too, and to trans, but they CAN'T use services that are there to help women. It's not ok.

Until the dramas of recent years, women were fine with transsexuals because they posed no threat to us and were as unobtrusive as they could be when in our spaces.

You can't possibly know this. Would it even be recorded that a women would stop using rape counseling because of the presence of a male transperson in the group?

I suspect in the past it would be seen as inappropriate for a male transperson to be part of a women's group such as this. I don't think women accepted male transpeople in spaces like this, I don't think it happened.

Soz I went off about refuges there, but crisis groups- ditto.

Several newspapers no longer describe in detail what kind of sexual abuse have been done in specific cases as some men found it to be arousing and "inspiring". So yes, a male bodied person in a women's rape support group is a very bad idea indeed.

Several newspapers no longer describe in detail what kind of sexual abuse have been done in specific cases as some men found it to be arousing and "inspiring". So yes, a male bodied person in a women's rape support group is a very bad idea indeed.

Something something this never happens...

The problem is there arent enough spaces in the refuges for women, some of whom have to travel hundreds of miles. Separate some of those off for trans people and there are even less safe spaces.

I cant imagine that any woman who has been destroyed enough to go into a refuge would be happy being told ‘there is only space in one where there are men, but thats fine because they feel like women’.

Stonewall has plenty of money for this if they wanted to - their funding has nearly doubled since 2013

And if Stonewall funded *trans refuges etc it would be for the full "umbrella" - the AGPs, transvestites, "gender feelz" brigade etc.

The "simple" (ideal world) solution should be.

1. Women's refuges (as in the biological sense of the word)
2. Transsexual refuges - post op only (or substantive medical proof of sufficient anti-androgen treatment that makes everything "dead" from the waist down)
3. Men's refuges, (incl the rest of the *trans umbrella with no medicalisation/intervention)

Anyone with XY chromosomes should not be put in a women's refuge, GRC or not because of psychological / physical needs.

Reminds me of that bit in Fight Club with Ed Norton and Helena Bonham Carter dividing up the support groups they should each attend for their own amusement.

After being traumatised in that horrific manner the last thing the victim needs is to meet a male bodied person in that supposedly safe space.
There needs to be provision for both and proper investment to keep both sets of victims apart.
I just can't get my head round the fact that activists can't see nor understand this very basic common sense need.