Self Identifying Women wanted

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

Our local Rape Crisis Centre is advertising for volunteers to be trained to respond to peopl calling for help. The advert stipulates that you've got to be over 18 and that you self identify as a woman.

So if I were the victim of a horrendous sexual assault I would phone for help/ support and possibly end up speaking to a "self identifying woman" who has a penis.

There are a few which is great. LGBT+ and a specific trans one.

aside: why their homepage needs to state they are 'sex worker affirmative' is beyond me. It feels like a political statement? Because surely we're past the 'people who get paid for sex can't be raped' point in society? A weird one. What does 'affirmative' mean? )

I would think it would be really great for more services aimed at particular groups (men, trans people etc) and volunteers from those groups.

Rape is something overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. A male voice picking up the phone feels not right to me, whether the caller is male or female tbh. Keep general services for the people who set them up and paid for them, and have really good services for those who fall outside that and would rather speak to someone who gets it, as it were.

Another reason why T should not be lumped together with LGB.

On the Cambridge advert it also says: the applicant needs to be
"Interested in discussing and learning about rape and sexual violence, and its impacts on women and girls"

For a natal woman, such interest would be important and would involve compassion and an innate empathy. But interest in this from a male-bodied person...? You can see how some male-bodied people might have an 'interest' in this in a totally different way.

What on earth are such services thinking of to facilitate this kind of situation?

'On the Cambridge advert it also says: the applicant needs to be
"Interested in discussing and learning about rape and sexual violence, and its impacts on women and girls"'

Yikes.

Their website says "All the women who answer the phones and emails are trained in supporting survivors of sexual violence."

No mention of the fact that some of the women might be trans women, aka men. I imagine that if a woman plucked up the courage to phone to talk to someone about their abuse and got through only to hear a male voice then that would be traumatic in itself.

There's no way RC thinks that having a male voice on the line will help women.

It's utterly impossible in fact.

It may reduce sex calls, but only while the man is answering.

I’ve (unfortunately) used that centre after I was assaulted last year. They were fantastic and staffed by some wonderful women, who I imagine would not in a million years entertain the idea of a penis possessor anywhere near the place.
The advert and the reality may be two different things

This sentence is the most shocking of all:

As a women only service, SARSVL does not work with transgender men or boys

From Butterer's link to the Leeds centre. Here is an example of true transphobia

As a women only service, SARSVL does not work with transgender men or boys

So a child - a girl who was born female but says she is a boy - will not be helped if they have been sexually assaulted?

Sexually assaulted on their actual female body.

Seriously, you could not make
this misogynistic, sexist shit up.

I think this sector has been the target of lobbying at the highest levels.

They could use the EA exemptions. This is one of the clearest, if not the clearest, example of it being justified. But they seem either not to want to, or fear the consequences of not doing so.

@NewAccountForCorona

This sentence is the most shocking of all:

As a women only service, SARSVL does not work with transgender men or boys

From Butterer's link to the Leeds centre. Here is an example of true transphobia

This is unreal. What the fuck?

Entry restricted to those performing received notions of femininity, it appears.

@Dances

Why is this surprising? One of the Rape risks centres in Scotland is RUN by a Transwoman who lied at interview about being male.

All Rape crisis centres have be 'inclusive' to get funding from the government

What the fuck do you think women on this board have been talking about for the last 5 years?

It makes me feel so desperately sad and frightened for women and our daughters. It has been fucking years and nobody is listening. Everyone is turning a blind eye and burying their head. I’m actually in despair that nobody seems to give a fuck about us.

NewAccountForCorona
This sentence is the most shocking of all:

As a women only service, SARSVL does not work with transgender men or boys

From Butterer's link to the Leeds centre. Here is an example of true transphobia angry

This is unreal. What the fuck?

I think I’m actually going to have to lie down.

That is about as clear cut as you can get for discrimination based on gender reassignment.

@Jjjjjj1981

I’ve (unfortunately) used that centre after I was assaulted last year. They were fantastic and staffed by some wonderful women, who I imagine would not in a million years entertain the idea of a penis possessor anywhere near the place. The advert and the reality may be two different things

I'm so sorry that you had to use them.

I have always supported their work and heard good things about them. However I was really shocked yesterday when a friend shared the ad for volunteers and I read the bit about self-identifying as a woman. They need to address people's valid concerns.

Rape is something overwhelmingly perpetrated by men

That should be only

Bleugh - just saw on twitter someone pointing out that they had only replied to one ‘enquiry’ about this post (someone asking about hours) - then posted a visual taken from this same persons twitter account (yes you guessed it - manga style young woman... well you can imagine the rest). Eye bleach please!

I think they have deleted the tweet now. Shocking it was ever considered appropriate

Idiots😲

Have been thinking about this over night and this morning, and agree with so much of what has been said.

But have also been thinking this is what happens when a sector starts a whole conversation or comes under pressure from a specific interest group. What they loose sight of is who the service is more.

So not just this RCC, but apparently Rape Crisis England and Wales, says it is for women and girls. But just because on twitter and on mumsnet there is a high level of awareness about trans activism and a growth in those believing in gender rather than sex, this isn't true of society as a whole.

I am sure most women, let alone a woman who has just survived being raped is not thinking when they dial a RC helpline number oh it might not be a woman who answers the phone but someone who I can only hear and think must be a man, is someone I should accept is a woman.

It is the most cruel and unpleasant hoax to make women at such an horrendous time, to have to start playing mind games.

I really do think it should be taken up with Rape Crisis. The whole world is not part of or even cares about trans politics. On what possible groups are they misrepresenting the services being offered? Why, if they say the service is for women and girls, aren't they just saying under the EA all our services are provided as single sex services. Some Rape Crisis centres may choose to operate other services eg for men, or trans people. But if part of the supposed valueer of being a member organisation of Rape Crisis England and Wales is about it being services for women and girls why aren't they defending it under the law that allows them to do this.

It is totally under hand and I just dont understand.

It would be so easy to be honest and straight forward.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

Stumbledin — I agree, and it would be useful to brainstorm ways to try and address the issue.

Charities law — Is the Rape Crisis umbrella organisation a charity and if so, are they acting against their charitable aims etc? Misrepresenting / discriminating against their female users / related arguments. Would need to check details and think of arguments (bit of work needed) but might be an avenue. I know the charities regulator is notoriously lax tho, but could drum up some publicity to put pressure on?

ASA — misleading advertising? If really intended to be mixed sex, should be explicit about it.

Equality Commission — misleading interpretation of ss exemption?

Equality Commission — misleading interpretation of ss exemption?

They are leading the charge on pushing transgenderism. They have had to be forced to admit that the comparator for transwomen in law is other men (ie transwomen must not be treated differently to other men); their draft schools trans guidelines was a shockingly biased pieces of work ignoring the rights of women and girls; their equal opportunities monitoring form replaced ‘sex’ with ‘gender’; they were actively working with mermaids to try and first cases to pursue for trans discrimination; they have completely ignored all the discrimination against girls and women (they are paid to bring these court cases that teenagers are having to bring instead).

Oh, and their outgoing chair was previously head of Stonewall.

Cambridge appears to have removed their Twitter ad but they have retweeted an ad from Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre; another organisation that doesn't understand the Equality Act.

Cambridge appears to have removed their Twitter ad but they have retweeted an ad from Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre; another organisation that doesn't understand the Equality Act.

I looked at that ad the other day and it didnt have the 'self identifying' bit in it, I screenshotted part of the advert upthread