Update on my case, and on exactly how much Girlguiding is spending of their money

[KatieAlcock]

As a charity. On fighting a volunteer concerned about safeguarding who doesn't believe in inner gender essence.

The explanation is in the next post because it's long and tedious but the answer is "at least £35,000 and probably more like £100,000".

DD scouts and I don’t so I don’t know the policies.
In practice there seem huge efforts to segregate by sex in our local group.

They have rung around to encourage extra girls to a camp so they can chaperone a girl who did want to attend an otherwise all boy camp.

Her last camp there was only one large room. The girls had tents erected within that room. Male leaders slept in tents outside, the female leader slept in a large cupboard...

This is all frickin madness. @katie I know from personal experience that it's the volunteers spearheaded by the Chief Guide who make the decisions at CHQ. The staff members wouldn't be able to do anything without their agreement.

Many of us have had very "woke" and shutting down responses from staff, though. The complaints team (who are paid) are particularly adept at refusing to respond to parent concerns.

They won’t let volunteers discuss this. They got REALLY pissed at a group of guiders who were in a closed social media group that said they weren’t happy. As a volunteer you can’t guide policy (or even comment on it) if you are prevented from talking about it and asked to leave if you disagree.
I can (sort of, and have obviously donated) see that in terms of ‘bringing an organization into disrepute’ that GG would see that dismissing volunteers who whistleblow in the press is necessary, but if you have shut down all means of raising safeguarding concerns such that going to the press is the only way to raise them and make sure parents are aware, then you aren’t looking after your youth or adult members effectively and deserve to be legally challenged. (On any number of fronts, but dismissing volunteers for believing in biology included).

@madwoman1ntheattic this is unhealthy if this is the way GG is managed (irrespective of the safeguarding issues). Organisations don't thrive when there isn't a healthy two and fro from management and other layers, clear lines of communication, scope for dissent within reason, encouragement of horizontal relationships... I get the sense that they are unaware or dislike modern management concepts, and there is a strong whiff of paranoia in what you've described.

I was a Brownie leader for over 10 years but stepped down at earlier this year for a couple of reasons but a major one was about GGs policies regarding self ID, mixed sex ‘camps’ and parental consent.

I have daughters who have both been involved in Guiding, 1 of whom was sexually abused repeatedly at the age of 9 by a 10yo boy. She is now 18 and we have talked a lot about what happened to her and how she would have felt sharing sleeping accommodation with a male bodied child after the abuse.

She is very ‘woke’ but is adamant that she would have reacted very badly to being in mixed sex accommodation in the first few years after the assaults.

I emailed GGUK to ask for advice and outlining my concerns a couple of years ago and have kept it all. Initially I was told to raise my concerns with the unit leader. When I pointed out that I was a unit leader (not hers at this stage) and wouldn’t be able to respond to identical parental concerns, the response was inadequate. Although I was delighted when GG revised their policies regarding transboys and XX non-binary young people.

I was not prepared to be the person on the firing line of something went wrong under a policy I don’t agree with so resigned as unit leader.

On the bright side, Scouts - with their clear mixed sex guidance - have got themselves a new leader

I was not prepared to be the person on the firing line of something went wrong under a policy I don’t agree with so resigned as unit leader.

Do many leaders know about their policy on mixed sex accommodation (the deception and lies)? Given they're not keen on transparency with parents or girls around safeguarding, presumably they're also not transparent with leaders? Because I'd think a lot of women would want to leave for the same reasons if they knew.

@IloveJKRowling I find they don't because it's not been made explicit.
Some of them still think "transwoman" means "a woman who identifies as trans".
Some of them don't know anything about the policy as it was released to leaders a few years ago in a ream of "here's some updates".
Some will be relying on the younger and more woke members of their leadership team who will tell them "it's all fine, they [TW] go through so much, they are no danger", and will be under the impression we are talking about people who have had SRS, leaving aside the facts that hardly anyone knows: those who have had SRS retain male pattern offending, and less than 20% have SRS anyway.

Thanks Katie - I suppose there may also those who may be dubious but think 'it's not affecting me at the moment', not realising the long-term implications and safeguarding problems.

Will add to the dig later Katie to help with the fight.

I suppose there may also those who may be dubious but think 'it's not affecting me at the moment', not realising the long-term implications and safeguarding problems

YES! I think this is it for a lot who are vaguely aware but don’t really know what to do or who to discuss it with.

It’s people volunteering their time, often juggling children, work, elderly parents etc so it’s ‘easiest’ just to ignore it until it actually affects you or someone you know personally.

Bold fail, sorry @IloveJKRowling

Sorry to hear of your troubles @KatieAlcock have made a small donation. I heard about it on Twitter by the way in a shoutout for support. So it's getting plenty traction.

I hate injustice, bullying and cruelty. And that's what this is. Power to you.

Have dug Katie, you’re doing brilliantly

(Having gone to an all girls school I’m frankly amazed I managed to miss all the marauding lesbians that are apparently roaming around everywhere🙄)

Good news for you today, Katie?