Karen Ingala-Smith criticised for running female only women’s refuge

[Siablue]

Apparently there has been an article in Pink News attacking her work. For many women like me single sex provision is vital.

mobile.twitter.com/K_IngalaSmith/status/1303713363910971392

Thanks for sharing. Her article is brilliant.

I've had a particularly irritating TRA trying to educate me recently that trans women need female only services more than women do.

Women experiencing trauma after violence and abuse will, like most of us – almost always instantly read someone who might be the most kind and gentle trans identified male in the world – as male; and they may experience a debilitating trauma response as a result. It’s not their fault, it’s not a choice and it’s not something they can be educated out of.

Yes indeed.

Karen Ingala-Smith rocks. I am grateful for all she does for women and have a regular monthly donation to nia.

Pink News can shove their articles up their fucking arse. Sideways!

Pink News can shove their articles up their fucking arse. Sideways!

Twice.

How dare they.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

Karen Ingala-Smith rocks. I am grateful for all she does for women and have a regular monthly donation to nia.

Pink News can shove their articles up their fucking arse. Sideways!

Whilst still on the printer.

I fully agree that trans abuse victims need support but the solution is not to abolish single sex refuges for those who need then.

Siablue of course not. There needs to be adequate refuges that support trans women and single sex ones to support women.

I really struggle to see what the problem is and why TRAs are so insistent that traumatised women have no right to a safe female space.

There's already a thread about the two articles here [https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4019334-PinkNews-has-heartwarming-story-about-trans-woman-being-saved-by-a-refuge-thus-disproving-that-refuges-should-be-women-only-but-fails-to-mention-the-refuge-was-a-trans-inclusive-one]]

How bluddy dare they?! After all she's done and continues to do. She's got a copy and paste response to the MRAs asking her why she doesn't count dead men, she's asked it so often.

There's always someone demanding they be centred in the work of a legend like her.

How bluddy dare they?! 🤯

If trans activists put the amount of time and effort they put into harassing women’s charities into building their own refuges, they would have the best provision of any group by now.

bump going to do a donation

@Stripesgalore

If trans activists put the amount of time and effort they put into harassing women’s charities into building their own refuges, they would have the best provision of any group by now.

This ^^

You'd think with the amount of funding that Stonewall and Mermaids get between them they'd be able to start a specific trans refuge.

@MoltenLasagne

You'd think with the amount of funding that Stonewall and Mermaids get between them they'd be able to start a specific trans refuge.

That would require spending money, rather than piling it up Smaug-style in the basement of Stonewall’s HQ.

@slipperywhensparticus

I bet if they ran a refuge it would be trans only or letter space only (lgbqt etc)

And it would be allowed because its stunning and brave and they have a need for safe spaces

If they were to do that they would have my full support and I would fundraise for them. I think refuges to support individual needs are needed as sadly there is so much DV. For example there is a specialist refuge for migrant women who have no recourse to public funds. What about gay men. There are few refuges for them and it is very little discussed but it is still needed.

Me too. I imagine trans women would benefit from tailored support from other trans women and a specialist refuge would be a very positive thing.

I am sure there is a trans refuge in London that opened a couple of years ago.

From that Pink News article:

But transphobic attitudes are deeply present in the women’s sector, as a piece in Refinery 29 explained last month.

Yeah! Why won't those fucking women just shut the fuck up and allow males to define them? Why won't they budge over and allow males into all of their spaces, why do they think they should get spaces for themselves? That bloody pain in the arse women's sector.

When I worked in a refuge, about 15 years ago, trans women were accepted. This never came up in practice, which was fortunate because i had no training in

• who was covered by this policy (degree or length of transition, if any)
• trans women's specific support needs
• risk assessing referrals for trans women
• risk assessing trans women in a house where they might be in unsupervised contact with children
• dealing with complaints from unsettled residents
• protecting a trans resident from unsettled residents
• taking referrals when a trans resident was in the house, bearing in mind at least 20% referrals were from Muslim women and at least 40% victims of serious sexual assaults and (in my experience) 100% from victims of male violence.

Karen has imo actually received a surprisingly low level of public attempted cancellation given she has been very forthright about her views for years. I would guess its because she knows her shit so well and is such a good communicator that most TRAs don't eant to draw attention to her writing.

namechange that’s an interesting perspective. I imagine that 15years ago it occurred very rarely and it would likely be someone who was well into their transition.

In one of the previous articles about this the trans woman was living as a man prior to going into the refuge and the first time they had used their female name was when they phoned the DV service.

I am pleased to hear there is a trans refuge. Does anyone know if there is any refuge or abuse provision for trans men?

I imagine that the TRAs would not want to draw attention to her website which makes a good case for single sex provision and her trans murder statistics (which show that if you are trans you are 14 times more likely to commit murder that be murdered yourself).

In one of the previous articles about this the trans woman was living as a man prior to going into the refuge and the first time they had used their female name was when they phoned the DV service.

Oh my god. Do you have a link to that article?

Yes, I think it's interesting that Karen has never been a huge target for TRAs as well. And I think you are right that it is because she is so articulate and makes such a good case for single sex spaces.