Acting CEO of woman’s aid stands up for women & JKR

[Kit19]

Bloody well done her! After Sam Smethers from the Fawcett Society mealy mouthed both siding response of a few days ago refreshing to see CEO of a woman’s charity standing up for women

Yes I’m aware how bad that sounds but that is where we are

twitter.com/norman_nicki/status/1306624737586499584?s=21

I have a recollection that Womend Aid accept that TWAW from an old thread. Perhaps their eyes have been opened.

She was asked if she meant JK

She confirmed

Sam Smethers was just awful. The audacity of having sat on her hands doing sweet FA while many ordinary women has been abused/lost jobs/crowd funded appeals etc, then patronising people as if she's got some skin in the game beyond covering her own ass.

Well this is quite significant because:

Not many women working in the Women's Sector (ie funded women's groups) dare say anything like this in public

Someone from Women's Aid (which is the federation of locally run refuges) has made a direct statement rather than waffling nonsense at a Parliamentary Committee, or the traditional "all refuges are self governing and make their own decisions".

Even if it doesn't lead to loads of refuges ( or other women's support services like Rape Crisis) making public statements they might at least feel able to make statements in their own work place where decisions about service provision are made.

Oh dear, have just read the twitter feed. Starts of well but gets worse. Trans advocates using it to say the EA does NOT mean there is a right for single sex spaces. JKR is causing trans women to be attacked.

So no chance of other women's groups speaking out, I suspect.

I think Sam Smethers destroyed any last remnants of credibility with that tweet.

I don't understand your comment, Mollscroll.

twitter.com/comedy_joey/status/1306908316803764226

Erm. Are you telling me you wont help me because I am trans?

How come these people seem to constantly see something written thats not even slightly there?!

I can’t access twitter on my phone but women had been petitioning the Fawcett Society to stand up for women in this debate. Sam Smethers has said nothing and then issued the most pathetic ‘toxicity on both sides’ tweet.

That is good to hear, Nicki Norman thank you.

Women's Aid do so much good work.

And yes, the Fawcett Society is so toothless it should just pack its bags and go home. So disappointing to see these supposed feminist organisations failing to even engage with pressing issues. What is their point? Feelgood and decorative?

Sam Smethers' weak-as-milky-tea tweet:

'The toxicity of the sex/gender identity discourse has brought us to a new low with #RIP tweets filled with hate and misogyny. But we have to look beyond that to find empathy and common ground on both sides. It does exist. Honest.'

twitter.com/Samsmethers/status/1305947967615111168

The responses to it are a long list of measured and reasonable rebuttals from women. I would hope that she reads them and listens.

@BatShite

twitter.com/comedy_joey/status/1306908316803764226

Erm. Are you telling me you wont help me because I am trans?

How come these people seem to constantly see something written thats not even slightly there?!

I read down that thread and read the story about being sexually assaulted by a pharmacist and it didn't even make sense. It sounded delusional.

This is really good to see. I know WA has been vague on this in the recent past, but they more than most must know that one of the common tools used by perpetrators of domestic abuse is to trample and disrespect boundaries: physical boundaries a woman erects to protect her body from sexual abuse or violence and emotional boundaries she tries to maintain to have her own friends and associates and even thoughts (which abusers almost always try to undermine and alienate her from). When people say there is no such thing as the M/F sex binary, what they are really saying is women cannot use the boundaries entailed by that binary to protect themselves in single sex spaces and services. “It’s fluid” sounds lovely and woke, but really it’s saying there are no boundaries here you can draw around yourself to keep yourself safe. A DV classic.

I increasingly believe this same issue carries over into arguments around gender recognition. I’m sad for people who find the 2 year process invasive and challenging. But without that process and challenge, and without that “gate keeping”, there are no safeguards or boundaries to keep people safe. That’s what gates are there for. Remove the gates and within days you will have DV perpetrators stood in front of the door self declaring themselves as women for the day so they can once again trample the boundary their victim has used to protect herself.

Please Women’s Aid: you helped me when I needed it. Don’t let other women down now

@Cupoftea1234

I have a recollection that Womend Aid accept that TWAW from an old thread. Perhaps their eyes have been opened.

Even if someone does think TWAW, if they've a shred of decency they'd say exactly what she's said here. The misogynistic abuse is not ok, period.