Big update on Rape Crisis legal challenge

[IamSarah]

I know many of you have been waiting for an update so first of all thank you for your patience and the many messages of support.

I am suing Survivors Network, the Sussex Rape Crisis service, as it refused to offer a single sex women’s group in addition to the mixed sex women’s groups. By mixed sex I mean inclusive of any males who identify as women.

I’ve been granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case and it was submitted to Brighton County Court today.

I am being represented by law firm Didlaw and my Barrister is Naomi Cunningham (Chair of Sex Matters). So far they have acted pro bono which I am incredibly grateful for as it has taken a lot of time. The team are confident I have a good case but this is unchartered territory for women’s rights.

Many of you have very kindly offered to be involved and help with gardening. I don’t think I’m allowed to share details on here so please go to my Twitter page http://twitter.com/SarahSurviving/ which has all the info in a pinned post.

Of you’re not on Twitter feel free to send me a DM for more information on how you can help the case. Any publicity you can give the crowd funder would really help.

Thank you everyone.

Sarah x

Good luck and thank you.

Merry Christmas everyone and thank you so much for all the support and solidarity this year.

Court case in 2023!

@IamSarah - Merry Christmas to you too. Sending sleigh-fulls of positive vibes for 2023.

Merry Christmas Sarah.

Looking forward to a better & happier new year for women & girls.

Xx

Hope you're having a good one Sarah.

Enjoy it.

You can deal with the crap next year, we'll still be here cheering you onwards.

Merry Christmas

Boiled x

Absolutely this!

Happy Christmas and positive vibes to one and all!

Happy Christmas to you Sarah, and more importantly and positive and supportive new year. All the best for 2023

Merry XXmas Sarah and all the very best for you in the New Year.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas Sarah, I'll be thinking of you and hoping everything goes well for you in 2023.

Hope you’re having a relaxing Christmas after all the stress of this year, Sarah. Here’s to an amazing 2023 for you.

Happy Christmas to you all. Hoping 2023 is the year the insanity ends and you get a good outcome @IamSarah along with Rachel Meade and anyone else in court over this.

A NEW YEAR – IT IS GOING TO BE BETTER THAN THE OLD ONE

To the wonderful, most amazing of amazingingly strong women, the woman who is braver than a lot of us @IamSarah I hope 2023 is the year this finally gets sorted for you and you can be done with this shit!

Hopefully through your journey, in the dark quiet times when no-one seems to be awake, the following will help you know you are never alone in this fight.

STANDING RIGHT BESIDE YOU

I know you probably sometimes feel, you are doing this on your own.
Left to fight the Righteous Mighty(!?!), to get them to atone.

But, if anything these last few weeks have proved beyond a doubt,
for the women here, the one name, that to them does call and shout

is @IamSarah who is fighting for us all, for that most sacred of places,
and the right for ALL US WOMEN to have bloody female spaces!

So we might be faceless names on the mobile in your hand,
but remember, we are with you, fighting bullies of this land.

So when you feel down, think the fight too much and wish the whole thing done,
picture all us women, gardening beside you, in the glorious noontime sun.

We’ll be there to pay the bills, provide moral support; some will hold your hand for real too.
But through the rest of all this shit, remember @IamSarah
WE ARE STANDING RIGHT BESIDE YOU SHOUTING WE ARE SARAH TOO.

Onwards and upwards Sarah.
🌻🌼🌹

Bb xx

What a lovely positive message. Yes, @IamSarah you are a true champion for the rights of women and girls X X

Quote from the Equality Act:

A group counselling session is provided for female victims of sexual assault. The organisers do not allow transsexual people to attend as they judge that the clients who attend the group session are unlikely to do so if a male-to-female transsexual person was also there. This would be lawful.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/notes/division/3/16/20/7

So not only is IamSarah right because as a woman she is entitled to set her own boundaries, but in this instance the law confirms that what she asked for is right.

Shame on Survivor's Network and their funders

Best wishes for 2023 and the correct resolution of your case.

@IamSarah 🎄🎄🥳🥳💚💚
@WeAreSarah 👌👏👏👏🫶

It is appalling that Sarah is having to go to court to fight for something that the law explicitly allows and that she gets so villified on line for it.

On a separate note as I don't do Twitter, but do browse on occasion,

Sarah,

the outside of those toilets looked vile, I could literally smell how disgusting they are inside through the tablet screen (and the iron bars and padlock and fencing). Have you ever considered moving to a town that doesn't so publicly declare their hate for women, and seemingly general incompetence?

Happy New Year.

As always, remember we are standing right beside you.

Bb x

Have you ever considered moving to a town that doesn't so publicly declare their hate for women, and seemingly general incompetence?

I'm rapidly coming to believe that such a town no longer exists. If it ever did.

@MarieIVanArkleStinks honestly the second I'd hit post I thought

"but where is that exactly?"

Sigh.

I know. We are well and truly in the soup. That's why women like @IamSarah are so immensely courageous and why the outcome of this case is so of such importance to all women.

This, together with the recent mess up in Scotland, has prompted me to contact my local WRN and become a feminist activist for the first time in my life. Working in a Stonewall-allied sector with examples made of colleagues such as Kathleen Stock has made it so dangerous to stand up against this mess and be counted by doing anything that goes beyond declining to announce pronouns or sport rainbow lanyards.

Now more than ever it feels truly important to actually DO something.

Thank you, Sarah.

Hello BB, happy new year!

I'm very tempted by Switzerland following this recent ruling. Anyone fancy it?

slaynews.com/news/switzerland-rejects-gender-ideology-rules-sex-binary/

Wouldn't you guess that Switzerland would know the difference between reality and fantasy?

Not completely cuckoo then.

On form this year I see😆

@IamSarah So, looks like we're all moving to Switzerland then. You want to organise the moving side or the house hunting side?

I was awake in the wee hours and was thinking of you.

Let's get this shit sorted!

Nah.'third gender' is in many ways neither here nor there (why only 3 rather than infinite?). The wiki page says "On January 1, 2022, Switzerland implemented a new effective and simplified gender change recognition process based on self-determination."

And "voted to include "gender identity" in its law on detention to better protect transgender people in regard to placement in correctional facilities" ... don't know the details but chances are that means "...at the expense of protecting women".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTrightssinSwitzerland#Transgenderrrights