JKR opens a new support and advocacy service for women in Edinburgh

[ArabellaScott]

Amazing.

Suzanne Moore reports on the opening of 'Beira's Place':

'Beira’s Place is not a shelter or a drop-in. Rather, women will come, their needs will be assessed and then the appropriate therapy and help will be found for them. For free.

Sex-based crime in Scotland has been rising since 1974. Jo Rowling talks of answering unmet needs “As a survivor of sexual assault myself, I know how important it is that survivors have the option of women-centred and women-delivered care at such a vulnerable time.”

There are clearly so many unmet needs – waiting lists are huge for rape crisis centres all over the UK. Lack of funding is a key issue.

What Rowling has done here is astonishing. She has not only bought the building but is funding the entire service. This is not a charity. It does not depend on the whims of whoever is in power. While Rowling is covering the core costs, if people want to support it, they possibly could do so in future by donating towards extras such as service users’ travel or childcare expenses.'

....

'These women are fighting against male violence, and they really know what they are dealing with. Kerr and Domminney have between them more than three decades’ experience of running Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis. And Rowling has handpicked her dream team of board directors to support them: Rhona Hotchkiss, a former nurse, prison governor and advisor to the Scottish Government; Johann Lamont, Labour and Cooperative MSP, and a lifelong campaigner for the rights for women; Dr Margaret McCartney, a GP, academic and broadcaster; and Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, the largest grassroots women’s organisation in the country.'

suzannemoore.substack.com/p/an-exclusive-interview-with-jk-rowling?publication_id=22356

JKR gives the women of Edinburgh a wonderful early Christmas present. Thank you, JK. 🌟

nooooo it's all changed! Weird.

Looks fine to me on the iPad app.

@nilsmousehammer yes - i've just wasted time trying to re set my browser not realising anyone would be so daft as to voluntarily undermine their own website.

Note to @MNHQ - your new font size does not meet web accessibility standards. Please revert to usual type face and size. Nor does it conform to ease of reading because the small size means each line contains too many words. Basic rule of newspapers.

Doing @MNHQ does not send them a message. You need to either use Report on that post, email them (contact details somewhere on the website) or use Site Stuff. Sounds like whatever it is they've done needs fixing pronto!

Thread on site stuff.

Looks like it's here to stay. Sigh.

Thanks Dragon. I am a long reader but only recent contributor and thought this was was to do.

And I know this thread is really important, but I am finding things hard to read.

It's a very common misconception!

Such tiny minded people get elected?

twitter.com/LaurenOxleyx/status/1602295279184650240?s=20&t=SqaX4NfZB9t73EZpK4xcMw

I've just come across Ophelia Benson's response: www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2022/a-fit-of-pique/

I've just archived that Twitter thread for posterity. The ratio is excellent! archive.ph/aIZAD

That Independent article by Ryan Coogan is appalling, just dripping with his hatred of women and JKR in particular.

I’m surprised and heartened by the comments though - they are pretty unanimous in supporting JKR and pointing out the aeticles’s misogyny, except for a couple of vocal exceptions. The tide is definitely turning.

Someone was wondering upthread about shelter places, as Rape Crisis shelters are mixed sex (I cannot believe that in 2022 I am writing that. I could cry).

If there is provision of shelter spaces then I would imagine that will be kept as far below the radar as possible, to keep the address of any safe houses away from the abusers that women are fleeing. That's my experience from volunteering many years ago with a London Women's Aid branch.

You can easily check which refuges (there are no shelters in the UK) offer which type of services by searching the women's aid directory. www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-directory/

But what it comes back to, as what is happening in Scotland has shown is whether those running the service accept that TWAW even though the EA clearly states that women on services should be services by and for biological women only.

Also, all refuge addresses are secret, although social services and the police may be aware of them. Anyone who publicised the address of a refuge would be in breach of confidentiality.

Also, an not aware of any Rape Crisis "shelter". Support is usually by phone or meetings and some offer one to one. But again as with Refuge provision it will be down to those running the support services whether they consider TWAW.

Some areas such as Brighton dont have a rape crisis support, they have instead funded generic support services such as Survivors Network in Brighton which is the one that Sarah is taking legal action against.

Directory list is here rapecrisis.org.uk/find-a-centre/

(Both these links are for England. Scotland, Wales and NI have their own directories.)

The real question is why, when so many on mumsent and elsewhere say services should be women only that some aren't. And we are all going to have to live with the fact that this happened because women who say they care in theory, didn't put this into practice by continuing to work and volunteer for either WA or Refuge.

The vaccum that this create is the one that trans ideology walked into.

We were at fault, or niave, to think something women had created would stay as it was intended to be, if no one who shared the original values, took part in them over the years.

Really positive article and interview with Isabelle Kerr on Beira's Place, one year since it opened:

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/beiras-place-jk-rowling-rape-centre-edinburgh/

Thanks for that catduckgoose.
It's very JKR that, quietly and no fuss getting on with doing good. I'm glad they pointed out the support they can give to trans victims too, in giving telephone support and referral to appropriate other services where F2F is needed. As it should be.
Depressing that there is so much need and demand for their service but it's heartening to see the support in place working away. Thank you JKR.

Thankyou catduckgoose, really good to see an update on this. Interesting that after the initial fuss, it seems many institutions are now happy to work with Beira’s Place - maybe many people working in those institutions are not as captured as it initially appears

Great news. All those women who would have been left without help because they could not cope with seeing a male person.

its an outrage that only Edinburgh women have this safety net and that an outraged woman funded it - this should be centrally funded with ringfenced money and one in every town.

Great update, thanks for posting. All those women ( and transwomen) helped and advised in just the first year. And what an incredible woman Isabelle sounds like, clearly exactly the right person to set up and run Beira’s Place.

Best wishes and congratulations on an amazing first year to everyone involved.

CEO Isabelle Kerr:

'“The whole ethos of the place took me back to the grassroots of the women’s movement in Scotland, when women helped other women stay safe in an act of basic feminism.“Back in the early-1970s, they just had a few mattresses on the floor of a flat in Glasgow. But that meant there was always a safe roof over the women’s heads along with a core of strong supportive feminists to help survivors overcome the trauma of male violence.
“It was how women dealt with the practicalities brought about by the age-old problem of domestic abuse and sexual violence. I’m saddened to say very little has changed through the decades, which is why Beira’s Place has been busy from the moment we opened our doors.”'

Amazing work. Thanks and best wishes to Beira's Place and all who are invovled in it.

Fantastic - if there's anyone from Beira's Place here, congratulations 👏👏👏

That's such good news - a testament to JKR & all the courageous Scottish women fighting to provide services to women.

Its really great that this centre now exists and has lasted a year. Will JKR continue funding it? Quite a responsibility.

But would like to add here, as they should be recognised that some existing Rape Crisis Support lines / centres have continued to be women only despite pressure from funders - and unfortunately other women's groups.

From the list of available support locally (via Rape Crisis Scotland resource page) these 4 centres have remained to true to founding principles of women's liberation.

• Glasgow and Clyde
• Lanarckshire
• Scottish Border Rape Crisis
• Western Isles That's 4 our of 17 :( https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/help-local-rcc

As its that time of year, maybe if anyone has a few pennies to spare, they probably have an appeal page. Even if not much, just to show they have support.

(On the listing for other groups they all use the phrase "All Genders" usually with age +12 or 13, and two or three limit it to 12-18.)