Both ERCC and RCS do not meet 51 of the 61 indicators of Rape Crisis National Service Standards

[IwantToRetire]

Sex Matters have not only reviewed the Independent Review of ERCC but also of their compliance with the Rape Crisis National Service Standards.
https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/the-standards-crisis-in-rape-crisis/

There are a number of discussion threads about ERCC/RCS (obviously) but thought it might help to have one that compiles some of the significant decisions, responses which can get lost in long threads / different threads eg:

Roz Adams Employment Tribunal Decision https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66618ed3fa3a410907e67be7/Ms_R_D_Adams_v_Edinburgh_Rape_Crisis_Centre_-4102236.2023-_Judgment.pdf

Independent Review of ERCC https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/resources/ERCC-Review-Report-FINAL1-.pdf

Rape Crisis National Service Standards (agreed by both Rape Crisis Scotland and Rape Crisis England & Wales) https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/resources/Rape-Crisis-NSS-2024.pdf

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre response to Independent Review https://www.ercc.scot/september24-board-statement/

Rape Crisis Scotland response to Independent Review https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/news/news/our-statement-on-the-edinburgh-rape-crisis-national-service-standards-report/

Rape Crisis E&W response to Independent Review
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/news/independent-review-of-edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre/

I am not aware of any response from any politician responsible for this sector, or the ERHC, or funders etc..

If you think this is useful and have any links to action from decision makers etc., please do add so as to have them all in one place, while we continue to discuss on other threads as it doesn't look like this is going to get resolved soon.

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Not a direct response but currently Women's Aid (E&W) is working "to improve our understanding, the experiences and practices of our member services who define themselves as trans inclusive". Ad for a researcher to carry out this work https://www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-seeking-to-commission-an-independent-researcher-for-membership-project/ Anyone want to apply?!

Thanks for this thread, watching with interest. They need to be held to account.

Having delivered on the standards as a consultant for a local RCS some time ago, i thought the review report was totally shit, and am so glad, Sex Matters has picked up the baton

You would really think that once the tribunal was over, and the review published, that women services providers would have been leaping at the opportunity to re-assure users that their service prioritised users, and (actual) women only provision.

Haven't seen one do that.

Thank heavens for Sex Matters. This is such a shocking report. As a woman who was involved in establishing one of the early RC Centres, it's a tragedy to see how men have been allowed to appropriate them and trash their reputation.
Shameful.

I applaud the rigour of Sex Matters' scrutiny and the clarity with which the summary and report are written.

Ideology has driven the entire sector in Scotland into disrepute. I'm not optimistic that the state of play for the remainder of the UK of GB is any better. More and more, I'm reminded of Mary Harrington's thoughts on progress. I'm posting a video of an interview with her because her arguments are otherwise in a book (Feminism against progress) or paywalled.

Triggernometry:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4297556-The-reactionary-Feminist-Mary-Harrington-brilliant-interview-on-Triggernometry?

Has anyone got any links to a person or organisation with decision making powers that have responded to the situation at ERCC itself and what it implies about not just the sector in Scotland, but through out the UK.

The silence is shameful.

Although part of me feels that this is because by and large nobody take women's issues seriously, and probably equally thinks group based on "women's issues" are just trivial.

Unfortunately not a group in a "decision making" position but well placed to comment.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis, Rape Crisis Scotland, Mridul Wadhwa and Sandy Brindley
https://forwomen.scot/24/09/2024/edinburgh-rape-crisis-rape-crisis-scotland-mridul-wadhwa-and-sandy-brindley/

I have to force myself to read about the truth in these articles because it makes me so fucking angry i want to scream.

I was in the women's sector for bloody years. I started to see the creep but had left by 2015.

I do not know how much fight I would have left in me for the onslaught of commissioners, and the failure of Women's Aid, Rape Crisis England, and utter twatty female who let it happen and did not even have the guts to go down fighting. ( I hope I would have had).

In the agencies i led, and there were a few, my mantra was we are professionals but never forget we earn a living on the back of women’s misery, never forget that they are what we live and breath for, in our daily work.

I think it stuck as the agencies i was involved in never bent from Female only.

Sometimes I feel guilty i left the sector.

But i am sooo angry.

Rant over.

Should have included these in the OP - from the EHRC:

Separate and single-sex service providers: a guide on the Equality Act sex and gender reassignment provisions
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/separate-and-single-sex-service-providers-guide-equality-act-sex-and

Guidance on discriminatory adverts
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/guidance-discriminatory-adverts

This is from 2 years ago and I dont think updated, but as WRC is said to represent women's organisations probably relevant.

WRC Statement on women-only services and sex-based rights
https://www.wrc.org.uk/blog/wrc-statement-on-women-only-services-and-sex-based-rights

I think I read it at the time and thought it not very good. But compared to the complete silence or even an acknowledgement of an issue a least something.

But if they wrote this 2 years ago, how come this is just ignored by the sector it is said to represent?

Well i sort of read it but got more pissed off, is there no common sense left in this World.

I go to Joyce for my own sanity.

No deep analysis required.

There are females oppressed and violated by heterosexual men. And women who are lesbians who deal with lesbian violence, thats what our women's services are for, by women, for women.

Yes there is lots of other shit going on, why is all that shit our sector problem?

Just fuck the fuck off.

I said that once on a radio interview.

Not the sweary bit obvs

Update from Rape Crisis England and Wales re ERCC.
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/news/updated-statement-independent-review-of-edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre/

That sounds promising that they are talking about informed consent, safety, dignity and empowerment for survivors. Will reserve judgement until we see what they actually come up with though.

They should have fucking well known this in the first place even without a quality standards frame work, self serving idiots of the first order.

Deeply disappointing that they didn't have the courage to stand up years ago for the rights of women to access single sex services. The whole movement was started by women for women. They now blame the lack of guidance from central government, taking no responsibility for their own collusion and frankly cowardice in failing to speak out.

They did know this, as that is what the Guidelines are supposed to give groups who want to affiliate to aspire to.

To play nice, at best its like they thought we've written it down, so everyone knows and will do it!

But I am concerned they have raised the issue of funding in this folow up statement. The guidelines can and could and have been put in practice by volunteer helplines and funded groups.

If they want to then say it was never a groups fault is was the funders that made them do it, they should just say that at the time when they can evidence that this is true. Not here.

I suspect though that like many groups they just wanted to avoid having any sort of show down once it became obvious that TRA politics was infiltrating RC support.

And that trying to side step has lead to the situation we now have. ie both service providers and worse still service users, have no clear position to maintain women only services, even if they additionally chose to support TW.

Very disappointing.

Would so like to think that a sector created and built by women, and formed federations etc., would have had much firmer foundations of primary beliefs and practices.

Not a "decision making" group but an in depth look at how RC services in Scotland advertise themselves and how that compares to their registered aims and objectives.

Rape Crisis Centres – by women and for women?
https://forwomen.scot/04/10/2024/rape-crisis-centres-by-women-and-for-women/

Thanks utter disgust is all that can be said.

A reminder.

What was the premise and purpose of the now infamous meeting with survivors at which Brindley and Cowan were present?

This still needs to be tackled because it's crucial to ensuring that the voices of survivors are listened to and treated with respect.

The survivors present feel the entire purpose of the meeting was about single sex provision. A least one of them felt retraumatised by the experience of that.

This review is being carried out by Brindley. That undermines it from the start.

How do you ensure particularly vulnerable survivors are happy with the new arrangements? You can't do that with engaging with them.

Further that this, how do you know that confidence in the service has improved from those who have previously excluded? These women are frankly not going to engage or trust a service, no matter what it says or how the guidance has changed, whilst Brindley remains in the picture...

... because we are yet to establish what Brindley thinks the meeting where Cowan was present was about.

Brindley's denial of being aware of a problem until 2022 is fundamentally linked to any improvement because Brindley's blind spots are hugely important.

All of this talk and changes to policy remains hot air and frankly superficial whilst Brindley stays because Brindley didn't do her job properly and this all happened on her watch. Her job is oversight. So what has she been doing for years, to miss this enormous clanger, and why would we believe that she has suddenly become capable of oversight when she failed in it for so many years?

Brindley must go.

@RedToothBrush yes! with knobs on

Rape Crisis National Service Standards

The 2024 Rape Crisis National Service Standards (RCNSS) are a set of specialist quality standards for organisations delivering sexual violence and abuse support and advocacy services from a feminist perspective.

They were developed by Rape Crisis England & Wales, in partnership with Rape Crisis Scotland.

To meet the 2024 RCNSS, organisations must be independent, community-based and trauma-informed. They must also demonstrate that they provide confidential, specialist services to victims and survivors of all forms of sexual violence and abuse from a feminist perspective.

First produced in 2008, the RCNSS have been developed and adapted over time to ensure that they continue to align with current best practice. They were most recently refreshed in 2024, with funding support from the Home Office.

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/about-us/national-service-standards/

Core Standard

The organisation meets and adheres to Rape Crisis England & Wales or Rape Crisis Scotland membership criteria and is defined as a specialist Rape Crisis service.

Core Indicator Indicative evidence

The organisation is a Registered Charity, Company Limited by Guarantee (not for profit), Community Interest Company, Charitable Incorporated Organisation or Industrial and Provident Society – Community Benefit Society and so adheres to the principles and expectations of The Charity Commission (England & Wales) or The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (Scotland).

The organisation is women led and is committed to remaining women led.

The organisation strives to maintain and develop services that meet the needs of survivors in their area who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their lives.

The organisation works from a feminist perspective that recognises sexual violence as a crime of violence, an abuse of power, and as a cause and consequence of gender inequality.

The organisation provides and protects dedicated spaces and times for women and girls to access services.

The organisation has a clear commitment to anti-racism and is working towards or already takes an actively anti-racist approach to working with survivors, staff and volunteers.

Indicative evidence

• Standard 0 underpins the criteria for membership of Rape Crisis England & Wales and Rape Crisis Scotland. For further information about the evidence required to meet the criteria for membership, please contact your national body.The organisation has as its primary or major purpose to deliver services to women and girls who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their lives.

(Only the first page from a longer documents)
https://rcew.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/documents/Rape_Crisis_National_Service_Standards_2024_kVE2WFp.pdf

I am not sure if this is in relation to them responding to events at ERCC or because they have just updated it having got Government funding.

Would be nice to think that if the Government has funded it, they too will abide by the guideline when deciding which groups to fund.

And local councils told to do the same.

RedToothBrush · 05/10/2024 09:15

This review is being carried out by Brindley. That undermines it from the start.

So, she's got to mark her own homework, I suspect an A*

This review is being carried out by Brindley. That undermines it from the start.

Which review is being carried out by Brindley.

Am hope this thread will prove a useful resource and it would make it easier to be that, if comments are shown what they are linked to.

eg my 2 recent posts are about RC E&W that that Brindley is not part of.

Could you clarify. Thanks.