Women’s Rights Network imploding

[NameChangedWren]

WTF is going on? There are letters circulating with members alleging bullying, and anyone who asks a question is suspended and comments deleted. The leader calling everyone to urgent meetings with bizarre messaging: ‘there is no letter, and if there is it’s full of lies, and you can’t see the letter just trust us, and ooh look, something shiny!’ Should I cut my losses, cancel my standing order and just follow Let Women Speak?

The Resisters groups, prior to the shoppers and the WRN seemed to function OK without a similar level of central control.

There are still some active Resisters Groups around, some from when they were first set up and at least one that was set up after WRN scooped up the Shoppers and Witches Groups and that operates in the same area as a WRN Group. Some Resisters Groups decided to become WRN Groups.

One of the downsides of the Resisters Groups was that they did not have any reliable way of networking with each other. WRN held promise to resolve that problem but I have no idea how effective the networking is between WRN Groups. It should be a key feature of WRN given that "network" is part of the name on the tin.

I'd totally forgotten about Resisters.

Good to know there are still some around.

As to networking as you can set up closed facebook groups couldn't that just have a Resisters hive point or something and share that way?

Or are they not in touch with each other?

Presumably this is out of date https://resistersunited.org/who-are-we/

WRN really need to change their title because they really don’t want women to “ network “
I unsubscribed and unfollowed all the regional WRN groups so they can’t count me as a member in any way, and I know others who did the same.

What an excellent letter, well done to the women all standing together

Yes it is out of date. Most (maybe now all?) of the links are dead or go to Twitter accounts that were suspended. When I was trying to make contact with a particular Resisters Group where the link was a dead end I tried emailing the main email on the website but never received a reply.

Good letter, an awful lot of work is listed. Pretty shoddy to accept and benefit from all that work then just expel members who won't do as they're told and treat them with such utter disrespect with no transparency, no due process.

I hope those women all leave and set up their own Rights for Women Network.

That letter is dynamite. If WRN Ltd are willing to get rid of women who have done all of that for them, why would any woman volunteer for them again. And the fact that they’ve got even their coordinators scared to pass it on, it’s a climate of fear. Surely the leaders can’t keep trying to pretend this isn’t happening.

I do wonder just how many WRN members are left, especially in Scotland, Wessex and Wales, and how many board members and co-ordinators are left in the organization. I do know that at least one co-ordinator has a habit of having a hissy fit and leaving when she doesn’t get her way, you could say she is a toe rag.

The witch hunt is very real, WRN do not want these issues shared. Leadership and the inner circle are working hard to shut down questions, particularly around infrastructure and consultancy payments. And now, more members are beginning to want answers.

We might not be able to say it without reprisals but we 100% support Bucks.

I have been informed that the donations to WRN Scotland leaders account were explicitly to enable WRN Scotland to establish itself as a fully recognised, independent brand – distinct from the main WRN, mirroring the devolved powers between Westminster and Holyrood. This funded the Scottish-specific campaigns and branded merchandise that showcased our unique identity and autonomy.
The funds were used for:
• WRN Scotland-specific leaflets for our campaigns
• Badges, T-shirts, pens, key rings – all bearing the WRN Scotland branding
• Banners and billboards to assert standalone presence
• Goodie bags for Scottish Parliament events, distributed to MSPs to promote WRN Scotland as a distinct entity
All materials reinforced WRN Scotland as an autonomous brand with its own voice, campaigns, and activities – not merely an extension of the main group.

The separate bank accounts ensured Scottish donations remained for WRN Scotland.

That list of work is A LOT.

I'd be pretty pissed off if people were getting consultancy fees having built their reputation on the back of that level of voluntary work and then felt they could summarily expel the women who did it.

And to think I was moaning to a fellow sports mum volunteer earlier about our work and time not being recognised or appreciated (by teenage girls, who aren't adults and therefore can be a bit clueless, as well as seeing us all as 'just Mums') but compared to this they look like models of appreciation!

It's not very feminist IMO to build a reputation off the back of the unpaid work of other women and to then expel them with no due process because they raise concerns.

It's so encouraging to read all the support for the Bucks Women. They are an amazing group of feminists and look out for each other. HQ have been trying some divide and conquer techniques with them but everyone has claimed "I am Spartacus!"

This is absolutely staggering!!

Basically, without WRN North & South Bucks, WRN would not exist as we know it. Yet the Leadership is prepared to throw all that away.

The hubris is astonishing.

They're all glued to that Mumsnet thread where the vocal higher-ups are dismissing everything as “full of lies” without addressing the actual concerns.

There is another Mumsnet thread about this??

This thread has been a real eye-opener for me. I feel like such a fool for contributing financially to the network in good faith, only to discover that my money has been lining the pockets of a select few through these so-called consultancy fees. This was never made clear to members at all—in fact, we're constantly told that the coordinators are all volunteers who squeeze this in during their busy lives. How could I have been so gullible? Has anyone else felt blindsided by this?

I can't figure out their real intention—are they trying to undermine or compete with the main WRN. An funds or donations should be shared across the WRN network. Does this indicate that WRN Scotland no longer receives any share of the main donations pot?

Oh wow! I had assumed that the "consultancy fees" mentioned were being charged to other organisations by WRN Ltd. Directors. It hadn't occurred to me that they might be charging WRN Ltd. and that their fees would be met from donations.

Rather than the Directors suppressing the information from WRN North & South Bucks and dismissing this thread as "full of lies" , if everything is above board then they could easily reassure members by posting the full accounts for WRN Ltd.

The Scottish situation sounds very peculiar and messy.

How hard would it have been to set up a separate WRN Scotland bank account and provide receipts, rather than pay donations into the Scottish Coordinator/Director's personal bank account? Are these funds accounted for in WRN Ltd's filings to Companies House?

If there is an official plan already underway to establish WRN Scotland as a distinct entity, whether as a "sister organisation" like WRN Australia or a "branch" under the umbrella of WRN Ltd., then why not tell members?

I would agree with you that this has certainly been a real eye-opener, in so many ways.

My resisters group still exists —-though I had forgotten we were resisters—

we don’t have enough time to admit new people though unless we personally know them or members can personally vouch. We have always been very tight with security. We tend to use it now as a way to focus on local issues

I’m a pretty active member and haven’t seen this. We’ve agreed to disagree on some issues that are not directly about women’s rights.

if the co ordinators ARE watching, come on. Not a one of a you is a stupid woman. Listen to what good women are telling you and start asking questions. Members are quietly circulating the letter, despite the vicious deletions, despite the fudged excuses.