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?

Can anyone tell me what is going on on this thread? What got deleted? It’s like it’s all insiders talking to each other?

WRNS treated dozens of women appallingly.
There was no acknowledgment, no apology.
They took women’s time, work & money then summarily deleted them. Women didn’t even know they’d been removed. They saw their name amongst a list of ‘removed’ women before the email. They deleted women who were members of an independent chat group who had been added to that group, sometimes I requested, and who had never once read or posted in it.

In Scotland these were often women living very rurally who had no irl contact with other GC women.

They were excommunicated even though WRNS admitted that they expelled bystanders/ potential ‘security breakers’ as a precautionary measure. It went against all natural rules of justice.

In Scotland these were often women living very rurally who had no irl contact with other GC women.
They were excommunicated even though WRNS admitted that they expelled bystanders/ potential ‘security breakers’ as a precautionary measure. It went against all natural rules of justice

This is outrageous.

And sometimes the women who don't join in might be trying to leave an abusive relationship or have other significant difficulties, and confidence issues about speaking up, and joining a group such as WRN is a tentative way to make connections. Surely the leaders of WRN should know how constrained women's lives can be, and how these tentative first steps are so important.

It shows an utter disconnect from the reality of many women's lives and is the very opposite of being feminist.

Shame on them.

And it's all about power and control. They suggest relaxing the vetting process (which I agree should be strong and involve meetings at the start if you want to allow women to participate as they are able) but then delete women for 'precautionary' reasons - well that's obvious illogical bollocks isn't it?

Maybe the 'relaxing' of vetting was purely so they could purge members on a whim in the name of 'safety'.

Maybe the 'relaxing' of vetting was purely so they could purge members on a whim in the name of 'safety'.

IIRC correctly one instance of the "relaxing of vetting" issue:

• was the reason that the women who went on to form "Women of Wessex" left WRN
• related to a specific incident which was as much to do with authoritarian control by HB as "relaxing vetting"
• was characterised by HB as a legitimate response to alleged "political vetting" by various allegedly Tory women who had allegedly taken control of several groups.

Someone can correct me if my memory does not serve me well:

• A woman who had failed the local vetting process complained to HB that she had been barred on "political" grounds from membership of a WRN group because she was left wing.
• HB responded to the complaint by instructing the WRN Group Coordinator to admit the woman into membership.
• The Coordinator, who was quite prominent in WRN and had led WRN campaigns, refused to comply with HB's instructions.
• HB said she was going to admit the woman into membership of the Group herself and the Group had no choice in the matter.
• As a result, the Coordinator and many members of the Group decided to leave WRN. (They later set up an independent group.)
• HB organised Zooms with WRN Coordinators to explain what had happened.
• At these Zooms HB said that she had already had to close several WRN Groups because they had been taken over by women who were members of the Conservative Party and they were only admitting new women who were also Conservative Party members or supporters. (This was later disputed by members of the Groups that were closed down.)
• HB said that this was the reason that the woman who had complained to her had been rejected during the local vetting process. (This was later disputed by members of the Group.)
• HB also said that the Coordinator had been out of control and verbally abusive to her in a meeting she had called to discuss the complaint from the woman who had been rejected by local vetting (this was later disputed by members of the Group) and that she would therefore have removed the Coordinator from WRN if she had not left of her own accord.

If there are other examples of HB imposing or attempting to impose "relaxed vetting" I have not heard about them.

Three themes that jump out at me are duplicity, authoritarianism and smearing of women who dare to disagree with HB. Smearing is a common tactic used by management to discredit whistle blowers. Cover ups rely on duplicity and/or authoritarianism and are almost always more damaging in the long run than the original offence.

The authoritarianism appears to have been escalating and I find it hard to believe that this will be the last in an increasingly long line of incidents where women have been expelled from WRN en masse or have chosen to walk away in disgust.

If members are powerless to effect change for the better then it is up to the other Directors to get a grip and put a brake on such destructive behaviour. HB has the power to remove them all but she would have to be completely off her head to do that.

It bears repeating that this is what HB said in "A Word from your admins" on 1 Aug 2021, seven months before HB incorporated WRN Ltd. without first consulting or later informing members:

"These groups are yours, run by you, not by us or anyone else and you know best what is happening in your local area and can organise accordingly."

Good afternoon, everyone. I am the founder, and one of the coordinators, of the Women of Wessex, and I’ve been following this thread with great interest.

I was aware that the WRN leadership team spread misinformation about me (I’m being polite here) after I left the WRN in June 2023.

The reason I knew this is quite simple. Days after I left, three women’s organisations DMd me out of the blue on Twitter to advise that they had been “briefed” by “a member of the senior leadership team” about why I had supposedly resigned, but they wanted to let me know that they didn’t believe a word of it.

You see, they had been Heathered too.

Just to set the record straight on the briefing that Thimble Thief recalls hearing - and you can believe me or not, as you wish - it is, and has always been my practice to notify members of my group of a potential joiner and to let them give me their feedback, without me expressing any opinion whatsoever.

My reason for this is quite simple. If I’m going to ask women - some of whom might work in captured organisations - to extend their circle of trust to a new member, they really need to have a say. I then act in their best interests.

In the instance that Thimble Thief describes, the woman who wished to join WRN West Country was already known to most of the women in the group. When I asked them for feedback, as I always do, they made it clear that they did not want her. More than one described occasions when she had bullied them, bringing one to the point of tears and causing another to leave a different feminist group.

In the circumstances, and as a coordinator, what would you have done?

I politely refused her application. Then Heather contacted me and instructed me to accept her into the group whether we agreed or not. I said no.

I already had serious concerns about the rather lax vetting procedures then in place in the WRN (I accept they might have changed now, but not before the moment when Fred Wallace joined a WRN Zoom in which women frantically pointed to him, but could do no more than that because they had been muted centrally)

When I subsequently received what I can only describe as a “snottogram” from Heather in which she spoke to me as though I was the menial who had come to empty her bin, I left.

After all, I was a volunteer. I had given hundreds of hours to the WRN, I had given freely of my knowledge and experience to the WRN, and 100% support, yet none of that mattered. I did not join a voluntary organisation in order to be spoken to like that.

So I exercised the volunteer’s veto. I left. About fifty members of what was then WRN West Country, followed me, and that is when I formed WoW.

The members of WRN Surrey had similar concerns to mine, and shortly after, they followed and formed the Women of Surrey.

Wessex and Surrey are fully affiliated with each other. We share the same group rules, the same strict vetting procedures, and the same objectives. Any woman accepted by the Women of Surrey is automatically welcomed by the Women of Wessex, and vice versa. The difference is that Wessex does not tell Surrey what to do, and it does not tell us. We each set our own priorities.

To be clear, I do not want the WRN to be weakened by any of this. The women in the WRN have done great work, work that I support and would like to see continue, for the benefit of all of us.

I hope that the Women of WRN Buckinghamshire can reach accord with the WRN leadership. I really do.

Thank you Lily for your clear and concise explanation of what happened to you and I’m glad other women took a stand , it’s good to know that when the truth comes out others have your back.

I wish this was shocking but it’s not anymore.

Thanks for taking the time to contribute to this thread. I am not and have never been part of WRN but from personal experience (sadly) know that women's groups / networks set up with the best intentions can go wrong.

And for women who have put their faith and confidence in others it can be so undermining.

So its just brilliant that you went on to form Women of Wessex.

Can you share a bit more about how you affiliate partly because earlier in this thread I wonder whether something like that would be a good option for other WRN groups who feel let down or even betrayed.

ie each Women of .... group is autonomous but has a shared core(?) agreement of principles.

Many, many years ago what was called the Women's Liberation Movement in the UK was made up of many local groups (although some groups were based on a share interest or experience eg being a teacher) that affiliated to a central office. The office didn't direct groups but helped share information etc., and where necessary raised issues to be discussed. And being pre internet a newsletter.

(Later on sadly there were tension over whether the "office" was elevating its role, and later still disent from non Londoners about being ignored. So the coordination / office aspect was then rotated to different groups.)

Yes, the Women of Wessex and the Women of Surrey are affiliated because we agreed to share the same objectives, the same vetting procedures and the same group rules, but we are free to choose our own priorities. We provide each other with mutual support.

The Women of Surrey have a keen interest in saving women’s sport and they did sterling work uncovering the links between Pride in Surrey and both Surrey Police and Surrey Council. That’s not all they do, but it’s an indication.

The Women of Wessex are taking on Bristol City Council (possibly the most captured city after Brighton) and Wiltshire Police. We have other initiatives bubbling, but for the moment, as you will appreciate, we can’t say much more about those at present.

The set-up lets us focus on the challenges right on our own doorsteps, the ones that directly affect us, our children, our communities, but the two groups also share info, collaborate on, and work jointly under the radar on issues that are much wider than our geographical areas.

I hope that answers your question and gives you an idea of what we are about. It’s a good-natured set-up and runs on democratic lines. It works for us.

Thanks, yes!

It’s a good-natured set-up and runs on democratic lines. It works for us.

And I hope some of the other WRN groups wondering about their future will be inspired by this.

And a nice reminder that feminism can work

It’s interesting hearing the history of how WRN appeared. What seems to have happened that a woman in Scotland (or several women ) started “shoppers” groups to meet up for activism, keeping themselves under the radar. At some point the original organiser was ousted (for unclear reasons to me as I wasn’t there at the time) the group gravitated to another organisation but were then captured by HB to belong to WRN. When it changed to WRN Ltd with HB MH et al as Directors, those who weren’t seen to contributing sufficiently, those who wouldn’t be bullied into not offering polite dissent & those who disagreed with unilateral decisions made by HB or MH were cast out. Im
not sure those who aren’t involved in the internal politics realise that the oligarchy & their
sycophants are just grifters looking for gongs.

The letter that was sent to 62 Scottish members.

The “breaches in security” that I saw were people saying that WRN were setting up new groups for police, education & healthcare etc & were requiring current group remembers to reapply to be in these groups. Is that a traitorous crime?

LilyCraven thank you for coming here to explain what happened in the South West - and adding a new word to the lexicon.

"three women’s organisations DMd me . . . they had been Heathered too"

Sooooo many women, hundreds it seems, have maintained a discreet silence for the greater good about how they were "Heathered".

"To be clear, I do not want the WRN to be weakened by any of this. The women in the WRN have done great work, work that I support and would like to see continue, for the benefit of all of us."

The women of WRN, past and present, have achieved so much that might not have been possible without being part of a UK-wide organisation. That this has often been done in partnership with other organisations does not detract from this. It shows that members have established good, collaborative working relationships with external organisations, based on mutual trust and respect.

IMHO it is inevitable that WRN will be weakened if the current management style, governance arrangements and lack of financial transparency do not change.

Word will gradually get out further than a Mumsnet thread and what will undermine WRN and Heather's credibility with external organisations is not what can be dismissed or overlooked as internal power struggles but the questions about donations.

Any organisation wanting to maintain its own reputation will likely hesitate at the prospect of teaming up with an avowedly feminist organisation that is run by a Company which:

• refuses to disclose how it has spent funds donated by women and
• condones payment of donations into a Company Director's personal bank account.

The sums involved do not need to be huge to trigger due diligence alerts because the issues involved are so fundamental: honesty and financial probity,

"I hope that the Women of WRN Buckinghamshire can reach accord with the WRN leadership. I really do."

We will just have to watch this space. Direct appeals by WRN North and South Bucks have not worked so far plus WRN leadership would have to backtrack on accusations that their letters are "all lies" or do not exist.

Organised internal dissent by members and Coordinators seems to be impossible due to rigorous censorship and enthusiastic witch hunting so, and I know I am repeating myself, it seems to be down to the remaining Directors of WRN Ltd. to try to talk some sense into Heather.

The WRN is a busted flush. I cannot for the life of me understand why the remaining directors are supporting Heather Binning, who is clearly a megalomaniac. Her behaviour is antithetical to what I believed the WRN was about, and I want no part of it.

"It’s interesting hearing the history of how WRN appeared."

Some more early history, with gaps that I can't fill.

Shirley's Groups were originally going to be called "Vagina Rules".

I have no idea if Heather and/or Jo Lear actually set up any Groups but, as far as I know, Heather was added by Shirley/SisterFlo to all the Groups outside Scotland after she had set them up.

In addition, some other "Shoppers Groups" were set up, I am not sure if independently of Shirley/SisterFlo, around the same time by local women and calling themselves "Witches Groups" or "Covens".

Shirley withdrew in mid September 2021 after setting up 62 groups with over 1,700 members because of caring responsibilities for her parents and her husband who was terminally ill. I understand Shirley expected to return at some point to what she had been persuaded to rename "Shoppers Groups".

It is annoying but I cannot recall what I once knew about Jo Lear and why she left, which was sometime between Aug 2021 and April 2022. I have an inkling that she fell out with Heather but I really would not swear to that.

There were also other Groups that had been set up years before the Shoppers Groups existed, notably the ReSisters Groups, some of which still exist and have remained outside WRN.

However, at various points after the Shoppers Groups network was renamed the "Women's Rights Network", some of the ReSisters Groups joined WRN. Some renamed themselves as WRN Groups while others retain a dual identity, which is reflected in their bios on X.

A partial history of the early days can be gleaned from archived tweets and the first issue of the WRN Newsletter (many thanks to the anonymous donors of screenshots and tips about where to find archived twitter threads!).

? July 23rd 2021: Shirley starts organising Scottish Groups

? July 27th 2021: Shirley starts organising English and Welsh Groups

? Aug 1st 2021: "A Word from your admins" letter from Heather and Jo Lear to members.
The File Properties for the Word docx version of this file are, implausibly:
Created: 01/08/2021, 15:03:00, Joanna Lear
Modified: 01/08/2021, 15:03:00, Heather Binning

(image version attached)

Aug 3rd 2021: Shirley's Day 8 twitter thread (51 Groups):

Good morning and it’s Day 8 with a daily shout out to GC women all over the UK. We now have 51 private groups up and running in which you can voice your concerns. As I tweeted last night, our group is called ’The Vagina Rules’

Archived thread: https://archive.ph/wViGH

Aug 7th 2021: Shirley's twitter thread (62 Groups):

Firm friendships being established. Does this sound like something you’d like to join?
If so, this is a list of our groups. 62 in all.
Overall responsibility for England & Wales groups are @hb29Q and @JosieJo_L
English & Wales groups as follows.

Archived thread: https://archive.ph/ke5x0

Aug 15th 2021: Shirley's twitter thread - men's support & discussion group

Good morning GC Twitter. It's been a good few days since I tweeted.
As you may know, 3 weeks ago I asked if anyone would be interested in forming private groups here on Twitter for women to talk about issues that concern them. 1200 liked that idea.

We have groups from the very top of Scotland to the very bottom of England.
Each group has a coordinator. Each application to join a group will be thoroughly vetted. We take security seriously.
Would you like to be part of our growing band?

We also have a men's support and discussion group headed by @lukewmorrison

Archived thread (partial? image only): https://archive.ph/WsGur/image

Sept 9th 2021: Shirley's twitter thread (62 Groups. 1,700 members)

(I am guessing "23rd of August" should read "23rd of July".)

Good afternoon. This is the necessarily long tweet I’ve been promising. You’ve been warned. On the 23rd of August, I initiated what I thought at the time would be 4 groups (if I was lucky) of Gender Critical women. Worked in a way as to keep the members safe and private/

/Away from public gaze. Coordinators were sought and a central coordinator group was formed.
Such was and is the level of interest, the invitation was extended to England & Wales.
England network coordinators are @hb29Q and @JosieJo_L
Wales coordinator is @JackMerched

So we find ourselves in the fortunate position of having a network of almost 1700 GC women in 62 area’s of the UK that can organise, mobilise and try to affect change, by nothing more than a couple of tweets.
The success of this movement had been demonstrated well recently.

Archived thread: https://archive.ph/MrKtE

Sept 10th 2021: Shirley explains about her husband being terminally ill.

Archived thread (Partial. Image only): https://archive.ph/4iYkK/image

Oct 2021: WRN England & Wales Newsletter Issue 1 (13 pages)

(I can't remember when WRNEW joined up with WRN Scotland and changed to WRN)

(Pages 1 and 2 attached.)

Page 1

Welcome to your first edition of the Women's Rights England & Wales Network newsletter.

The Women's Rights Network of England and Wales (WRNEW) grew out of an idea by Sister Flo (aka @shirleyascot) following the coordinated effort of women across the country in support of Marion Millar. Shirley encouraged women who wanted to fight against the erosion of women's rights to form local groups, to coordinate meetings, support each other, exchange information and such other activities within their local area, using the rather innocuous 'shopper' descriptor to mask the gatherings from those who might wish to disrupt. At the time of writing this we have 50 groups, incorporating over 800 women, and the network grows daily.

Many women have struggled to see how they can help to make a difference, beyond a twitter 'like' or 'retweet'. This is where the 'shopping' groups come in. We can make a difference, and we are. This newsletter will share what WRN groups have been up to, why we're doing what we are doing, how you can help support other groups/action and our WRN family.

We are 51% of this population, and together we will make sure that we are not erased.

Your Shopper Admins @WomensRightsEW

Page 2

A Note From Sister Flo

It's been a few months now since I had a small seed of an idea.

That tiny seed, to bring together like minded women, to talk freely about issues that concerned them, has flourished and grown.

I'm proud to be a part of that. Prouder still of every single woman who joins us. I know in some circumstances, that's not easy. By sharing ideas and information in privacy, we can make a difference.

I'm taking an enforced break due to illness in the family. I'd like you to know, not a day goes by I don't think of you all and the tremendous support you gave me.

Leave a light on.
I'll be back.
Sister Flo/Shirley

(Photo of Sister Flo with Kellie-Jay Keen aka Posie Parker)

Our Aims

To retain the hard-won rights of women

To prevent the introduction of self-identification in the Gender Recognition Act

To stop the medicalisation of children who are encouraged to believe that it is possible to change sex

To reinstate the words 'sex' and 'woman/women' into common language and law.

Dec 2nd 2021: WRN Home Page
The oldest archived home page for the WRN website on web.archive.org is dated 2nd Dec 2021 so it will have existed in that form before that date. Interestingly, the rotating "banner" image on the home page has been captured as the dictionary definition of "woman", appropriating the branding of "Standing For Women", Kellie-Jay Keen's organisation which morphed into Let Women Speak.

Feb 22nd 2022: WRN About Page
The first time the "About" page was archived was 22nd February 2022, so it will have existed in that form before that date. It includes this information:

Why do people call you the "Shopper Groups"?

The Women's Rights Network grew out of every day women connecting on social media, discussing and sharing concerns on sex-based rights issues locally to them.

They decided to meet in person, to make their presence known and in doing so faced online harassment when discussing meeting.

So, instead, they talked about going to meet to go "shopping". Other women around the UK noted that they wish they knew women local to them to "go shopping with" and the shopping groups were born.

From those initial groups, a countrywide network of women have joined forces to actively and respectfully discuss our sex-based rights. We offer support to one another. We make our concerns known and push for workable solutions.

We shrug off stereotypes and turn name calling into humour.

We know what is REALLY important.

Follow @WomensRightsNet on Twitter to find out more.

PS: Bring your own shopping bag!

April 12th 2022: WRN Ltd incorporated by HB as sole Director

I have no idea who was aware at the time that HB intended to set up and then had set up a Private Ltd Company called Women's Rights Network Ltd in April 2022.

As far as I am aware, this information was never announced publicly in the WRN Newsletter or on Social Media. The Company number just appeared in the footer on the website sometime in April or May 2022.

The website and social media accounts continued to describe WRN as a "grassroots organisation" . . . until they didn't and the word "grassroots" faded away and now has almost entirely disappeared.

"I'm not sure those who aren’t involved in the internal politics realise that the oligarchy & their sycophants are just grifters looking for gongs."

I don't know if it is fair to tar them all with that brush but it is unsettling how underhand and exploitative some of Heather's actions feel.

Her treatment of so many women who have given so much to WRN, ensuring its impact as a force for good while enabling her aggrandisement, is also grotesquely unpleasant.

Over four years after Shirley started setting up the groups, Heather still doesn't come over as particularly well-informed or on top of the subject. Her management skills are demonstrably appalling. If she had had a boss she would have been hauled over the coals for losing so many talented and dedicated women. If they had been employees then she would probably have been up in front of an Employment Tribunal.

The "Scottish donations" issue sounds very odd. Perhaps those funds are properly accounted for in the unpublished financial records, but who knows?

If anyone genuinely thinks that Scottish donations to WRN that were paid into the Director's personal bank account have not been included in WRN Ltd's unaudited accounts filed with Companies House then they could complain to Companies House and ask them to look into it. That might help to lay the matter to rest one way or another:
https://www.gov.uk/complain-company/y/yes-the-company-is-still-active/fraud-or-a-scam/filing-late-or-fraudulent-documents

(Edited to remove wonky link. Also deleted multiple instances of but they appeared automatically and might reappear.)

I am so sorry about this and I for one was taken in by the lies spun to us. I'm pleased I now know the truth and well done on creating Women of Wessex.

Thank you.

Anyone who knows me will know that I try always to conduct myself fairly and professionally, and that despite any provocation, I am never abusive. It’s just not how I am, so it stung to be accused of it by the leadership. Classic DARVO in action.

I am glad if this helped to set the record straight. I am so very proud of my sisters in the Women of Wessex and Women of Surrey, and what we have achieved - and are achieving - together.

There is life outside the WRN, and women who have been Heathered should know that it can be a fulfilling one, with women pulling together to push back against the barefaced appropriation of our rights, our words, and our very existence. No one group or organisation holds the monopoly on this fight. We all have something to offer, and every genuine contribution should be welcomed.

What a thorough history. Thank you.

Quite a bit of Scottish history and politics missing here. It also ignores the fact there were already several Scottish women's grassroots groups up and running before Shirley appeared from nowhere (no record of women's activism in Scotland).

Shirley's aim was to help women visiting Scotland to support Marion Millar and she threw women in to groups with no thought of vetting. In your first archived tweet you can she she outed the co-ordinators without discussion, creating a focus for TRAs. She also became a meglomaniac, demanding a response time to tweets and booted women and co-ordinators out if they didn't reply in time.

But it was clear that Heather was lurking in the background, telling Shirley what to do but never showing her face. The Scottish women regrouped, kicking out Shirley (and Heather). Mary's involvement is for another day.

@ThimbleThief I hope it's okay tagging you but I didn't want to quote the entirety of your (helpful and very long) post. Just wanted to add a bit more info on timing.

A partial history of the early days can be gleaned from archived tweets and the first issue of the WRN Newsletter (many thanks to the anonymous donors of screenshots and tips about where to find archived twitter threads!).
? July 23rd 2021: Shirley starts organising Scottish Groups
? July 27th 2021: Shirley starts organising English and Welsh Groups
? Aug 1st 2021: "A Word from your admins" letter from Heather and Jo Lear to members

The organising of the Scottish "shoppers groups" was earlier than 23rd July because the event to support MM was held at Glasgow Green on 20th July 2021. The groups were talked about, if not set up, for that event and in advance of it. I think it was talked about for a couple of weeks before the actual event on the green but I can't confirm dates any more accurately.

I do know there were already some other groups of women organising before that but I wasn't very involved in them.

I went to the Glasgow Green event. I think it was the one where I met Susan Dalgety.

Many thanks to PogueMahoneRishi and FeelingForWine for filling in gaps in the record from the Scottish Experience.

I found the timeline of events in July - Sept 2021 impossible to unravel from Shirley/SisterFlo's twitter threads. Too many of the references to time-scales seem to conflict. There were no tweets at all archived from @hb29Q and @JosieJo_L to help shed light.

It was interesting digging all that up though - I had completely forgotten about "The Vagina Rules"!

Well I for one now wish I lived in Wessex or Surrey.

*It’s a good-natured set-up and runs on democratic lines. It works for us. *

Sounds great