Rape support charity: ‘Fine for men to attend survivors’ group’

A rape victim felt so unsafe she had to leave a Brighton-based rape support meeting, after it allowed a man to attend because he identified as a woman.

When the distressed woman raised concerns about his presence, she was told by the charity running the group: “We do not police gender”.

The service is provided by Survivors’ Network, which receives funding from, among others, Brighton and Hove Council, The National Lottery and the Diocese of Chichester.

Unsafe

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, ‘Sarah’ said she believed the group she was attending was reserved for women only.

She explained: “When I first went, it was all women and we all had similar experiences so I was reassured and it was really positive.”

But later, when a new member was introduced, who “was over 6ft tall, had a deep voice” and “had no obvious female attributes”, she became uncomfortable.

Because of Sarah’s previous traumatic experiences of being “tricked” by male abusers, she immediately felt compelled “to leave the group and never come back”.

‘Total disgrace’

Sarah wrote to Survivors’ Network suggesting it might consider setting up a group exclusively for women, to avoid such a situation arising again.

heartbreaking and enraging in equal measure

Instead, Head of Operations Carys Jenkins replied: “We do not police gender and we do not define who is and is not a woman; we allow women to define this for themselves.”

Commenting on the situation, prominent feminist writer Julie Bindel said: “It is heartbreaking and enraging in equal measure that, in 2021, women like Sarah are being made to feel like they cannot safely access this much needed group support.”

She added: “It is a total disgrace that some of the women who run these vital charities have become so scared of the trans lobby that they have sold women like Sarah down the river.”