Scots rape crisis centre breaks with national body over pro-trans policy

Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis (GRRC) has left the Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) network over its commitment to gender-ideology.

Announcing the break, GRRC which offers “single-sex services delivered by an all-female workforce” is “at odds with RCS”.

In September, RCS Chief Executive Sandy Brindley told the BBC she could see “no inherent reason” why a man who self-identifies as a woman could not work in a rape crisis centre.

Definition of ‘woman’

Welcoming the decision to split, Rosemary Whyte, co-founder of Scotland’s first rape crisis centre in Glasgow, urged other centres to “return to being single-sex services again”.

She explained: “A survivor who goes for help to a rape crisis centre does not want to be faced with any male in one-to-one sessions or in-group sessions. Men must be excluded from rape crisis centres”.

Mary Howden, co-ordinator at Women’s Rights Network Scotland, criticised RCS for continuing “to prioritise ‘trans inclusive services’”.

Maya Forstater, Executive Director of Sex Matters warned: “If Rape Crisis Scotland continues to flout its own principles when it comes to single-sex services, and refuses to say what it means by ‘women’, it would not be surprising to see other centres leave too.”

‘Heresy hunt’

Last month, support worker Roz Adams was awarded £35,000 in compensation after resigning from Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) – a member of the RCS network – following a “heresy hunt” over her gender-critical beliefs.

Adams was subjected to a misconduct investigation, after asking if a ‘non-binary’ staff member was a “man or a woman” on behalf of a domestic abuse victim who felt “uncomfortable talking to a man”.

Employment Judge Ian McFatridge found that the centre’s senior management used the disciplinary process to “make an example” of Adams. The compensation was awarded in recognition of the “gravity of harassment” she faced.

A self-commissioned review into the ERCC in May recommended that Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) enforce a clear definition of “woman” across all its centres. However, the RCS has not even published a definition of what it believes the word means, despite claims that work began on this over a year ago.