Charity boss apologises to rape survivors over support centre failings

A foundation main enforcement has apologised "unreservedly" to rape survivors affected by failings astatine a enactment centre successful Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre came nether occurrence erstwhile a review recovered it had failed to supply women-only spaces for 16 months, and that its CEO - trans pistillate Mridul Wadhwa - had not acted professionally oregon understood the limits of her authority.

Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, said she recovered retired the centre was not pursuing nationalist standards past October and paused referrals 11 months aboriginal erstwhile the reappraisal said safeguarding was a problem.

She told BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme determination was nary crushed wherefore transgender radical could not enactment successful rape enactment centres, but that services indispensable besides supply women-only spaces.

Ms Brindley stressed that Rape Crisis Scotland, which is the nationalist foundation that sets work standards for subordinate centres, had nary engagement successful hiring Ms Wadhwa - who stood down from her relation aft the reappraisal of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) was published past week.

However she said determination had been "no reason" not to hold with the assignment astatine the clip arsenic Ms Wadhwa had important acquisition of moving successful the sector.

The relation Ms Wadhwa had is reserved for women lone – which nether recent guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission includes trans women who person a sex designation certificate.

Ms Wadhwa took implicit the ERCC successful 2021 - earlier this guidance was updated.

Acknowledging that Ms Wadhwa's assignment had been controversial, Ms Brindley said: "I was not progressive successful that assignment oregon that decision. But what I would accidental is that astir rape situation centres successful Scotland supply enactment to men, women, trans radical and non-binary people.

"There is nary inherent crushed wrong that, that you could person a trans idiosyncratic moving wrong a rape situation centre.

"I deliberation what is important however, is that if you bash person a rape situation service, that is supporting each survivors is that there's dedicated women-only spaces wrong that."

Ms Brindley added she "absolutely recognised" that women-only spaces were a precedence for galore women utilizing rape enactment services.

Ms Wadhwa arrived successful the UK successful 2002 portion surviving arsenic a pistillate successful her autochthonal India. Her passport said she was female. She has been been moving successful the the unit against women and equality sectors successful Scotland since 2005.

She has antecedently tried to basal for predetermination for the SNP but was not selected arsenic a campaigner and aboriginal joined the Scottish Greens.

In an interrogation with The Ferret quality service, she said that sum of claims she was “legally male” had unleashed “a big of hate” and that the absorption connected having a sex designation certificate was racist arsenic good arsenic transphobic due to the fact that it failed to instrumentality successful Indian taste norms.

In an interrogation with the Guilty Feminist podcast successful the aforesaid year, Ms Wadwha was asked astir rape survivors who mightiness beryllium uncomfortable with the beingness of trans women successful spaces specified arsenic rape situation centres.

In her response, she said that “sexual unit tin hap to bigoted radical too” and that if rape victims clasp “unacceptable beliefs that are discriminatory successful quality we volition statesman to enactment with you connected your travel of betterment from trauma”.

Controversy arose astir the Edinburgh centre erstwhile an employment tribunal recovered successful May of this twelvemonth that a counsellor - Roz Adams - had been unfairly constructively dismissed implicit her content that radical who utilized the work should beryllium capable to cognize the enactment of the unit that would beryllium dealing with their case.

Ms Wadhwa was highlighted successful the tribunal result arsenic she appeared to judge that Ms Adams was transphobic.

Rape Crisis Scotland past commissioned ineligible advisor Vicky Ling to reappraisal the Edinburgh service.

Ms Ling recovered that the centre had failed to support women-only spaces for 16 months and that Ms Wadhwa "did not recognize the limits connected her role’s authority, erstwhile to notation decisions to trustees and failed to acceptable nonrecreational standards of behaviour".

The study besides said determination was "evidence that the actions of immoderate ERCC unit had caused harm to immoderate survivors", and that concerns had been raised that immoderate women were "excluding themselves from approaching Rape Crisis Centres including ERCC" due to the fact that of their aproach to sex identity.

Ms Ling besides said she had been made alert that immoderate professionals had heard that "some survivors did not consciousness harmless utilizing the centre".

After the study was published, Rape Crisis Scotland said it would intermission referrals to ERCC - though radical tin inactive self-refer - until it was blessed the reappraisal recommendations had been enactment successful place.

Ms Brindley said she knew thing of issues astatine the centre until October past year.

She said she past advised the ERCC committee to settee the lawsuit alternatively than proceeding with the employment tribunal and acknowledged she should person been alert of the struggle sooner

Ms Brindley added determination had been "significant failures" astatine the ERCC and she hoped to present a "robust model of assessment" to marque definite the nationalist standards are followed and that women-only spaces are provided successful future.

Groups including For Women Scotland, which has campaigned against changes to transgender rights, person accused the ERCC committee of "ignoring its ain culpability".

The BBC understands Ms Brindley has the afloat enactment of Rape Crisis Scotland's committee to enactment successful station contempt Conservative MSP Sue Webber calling for her to quit.

Ms Brindley said the contention had led to rape survivors who supported the foundation experiencing "horrendous" maltreatment online, including being told that they "must beryllium lying" astir being raped.

"It is perfectly astonishing to maine that this is the presumption we're successful wherever rape survivors tin beryllium treated successful this mode successful the sanction of women's rights supposedly," said Ms Brindley.

"I deliberation the onus is connected maine arsenic main enforcement of Rape Crisis Scotland and connected the rape situation question to effort and determination to a spot wherever Rape Crisis is not being weaponised successful the mode it has."

She stressed that rape survivors could trust connected the foundation and that it would conscionable their needs.

Ms Brindley besides addressed the comments made by Ms Wadhwa successful the podcast, saying: "I bash not deliberation the connection ‘bigot’ and ‘rape survivor’ should beryllium utilized successful the aforesaid sentence.

"When that podcast came out, Mridul assured america that her comments had been taken retired of discourse - that she hadn’t intended them to notation to rape survivors that wanted a single-sex service."