Rape crisis centre failed to protect women-only spaces
Rape survivors are no longer being referred to a support service in Edinburgh after a review found it failed to protect women-only spaces.
The reviewerâs report said that Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre had not put survivors first or adhered to national service standards.
The report also stated that centreâs chief executive officer â a trans woman â failed to behave professionally and did not understand the limits of her authority.
Rape Crisis Scotland said it was âextremely concernedâ that the centre had not provided dedicated women-only spaces for 16 months, and as a result had paused new referrals to it.
Survivors can still self-refer to the Edinburgh centre.
Rape Crisis Scotland, the national charity which sets standards for member centres, commissioned the investigation after an employment tribunal found the Edinburgh facility had unfairly dismissed a councillor with gender critical views.
Roz Adams believed that those using the service should be able to know the sex of the staff that deal with their case.
âSerious failingsâ
The review concluded that Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre had experienced a number of difficulties including a restructuring of the service during the pandemic and a series of board and trustee changes.
It said that some basic systems were not robust which âdid not help the organisation manage situations wellâ.
This included a strategy âwhich did not put survivors firstâ and a failure to protect women-only spaces.
The report said: âIt should be noted that despite the organisationâs many serious failings, and damage that it has done to some survivors, it still manages to deliver high quality services to a significant number of people.â
The review also pointed out that the chief executive officer who was appointed in 2021 â Mridul Wadhwa â âdid not understand the limits on her roleâs authority, when to refer decisions to trustees and failed to set professional standards of behaviourâ.
Ms Wadhwa was highlighted in the outcome of Roz Adamsâ tribunal case as she appeared to believe that Ms Adams was transphobic.
Ms Adamsâ tribunal, which concluded in May, centred on a disciplinary process that began after she repeatedly sought clarity on how to respond to an abuse survivor who wanted to know if a support worker who identified as non-binary was a man or a woman.
Some people who do not consider themselves to have a solely male or female gender identity describe themselves as non-binary.
Ms Adamsâ view was that people using the centre should have a choice over who they receive support from on the basis of sex, and that sex is binary and âeveryone is either male or female at that levelâ.
The tribunal found that an investigation into Ms Adamsâ conduct should not have been launched and âwas clearly motivated by a strong belief amongst the senior management and some of the claimantâs colleagues that the claimantâs views were inherently hatefulâ.
It said that Ms Wadhwa was âthe invisible hand behind everything that had taken place.â
Ms Adams has since gone on to work for Beiraâs Place â a women-only support service for victims of sexual violence, partly funded by JK Rowling.
Publicise âdefinition of womanâ
In its recommendations, the review said the Edinburgh centre should take advice from Rape Crisis Scotland on the definition of âwomanâ and publicise this within the service.
Women only spaces and times âmust be protected and clearly publicisedâ, it said.
Rape Crisis Scotland it had asked the centre to produce an action plan with clear timescales to implement the reviewâs recommendations, as well as carry out a review of its data protection and safeguarding policies and procedures.
It said: âThe needs of survivors should be listened to and respected when they come to any Rape Crisis Centre.
âIt is important that survivors can make informed choices about the services they access at Rape Crisis Centres, and we recognise that for some survivors this includes the choice of a single sex service.â
The charity added it would act on the reportâs recommendations and was considering what more needs to be done to ensure rape survivors are able to access the services they need.
Edinburgh Rape Crisis said it recognised it âgot things wrongâ and apologised. It said it was committed to implementing the recommendations of the report.
It added: âWe want to reassure all survivors who are currently accessing our services and anyone seeking support that we are still here for you, and you matter to us.
âWe have information on our services, including our women only services, on our website.â
Equalities minister Kaukab Stewart said it was unacceptable that rape survivors had been let down. She confirmed the Scottish government continues to fund the Edinburgh centre.