Rape crisis centre failed to protect women-only spaces - report

Referrals to Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, on Claremont Crescent, have been paused following review findings

Rape survivors are no longer being referred to a support service in Edinburgh after a review found it failed to protect women-only spaces.

It also stated that centre's chief executive officer – a trans woman – failed to behave professionally and did not understand the limits of her authority.

The report, commissioned by Rape Crisis Scotland, found that Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre had not put survivors first or adhered to national service standards.

The charity has paused new referrals to the centre and said it was "extremely concerned" that women-only spaces had not been provided for 16 months.

Survivors can still self-refer to the Edinburgh centre.

Rape Crisis Scotland, which sets standards for member centres, appointed an independent consultant to carry out the review after an employment tribunal found a counsellor with gender critical views had been unfairly constructively dismissed.

Former worker Roz Adams believed that those using the service should be able to know the sex of the staff that deal with their case.

'Serious failings'

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 "did not help the organisation manage situations well".

This included a strategy "which did not put survivors first" and a failure to protect women-only spaces.

The report said: "It should be noted that despite the organisation’s 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."

The review also pointed out that the chief executive officer who was appointed in 2021 - Mridul Wadhwa - "did not understand the limits on her role’s authority, when to refer decisions to trustees and failed to set professional standards of behaviour".

Ms Wadhwa was highlighted in the outcome of Roz Adams' tribunal case as she appeared to believe that Ms Adams was transphobic.

Roz Adams' tribunal ruled that an investigation into her conduct should not have happened

Ms Adams' 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 Adams' 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 "everyone is either male or female at that level".

The tribunal found that an investigation into Ms Adams' conduct should not have been launched and “was clearly motivated by a strong belief amongst the senior management and some of the claimant’s colleagues that the claimant’s views were inherently hateful".

It said that Ms Wadhwa was “the invisible hand behind everything that had taken place.”

Ms Adams has since gone on to work for Beira's Place - a women-only support service for victims of sexual violence, funded by JK Rowling.

Publicise 'definition of woman'

In its recommendations, the review said the Edinburgh centre should take advice from Rape Crisis Scotland on the definition of "woman" and publicise this within the service.

Women only spaces and times "must be protected and clearly publicised", it said.

Rape Crisis Scotland said it had asked the centre to produce an action plan with clear timescales to implement the review’s recommendations, as well as carry out a review of its data protection and safeguarding policies and procedures.

It said: “The needs of survivors should be listened to and respected when they come to any Rape Crisis Centre.

"It 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."

The charity added it would act on the report's 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 "got things wrong" and apologised. It said it was committed to implementing the recommendations of the report.

It added: "We 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.

"We have information on our services, including our women only services, on our website."

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.