Scotland Again

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Life is so overwhelming these days. No-one seems to know what is what anymore and common sense has been tossed out the window.

Victory for worker in rape centre gender row
Damning employment tribunal judgment slated Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre and found its chief executive was behind a ‘heresy hunt’ against a female employee
Mike Wade
Monday May 20 2024, 12.01am, The Times

Mridul Wadhwa, a transwoman who is ERCC’s chief executive, was involved in the disciplinary process

An employment judge has condemned a support service for rape victims and found that its chief executive was behind a “heresy hunt” against a ­female worker who held “gender-critical” beliefs.

Roz Adams won her claim of constructive dismissal against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, which is funded by the Scottish government, with the ­tribunal finding that she had been ­harassed and discriminated against.

Supporters of Adams condemned the “abusive management” she was forced to endure.

When she joined the rape crisis centre, Adams, 52, had at first welcomed its trans-inclusive policies, believing that everyone who had ­“suffered sexual assault is entitled to support”, the tribunal heard.

However, in December 2020 she went for a walk with Maggie Chapman, a Green MSP, then the centre’s chief operating officer. The judgment states: “This was the first time that [Adams] heard what she described … as the ‘mantra’ that ‘trans women are women’. She felt concerned that there was no real definition or clarification associated with this statement. She felt it was odd.

“Once she started work she felt it became more and more apparent that there were issues regarding the way that gender issues were dealt with in the organisation … She described things around the issue as being ‘eggshelly’.”

The judgment describes an investigation undertaken by the centre into Adams’s opinions as “unfortunately a classic of its kind, somewhat reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka”.

Ian McFatridge, the employment judge, identified Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman who is ERCC chief executive, as a key figure in an internal investigation that “should not have been launched in the first place”.

McFatridge said the review “was clearly motivated by a strong belief among senior management and some of the claimant’s colleagues that the claimant’s views were inherently hateful”.

He added: “It is clear that [Wadhwa] was involved in the process since she was the one who selected and ­contacted who would deal with the ­various stages of the disciplinary and grievance process.”

On Sunday night Adams said the judgment was a huge relief. “This is a victory for all people who have been subjected to sexual violence who need a choice of worker and group support on the basis of sex in order to feel safe.

“For me it validates and makes worthwhile three years of struggle.”

She added: “I hope the Scottish government, charity regulator OSCR, Rape Crisis Scotland and all those in the sector feel emboldened by this judgment to safeguard this important choice for survivors, as part of ensuring services are welcoming.”

• How the SNP became trapped by ‘woke groupthink’ — and why it matters

The tribunal, which has yet to decide on a settlement, heard that the dispute began when Adams spoke to colleagues about a rape victim who asked if her counsellor would be a “man or a woman” because she would feel “uncomfortable talking to a man”.

It intensified when a non-binary member of the staff copied Wadhwa ­into an email chain.

In evidence, it was revealed that Wadhwa had told a university event that the “best way” to get staff to support trans inclusion policies was to “fire them”.

Helen Joyce, of the campaign group Sex Matters, said: “Sex-based boundaries matter for everyone, but most especially women who have experienced male violence and sexual assault. By standing up against the abusive management, Roz Adams has helped women across the UK.”

Adams now works at Beira’s Place, a centre funded by the author JK Rowling, which ­offers a “sexual violence support ­service for women run by women”.

Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “An independent review into the practices and procedures at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre has been commissioned. We are also working with Rape Crisis England and Wales on a planned review and refresh of the national service standards.”

Maya Forstater, who was awarded £100,000 by an employment tribunal last year, said that the judgment was “excellent news”. “The centre employed a man who wishes he was a woman as CEO and allowed that to corrupt the whole purpose of the organisation,” she said.

[tamada]

It's those darned kilts again. Gets everyone in a lather.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Beware the highlander sporting a kilt.

[tamada]

Wha kil't ma wee dug?!

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Wow. This story just does not want to go away, and it keeps on giving. I say, fire the bounder. That will teach him a lesson that he won't forget.

JK Rowling slams ‘witch-hunts’ after rape crisis centre worker’s victory
Author calls for ministers to condemn treatment of women with gender critical views as pressure grows for the head of Edinburgh support centre to quit over sacking
Mike Wade
Monday May 20 2024, 8.40pm BST, The Times

Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman, is chief executive of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre and was heavily criticised for her role in the treatment of Roz Adams

JK Rowling has urged Scottish ministers to condemn those who conduct “witch-hunts” against gender-critical women after a tribunal ruled that a rape crisis centre worker was unfairly dismissed for her views.

Roz Adams was discriminated against at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC), and endured an internal investigation “reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka”, the tribunal found. Before she left her post, Adams, who won her case for constructive dismissal, had to undergo an inquiry instigated by her employers, including Mridul Wadhwa, the chief executive, who identifies as a trans woman.

The tribunal was told that the dispute began when Adams spoke to colleagues about a rape victim who asked whether her counsellor would be a “man or a woman” because she would feel “uncomfortable talking to a man”. It intensified when a non-binary member of staff copied Wadhwa into an email chain.

A tribunal found that the centre had discriminated against Roz Adams
Rowling said she hoped ministers would learn from the “utterly damning” tribunal judgment. “It would be nice, for once, to see the Scottish government speaking up for the women who’ve been subject to unlawful discrimination for defending their sex-based rights, and to hear the government condemn, rather than side with, those conducting the witch hunts,” the author said.

Following Wadhwa’s appointment three years ago, Rowling founded Beira’s Place, offering a women-only service to the victims of sexual assault.

In 2022 the Harry Potter author posted a picture of herself in a T-shirt with a slogan describing Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister at the time, as a “destroyer of women’s rights”. In her latest interventions she went on to criticise ERCC for failing to apologise to Adams for its treatment of her.

JK Rowling, a vocal critic of Nicola Sturgeon, said the ERCC should apologise to Roz Adams directly
In a statement issued by its board of directors, the centre said: “We are saddened by the outcome of the tribunal. We will now take time to reflect on the written judgment.”

It added that it fully supported an independent review commissioned in January by Rape Crisis Scotland, the umbrella organisation for 17 similar centres across the country.

• Sturgeon trans ally’s answer to gender critical women: Fire the terfs

On Twitter/X, Rowling said ERCC had offered “not a word of contrition or accountability”. She added: “No mention of the woman put through three years of severe stress and unwarranted investigation. No mention of rape survivors who self-excluded from their service. For whom are they ‘saddened’ — the persecutors?”

Rowling’s remarks came as Wadhwa’s position was described as “untenable” after the resignation of two of ERCC’s board. The two directors understood to have resigned are Miren Sagues, the former chairwoman of the charity’s board, and Katie Horsburgh, a trustee who dealt with a grievance lodged by Adams about her treatment.

Wadhwa was found to be a key figure in an internal investigation into Adams that “should not have been launched in the first place”, according to the tribunal, and was described as a “heresy hunt”.

Ian McFatridge, the employment judge, said the inquiry “was clearly motivated by a strong belief among senior management and some of the claimant’s colleagues that the claimant’s views were inherently hateful”.

He added: “It is clear that [Wadhwa] was involved in the process since she was the one who selected and contacted who would deal with the various stages of the disciplinary and grievance process.”

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the human rights charity Sex Matters, said the tribunal judgment made Wadhwa’s position “clearly untenable”. She added: “The unlawful harassment of Roz Adams, and the bizarre and extreme trans-inclusion policies that fuelled that harassment, can all be traced back to Wadhwa.”

For Women Scotland, a women’s rights campaign group, said the outcome would “finally cause some reflection at ERCC and RCS [Rape Crisis Scotland]. Survivors must be the priority, not the feelings and identities of staff members”.

Meghan Gallacher, a Scottish Conservative MSP, urged the ERCC to ensure that no further women are mistreated following the ruling.

These developments came as Sturgeon said she was “part of the problem” in Scotland’s transgender issues and it was partly why she stood down as first minister. Appearing at the Charleston literary festival in Sussex on Sunday, Sturgeon doubled down on her view that transgender women are women and said “people should be able to live how they want to be”.

The tribunal has yet to decide on a settlement.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tran ... -2mqxshwq3