There are calls for Rape Crisis Scotland to rebuild women’s trust after “years of betrayal” under its outgoing chief executive.
The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Sandy Brindley, who weathered many storms during her tumultuous tenure, has resigned after 24 years heading the organisation.
She had faced repeated calls to quit amid controversy over her outspoken support for transgender rights, which critics argued sacrificed the rights of female sexual-assault survivors to have single sex support.
Ms Brindley came under intense pressure to resign after a review two years ago found that Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) had failed to provide women-only spaces.
The review also ruled that its chief executive, Mridul Wadhwa, who is a trans woman, had not acted professionally or understood the limits of her authority.
Ms Brindley refused to resign despite the backlash, and continued to insist there is no reason why transgender people cannot not work in rape support centres.
She faced further calls to quit last year after failing to comment on The UK Supreme Court ruling that women are defined by biological sex in law.
Dr Pam Gosal MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ deputy chairwoman, said RCS must now take the opportunity to reclaim its “for women, by women” identity.
She said: “Rape Crisis Scotland’s focus should always be on supporting female survivors of male sexual violence – and this means safeguarding single-sex spaces for women.
“Sandy Brindley’s resignation provides an opportunity for a fresh start but personnel changes alone won’t rebuild trust.
“The SNP must take responsibility for the toxic culture within these centres and ensure that women’s needs are placed at the centre of service delivery.
“It’s time for Rape Crisis Scotland to return to its founding principles and respect women’s rights.”
Grassroots campaigners were scathing of Ms Brindley’s controversial tenure of RCS, the national umbrella body and lead organisation providing support for survivors of male sexual violence.
They echoed the call for the movement to return to its roots as a single-sex service after “years of prioritising the rights of trans-identifying men” to the detriment of women.
Women Won’t Wheesht
Caroline McAllister, co-founder of Women Won’t Wheesht, an organisation which “campaigns against the erosion of women’s sex-based rights”, said: “Sandy Brindley should have been sacked a long time ago but appeared to be well protected by the SNP.
“Biological males, who claimed to be women, were welcomed into rape crisis centres, thereby trampling on the founding principle of the centres being run “by women, for women”.
“She has caused untold damage to rape crisis centres as survivors no longer trust the service to prioritise their needs.
“Hopefully, her resignation will see rape crisis centres return to their founding principles of “by women from women”.
“How the sector rebuilds trust with survivors remains to be seen – it’s the least they owe women.”
Catalogue of failures
Ms McAllister claimed the outgoing CEO’s tenure was “defined by a catalogue of failures” as a result of embedding transgender ideology across the movement.
“The travesty of Mridul Wadhwa, a biological male who identified as a “trans woman” becoming chief executive of ERCC was a devastating betrayal of women and destruction of the movement’s good reputation built up over 40 years”, she said.
“It will be interesting to see if an incoming CEO will be prepared to reverse this damaging ideological stance.”
Rosemary Whyte, who co-founded the country’s first rape crisis centre in Glasgow in 1978, said the service had been “tarnished” under Ms Brindley.
She said: “Rape Crisis was set up to help women and girls who had been sexually assaulted and raped.
“It was to be a place where they could be safe and away from men at a time of great fear and distress.
“A survivor who goes to a rape crisis centre for help 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 and these must return to being single-sex services again – prioritising the needs of men over traumatised women is a betrayal.”
Ms Whyte added: “Times may have changed since we founded the first centre but the fundamental nature of rape and its long-term consequences for the survivors has not.
“The violation, the physical and mental harm, the trauma and what we know now as post-traumatic stress syndrome and the tangible, palpable fear of men remain exactly the same.”
Mary Howden, director of Women’s Rights Network Scotland, “welcomed” the news, adding: “Of course, it is far too late for many women who have self-excluded from their services because Brindley insisted that men could be women.
“She allowed and promoted a man who said he was a woman, causing harm for those who used the service. This also led to significant criticism and reputational damage to Rape Crisis Scotland.”
Ms Howden added: “The Scottish Government’s refusal to step in to demand action following the damning review of Edinburgh Rape Crisis leads to a lack of confidence that RCS learned anything from its failures to safeguard the needs and protections of rape victims.
“There is an opportunity for the new CEO to set a new course, a new vision which is actually about women and for women, their lives and experiences rather than an ideology which harms.”
Ms Brindley is replaced by interim chief executive, Alev Taylor.
RCS was contacted for comment.
