At the end of October, Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis (GCRC) announced their disaffiliation from Rape Crisis Scotland to operate as an independent service. In a public statement by GCRC’s board, the reason for this change is a desire to operate as an entirely single-sex service at the exclusion of trans women.
This move appears to go against GCRC’s own principles of providing help for all women; they even have a specialist ‘Ruby Service’ dedicated to helping “women from different nationalities and minority groups.” When contacted for a statement, a representative of GCRC stated that the disaffiliation would not change the way they operate; however, it is unclear how this will work when certain minority groups are excluded.
In response to a 2018 Consultation concerning the reform of the Gender Recognition Act, GCRC raised concerns about women’s safety within crisis centres, and stated that – from their experience as an organisation, and feedback they have received from survivors – there is both value and need for single-sex spaces.
This reasoning could explain their recent policy shift and disaffiliation, and also provide a legal protection for their decision. Under the Equality Act 2010, it is not unlawful to exclude trans people from single-sex services when it is proportionate to do so to achieve a legitimate aim.
However, the original Consultation Paper states that this must be assessed on the facts of each individual case, and that it is not an exception that should be completely relied upon. This change covers the entirety of GCRC, so it is concerning that this clause seems to have been disregarded.
It has been acknowledged by Rape Crisis Scotland that there is a lack of specialist services available for male survivors. This issue begs to ask where does this leave trans and non-cisgender women if they are unable to access assistance with GCRC?
Although in their statement GCRC have stated that they will continue to triage all enquiries and find the best service for survivors’ individual needs, an issue could arise of trans women falling into a grey area between services, and potentially not accessing the help that they need and deserve.
The National Union of Students Scotland have condemned this move, stating that it is “dangerous”. They argue that denying trans women services puts some of the most vulnerable students at risk, and leaves people without a service that is needed. According to the Journal of Internal General Medicine, almost half of trans people experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.
Contact Details for Rape Crisis Grampian: 01224 590932; referrals@rcgrampian.co.uk
