A Scotland-based Indian-origin transgender woman on Friday resigned as the head of a rape crisis centre at Edinburg after a review found that the unit set up to support victims of sexual assault had failed to protect women-only spaces.
Mridul Wadhwa stepped down as the chief executive officer of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) after an independent report, commissioned by the Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), found a “failure to protect women-only spaces” as the CEO “did not understand the limits on her role's authority” and therefore “failed to set professional standards of behaviour.”
The review was commissioned in May in response to an Employment Tribunal case by a former member of staff of the ERCC charity over concerns around its systems and functioning.
“Mridul Wadhwa and the Board have decided that the time is right for a change of leadership at the ERCC,” read a statement from the Board of Directors.
“Mridul has stood down from her role as CEO of ERCC. Recruitment of a new CEO will happen in due course. We are committed to delivering excellence while taking on board the recommendations from the independent review to ensure we place survivors’ voices at the heart of our strategy,” it noted.
In an earlier letter, the Board apologised and admitted it “got things wrong.” The independent review, by legal specialist Vicky Ling, flagged “a strategy which did not put survivors first; a failure to protect women-only spaces; poor review of systems, procedures and document control; and a period of weak governance.”
Among its recommendations, the report notes: “In the light of the debate between those holding gender identity/affirmative and gender critical beliefs and the developing context of litigation, ERCC must take advice from RCS concerning the definition of 'woman' within its service. Women-only spaces and times must be protected and clearly publicised.”
In its statement, RCS said that it was extremely concerned that for many months ERCC did not provide dedicated women-only spaces, as required by the National Service Standards.
The resignation of Wadhwa was welcomed by Harry Potter author J K Rowling, a very vocal campaigner for women-only spaces.
“Mridul Wadhwa is gone from Edinburgh Rape Crisis. He should have been fired the moment he said that survivors who wanted a female-only space were bigots who should 'reframe their trauma'. Those who appointed, enabled and protected Wadhwa remain in post,” she posted on X.
Meanwhile, Member of Scottish Parliament Sue Webber stressed that by definition, rape crisis centres should offer a safe haven for traumatised women.
“Yet, instead of focussing on providing that, ERCC has been more concerned with imposing its own militant gender ideology on both staff and distressed victims,” she added.
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