Rape crisis centre to pay former employee £68,000 over unfair dismissal

A rape crisis centre has been ordered to pay a former employee over £68,000 after it was found she was unfairly discriminated against for her gender critical views.

Roz Adams took Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) to an employment tribunal which ruled in May that she had suffered harassment and discrimination.

The tribunal heard that Adams is supportive of trans individuals but believes that biological sex is real and not to be conflated with gender identity, beliefs which are currently referred to as “gender critical” or sex realist.

Ms Adams told the tribunal judge that since the initial ruling, she had not received any “full or public apology or acknowledgement” from ERCC and that a letter of apology from the board failed to reflect what she actually needed them to apologise for.

In response, Judge Fatridge ordered ERCC to apologise to Ms Adams for having alleged that she was transphobic when there was no evidence to support the allegation.

The latest ruling, published on Wednesday, asks that the rape crisis centre acknowledge that Ms Adams was “motivated by a wish to act in the best interests of service users” and that nothing she did constituted bullying or harassment.

Judge McFatridge also found that the former employee is entitled to £68,989 in compensation.

Tribunal ruling

The first ruling described how, when working at the centre, having started the job in February 2021, she became aware of its mantra that “a trans woman is a woman”.

The tribunal heard that she felt it became more and more apparent that there were issues regarding the way that gender issues were dealt with in the organisation, which she described as “eggshelly”.

It heard that a particular issue for Ms Adams, referred to as the claimant, was what to say to service users who wanted to be sure that they would be seen by someone who was biologically a woman.

In June 2022, she received an email from an abuse survivor who wanted to know whether the person she was going to see was a man or a woman and sought guidance from her superiors about how to respond.

Disciplinary proceedings against Ms Adams then started in late June 2022, although the tribunal said it could not establish the precise chain of events that led to this.

In April 2021, the centre was at the centre of controversy when Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman who did not have a gender recognition certificate and was thus legally male, was appointed as its new chief executive.

The tribunal said it appeared the centre’s chief executive had formed the view that the claimant was transphobic, which led to a “completely spurious and mishandled” disciplinary process.

It said the investigation was “deeply flawed” and “somewhat reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka”.

The tribunal said that Ms Adams felt she had no alternative but to resign, which she did in spring 2023, and upheld her claim of unfair constructive dismissal.

‘We owe you an apology’

In a letter sent to Ms Adams following the ruling, the Board said: “We owe you an apology.

“We recognise that gender critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act and that there are survivors who hold gender critical beliefs. We respect their right to do so.

“We are committed to ensuring that ERCC is a safe, accessible and inclusive service for all survivors, and have learnt from the evidence and the Judgment.”

Judge Fatrige also ruled that ERCC must issue a statement about Beira’s Place providing an “alternative source of support for female victims of sexual violence” and give a link to their website.

Ms Adams currently works for Beira’s Place but stated that it has not received any referrals from ERCC since she began working there.

Ms Adams told the judge that when she turns up for work meetings or is in meetings with others in the sector, she is “scared” of how she will be seen.

The ruling added: “She is concerned that her motivation would be in question and the risk of being seen as transphobic has had an effect on her.”

‘Clearing my name is welcome’

Following the judgement, Ms Adams said: “I’m grateful to the Tribunal for this Judgment. The financial compensation (which I’m relieved is covered by ERCC’s insurance) is welcome and will enable me as a first priority to take some time to rest.

“In time I plan to use some of it creatively for research-based dialogue using Nonviolent Communication skills.

“The public apology, clearing my name fully, will also be welcome. It is more important to me that there is now meaningful change at ERCC, as well as at Rape Crisis Scotland and the Scottish Government.

“My priority remains that all victim-survivors of sexual violence can make a genuinely informed choice about the service they seek and have confidence in who will support them. To restore that confidence, I urge these organisations to give a clear definition of ‘woman’.

“I was disappointed that ERCC chose not to attend my remedy hearing to update the tribunal on developments since May. I am delighted that representatives of ERCC visited Beira’s Place last week and had what I understand was a productive meeting.

“Whilst I do not underestimate the harms and hurt felt by many, or the enormity of the task ahead, I hope that this suggests some seedlings of change and the start of bridges being built. I urge everyone to put their focus on nurturing these seedlings, to allow people space and support to step back, rethink and repair.

“I am grateful to have been held by many inspiring and wonderful people in these challenging circumstances. Thank you to everyone who has supported me to get through this: my family, friends, colleagues and legal team, and to the strangers and ex-colleagues who reached out in unexpected ways. Every message has been a much-needed ray of light.”

‘We did not act in the right way’

In a statement following the latest ruling, the ERCC board steps have already been taken to address to outcomes of the tribunal and recommendations by Rape Crisis Scotland.

They also issued a public apology to Ms Adams, stating that they “did not act in the right way”.

It reads: “This week the employment tribunal with Roz Adams concluded. It was a challenging and complex case, and we have learnt a lot during this process. Using this learning we are striving to improve the services we offer and the support we provide to service users, staff and volunteers.  

“We are committed to balancing the views, needs and wants of all our service users, staff and volunteers. It’s important that we do this in a thoughtful and respectful way, reflecting our values and in line with the national service standards set by Rape Crisis Scotland.  

“We recognise that during the employment tribunal with Roz Adams we did not act in the right way. We want to publicly apologise, and we understand that Roz’s actions were not motivated by transphobia, but by a genuine wish to act in the best interests of service users. We should have listened more to Roz’s concerns and never pursued disciplinary action and for that we are sorry.  

“Steps have already been taken to address the outcomes of both the tribunal and recommendations provided by Rape Crisis Scotland.  

“Our focus for the future is ensuring we can provide survivors with the best possible service and support they need to aid their recovery. We are committed to ensuring that ERCC is a safe, accessible and inclusive service for all. We have information on our services, including our women only services, on our website.  

“We want to reassure all survivors who are currently accessing our services and anyone seeking support that we are here for you, and you matter to us.”

Follow STV News on WhatsApp

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country