Counsellor Dismissed From Rape Centre for ‘Gender Critical’ Views Is Compensated Almost £70,000

Campaigners gather outside the Scottish Parliament, to mark the introduction of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act. The act consolidates existing hate crime legislation and creates a new offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics, at Holyrood in Edinburgh on April 1, 2024. Lesley Martin/PA

A counsellor who was constructively dismissed by a rape crisis centre in Scotland for holding so-called “gender critical” views has called for “meaningful change” and a clear “definition of woman” as she was awarded nearly £70,000 damages.

Counselling support worker Roz Adams won her claim of constructive dismissal against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) in May, with the tribunal judge finding she had suffered harassment and discrimination.

A tribunal heard that the then-Chief Executive of ERCC, Mridul Wadhwa, a trans-identified man who took office in 2021 and resigned in September, labelled Adams “transphobic” after she said it was important for vulnerable women to know the sex of workers at the centre.

‘Completely Spurious’

The centre launched a “completely spurious and mishandled” disciplinary process in June 2022 that forced Adams to resign from the job she had the following spring.

On Wednesday, Adams thanked supporters and said she planned to take some “rest” and undertake further study after ERCC was ordered to pay her £68,989.71 and told to issue a public apology.

Adams now works for Beira’s Place, founded by author JK Rowling, who is well known for standing up for women’s right to single-sex spaces.

In a ruling in May, Judge Ian McFatridge said ERCC “wished to make an example” because of Adams’s belief in biological reality, after she raised a concern about rape victims being assigned to biologically male counsellors who identified as women.

The judge said that senior management had launched a “heresy hunt” against Adams because she did not fully subscribe to the gender ideology which they wished to promote.

The judgment deemed that this was harassment on the basis of Adams’s belief in biological reality, which is protected under law.

‘Meaningful Change’

Adams called for “meaningful change” from the Scottish Government, ERCC, and Rape Crisis Scotland.

In a statement, she said: “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.’”

Adams called for unity after the “harms and hurt felt by many,” and said she was “delighted” that representatives of ERCC visited Beira’s Place, where she now works, last week for a “productive” meeting.

She added: “Whilst I do not underestimate the harms and hurt felt by many, or the enormity of the task, I hope this suggests 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.”

A ruling published following an Employment Tribunal “remedy hearing” in October said Adams was concerned that service users were not being directed to Beira’s Place, including by a hotline operated by Rape Crisis Scotland, that she felt an apology was for language rather than the situation, and that she felt the Equality Act 2010 was “misquoted and abused.”

It said that in June 2023, shortly after Adams launched legal action, ERCC tried to obtain a Restricted Reporting Order on the basis that what the claimant was alleged to have done should be classed as sexual misconduct.

Accused of Sexual Misconduct

The ruling said: “The claimant found the idea that someone in her sector be accused of sexual misconduct to be absolutely horrifying.”

It also said she was concerned about the legacy of being falsely branded “transphobic.”

Adams’s statement added that while the enforced public apology would be “welcome,” it was more important to her that there is now “meaningful change at ERCC, as well as at Rape Crisis Scotland and the Scottish Government.”

JK Rowling accepts an award onstage during the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights 2019 Ripple Of Hope Gala & Auction in New York on Dec. 12, 2019. Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

The ruling from McFatridge said it was a fact “that nothing the claimant did constituted bullying or harassment or that the claimant was not transphobic,“ and it seemed “extraordinary that the respondents are not prepared to send referrals to Beira’s Place.”

ERCC was ordered to make a public apology, in which it described the tribunal case as “a challenging and complex” one, which it said it had “learnt a lot” from.

The statement added that the ERCC was “striving to improve” the support it provides to service users, staff and volunteers.

It continued: “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.”

The statement added that the board was “committed to ensuring that ERCC is a safe, accessible and inclusive service for all.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said they were unable to comment on individual employment tribunal decisions, but issued a statement which said the government, “is clear that the needs and safety of survivors of rape and sexual assault must be the utmost priority of support services, including ensuring access to women-only spaces.”

PA Media contributed to this report.