Last week’s controversy around the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre put the spotlight on the need for single-sex services to protect vulnerable women, but it’s very far from the only example of how Scottish women are being let down in this regard by both the Scottish Government and civic organisations.
The homelessness system in Scotland has collapsed. Emergency accommodation is dangerous, sub-standard, and overcrowded. There has been an epidemic of deaths in hotels and B&Bs in recent years.
As a writer, feminist and literary events organiser in Scotland, I’m regularly sent links to information someone thinks might be of interest to me. This week it was a document commissioned by one of Scotland’s leading and most powerful publicly-funded literary organisations, Literature Alliance Scotland (LAS).
Nobody, of course, objects to transgender writers being included or supported, but the content of the guidance raises several extremely serious and concerning issues.
Normally in cases like these, there’s an instant and concerted attempt to rubbish the judgement, both from amateurs and activist lawyers like Robin Moira “Barry” White, Jolyon Maugham, and the anonymous “Pissed Off Lawyer” tweeting as @legaltweetz. They’ll issue spurious “analyses” dismissing the findings with jargon terms like “obiter”, and either question their correctness or attempt to minimise their significance.
For some reason that didn’t happen this time. The hyper-antagonist online trans army has very conspicuously failed to rush to the defence of ERCC CEO Mridul Wadhwa, perhaps because Judge Ian McFatridge’s conclusions were so relentlessly, brutally and comprehensively excoriating of Wadhwa’s appalling behaviour that no amount of spin or disingenuity could disguise it.
But then, on white charger and with papoose, enter a hero.
Mridul Wadhwa, a man with whom Wings readers have been familiar for some years, was found by the tribunal judge to have been “the invisible hand behind everything that had taken place” as Roz Adams, a conscientious, caring and highly professional woman with a long history in the sector, was systematically and methodically hounded out of her job for holding, privately and sensitively, the belief that biological sex is real.
We watched Question Time last night for the first time in about nine years, and this comment from SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn raised an eyebrow.
Because we couldn’t remember ANY times that Flynn had publicly expressed any problems with the Scottish Greens during their governing alliance.
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “Its cause China is making moves to take over the worlds financial empire & replace the $ with the renmimbi.…” Mar 3, 02:18
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “AUOB isn’t the SNP d’oh!” Mar 2, 23:03
Insider on Two Men Unalike: “Sarah, Why doesn’t AUOB take the money from the £660,000 that the the SNP is holding on its behalf ?” Mar 2, 22:24
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: ““enshrined in international law” Uh oh. That’s fecked then.” Mar 2, 22:23
GM on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Any details escape as to what she was up to? It must have been something.” Mar 2, 22:23
sarah on Two Men Unalike: “Alf Baird has posted a link at 8.59 p.m. to the AUOB crowdfunder to cover the 4 marches this year…” Mar 2, 21:42
Alf Baird on Two Men Unalike: “Yes Robert, Swinney is only attending because this event is specifically for Fanon’s ‘legal tendency’ within the indy movement; that…” Mar 2, 20:59
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “What is this so called Left-wing ideology you speak of?” Mar 2, 20:52
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: ““bombing the enemies of the chosen people” If only it was possible to have a maturely moderated debate on here,…” Mar 2, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: “I was going to say the sludge will be collected and distributed around certain wards in early May, in an…” Mar 2, 19:46
BLMac on Two Men Unalike: “One thing concerns me about these puberty blocker trials. Are they legal? We have an Age of Consent for a…” Mar 2, 19:36
robertkknight on Two Men Unalike: “Who is he going on behalf of? King Chucky? Sir Kid Starver? MI5? Sure as hell isn’t going along to…” Mar 2, 19:26
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: “If he wears a tea towel on his heid he’ll blend right in with the rest. You should go too,…” Mar 2, 19:22
Mark Beggan on Two Men Unalike: “As happy as a condemned man spilling his last meal down the toilet.” Mar 2, 19:06
sarah on Two Men Unalike: “Hold the front page. All is not lost for Scotland’s independence. John Swinney is going to be on the Believe…” Mar 2, 18:34
Mark Beggan on Two Men Unalike: “From that comment I think you are already there. You don’t have to die to be in hell. Leftwing ideology…” Mar 2, 18:19
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: ““Hell does not exist” Apparently, in your reality, neither does humour. Is it possible to get to your reality from…” Mar 2, 18:17
David Holden on Two Men Unalike: “Oh well the Epstein files must be more serious than we thought as the lengths Donald Trump has gone to…” Mar 2, 18:11
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: “Quite an unrelated response, Marie, but I’ll bite. Unless you’re a co-religionist, you’d be a fourth class citizen in the…” Mar 2, 18:11
Marie on Two Men Unalike: “Hell does not exist. Hell is a human created concept designed by the powerful to strike fear into people and…” Mar 2, 18:10
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “Fandan, I don’t understand a word of that word salad. Try again. If you really must.” Mar 2, 18:08
Hatey McHateface on Two Men Unalike: “Anybody ken if the brain is an organ? Only, Geri’s interminable rants, and her recent claim of organ snatching, have…” Mar 2, 17:57
Mark Beggan on Two Men Unalike: “NEWS FLASH News just in. The Iranian revolutionary council is having a crisis meeting in hell.” Mar 2, 17:49
Marie on Two Men Unalike: “You would be a second class citizen in Isr Hatey. And if you owned land in West Bank it will…” Mar 2, 17:44
Aidan on Two Men Unalike: “It’s quite amazing Geri that apparently all this has been achieved by countries with no economies, no resources and weapons…” Mar 2, 17:37
Mark Beggan on Two Men Unalike: “Yes even here in Bonnie Scotland. The patchwork of Leftwing, at whatever level in society, all have the same rabid…” Mar 2, 17:36
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “One thing is crystal clear on the Scottish Independence front, Sunshine . Do not, under any circumstances, have your military…” Mar 2, 17:35
Confused on Two Men Unalike: “you admit you know fuck-all, but then have a pop anyway … how does that even make sense? – I…” Mar 2, 17:28
Geri on Two Men Unalike: ““I never post about airborne warfare.” Oh yes you do. Yer never done phappin over F-16s even though they’ve done…” Mar 2, 17:22
Geri on Two Men Unalike: “Tell the Iranians what? You wee warhawks believe any old crap the BBC propagandists tell you. There are Christians &…” Mar 2, 17:11