A tribunal finding has found a transgender woman presided over a "heresy hunt" against a former worker who held gender-critical beliefs.
Roz Adams has won a constructive dismissal action against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC), with the tribunal finding she was harassed and discriminated.
Adams had suggested that a female survivor of sexual violence should be told the biological sex of a counsellor who identified as non-binary.
The tribunal found she was then subjected to an ERCC investigation "somewhat reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka" that "should not have been launched in the first place."
Roz Adams has won a constructive dismissal action (file pic)
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ERCC chief executive Mridul Wadhwa was found to have played a key role in the investigation.
It noted that Wadhwa "was the one who selected and contacted who would deal with the various stages of the disciplinary and grievance process."
Adams said the ruling had made "three years of struggle worthwhile."
She told BBC News: "For me it was dystopian, it was the strangest experience. I’ve never come across any other topic where to ask to talk about it and ask to find solutions that work for everybody is seen as hateful."
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The tribunal found she was then subjected to an ERCC investigation
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A spokesperson from the ERCC board of directors said: "We are saddened by the outcome of the Tribunal. We will now take time to reflect on the written judgement. We strive to provide a safe accessible and inclusive service and are committed to improving continuously.
"We are fully supportive of Rape Crisis Scotland’s commissioning of an independent review of ERCC practice.
"This will help ensure our practices and procedures meet the highest standards as set out in the Rape Crisis National Service Standards, and that survivors receive the exceptional quality of support they deserve.
"We want to reassure all survivors who are currently accessing our services and anyone seeking support that we are still here for you, and you matter to us. Our services remain unaffected by these events."
The tribunal heard that when Adams joined Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre as a counselling and support worker around February 2021, she was supportive of trans people and "excited" by its trans inclusion policy.
In the months that followed, she began to feel there were issues around the way gender issues were dealt with by the organisation. She described the atmosphere as "eggshelly."
The tribunal ruling noted that Adams' view was that people using the centre should have a choice over who they receive support from on the basis of sex, and that sex is binary and "everyone is either male or female at that level".
It added: "Her belief was that whilst in most circumstances the distinction between biological sex and gender identity did not matter that in a service dealing with sexual violence the respondent should be honest and clear when asked to give a clear and unambiguous answer in order to provide that service users give informed consent."
The tribunal heard she was supportive of trans people when she joined in 2021
PAThe tribunal concluded: "It appeared to be the view of the respondent’s senior management that the claimant was guilty of a heresy in that she did not fully subscribe to the gender ideology which they did and which they wished to promote in the organisation.
"This was an act of harassment on the basis of her belief."
The ruling also said there would have been “absolutely no breach of her right to privacy” to have informed the service user of the counsellor’s birth sex and gender identity.
