Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis has split from Rape Crisis Scotland, citing conflicts over the inclusion of trans women in support services.

The charity said it had not taken the decision lightly, but that its need to provide single-sex services meant it was at odds with the national body. 

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It follows from the crisis at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) where a damning review found the actions of staff “had caused damage to some survivors.”

The report found the organisation failed to protect women-only spaces, contravening national service standards all of the country’s rape crisis centres are expected to uphold.

The review also stated that the centre's then chief executive officer Mridul Wadhwa – a trans woman – did not behave professionally.

RCS chief executive Sandy Brindley apologised for the failings, saying all member centres should provide single-sex spaces.

However, she said there was “no inherent reason… that you could not have a trans person working within a rape crisis centre.”

A spokesperson for the board of Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis said: “After careful consideration, we have concluded that the interests of our organisation, and those that rely on our services, will be best served and represented outwith membership of RCS.

“We were created to provide support by and for women. We believe, and women have consistently told us, that single-sex services delivered by an all-female workforce are crucial to help them heal from sexual trauma.

"This approach remains our priority but is at odds with RCS’."

A spokesperson for Rape Crisis Scotland said: “Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis provides crucial services for survivors, and we wish them and their team well.

"Our member centres deliver services in a variety of ways, tailored to the needs of the communities they serve. What is fundamental across all Rape Crisis Services is that survivors' needs are at the centre of their provision.

"Rape Crisis Centres can provide single-sex spaces within Rape Crisis Scotland - and many do.

"The independent review of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, published last month, recommended that Rape Crisis Scotland facilitate a shared approach across centres. This work is underway."

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton praised Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis for taking what she said was a "principled stance."

She added: “It is just common sense that rape crisis centres across Scotland should be a safe haven for women but shamefully that has not been the case.

“The culture that became embedded within Rape Crisis Scotland was fostered by the SNP and meant that traumatised women have been repeatedly let down.

“Those running the organisation were more interested in imposing its militant ideological views upon staff and victims, rather than doing the right thing and supporting them.

“Even within the network of rape crisis centres, there is no confidence in the organisation’s leadership, who are totally disconnected from the concerns of women and girls.

“This decision will rightly be applauded and should be the catalyst for an urgent change in the culture within Rape Crisis Scotland. Only then will there be any possibility of them ever regaining the trust of women and girls.”

The investigation into Edinburgh Rape Crisis was ordered this year after an employment tribunal found a staff member was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed because of her gender-critical beliefs.

During the hearing, Roz Adams told of a woman in her 60s who approached ERCC asking to take part in group work.

She had kept secret for 40 years the fact that she had been sexually assaulted and wanted to meet other survivors as part of her recovery.

When this woman asked for reassurance that any group discussion would be women only, she was advised that ERCC was trans-inclusive.

When she made clear that she was unhappy that she may be seeing someone who was not biologically female she was advised that she “was not suitable for their service and was excluded.”

The review - carried out by Vicky Ling, a trustee of four legal and advice charities - found that some “basic systems at ERCC were not robust and this did not help the organisation to manage situations well.”

This included “a strategy which did not put survivors first; a failure to protect women only spaces; poor review of systems, procedures and document control.”

The “weak governance” at the centre was also criticised, while CEO Mridul Wadhwa “did not understand the limits on her role's authority…and failed to set professional standards of behaviour.”

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The report also mentioned an interview in 2021 where Ms Wadhwa told listeners of the Guilty Feminist podcast that some rape victims were “bigoted people” who needed to “reframe their trauma” and be re-educated if they didn’t agree all trans women were female.

This "traumatised" one survivor.

In her recommendations, Ms Ling said the Edinburgh centre must review its strategy and “put survivors first as a priority.”

It also called on RCS to “facilitate a shared definition of woman/female” to be shared with centres across Scotland.