Domestic violence shelters defy trans court ruling

Telegraph

28-04-2025

Women's domestic violence shelters have vowed to continue accepting trans women, despite a Supreme Court ruling that classed them as legally male.
At least five charities, running more than 80 women's refuges across the UK, have pledged to defy the judgment.
The move has triggered a backlash from campaigners, who accused the services of having 'failed' female victims they are meant to protect.
Refuge, which operates more than 50 shelters, has insisted the judgment 'will not change' its approach, saying it remained 'firmly committed to supporting all survivors of domestic abuse, including trans women'.
It later clarified that it would 'continue to provide single-sex accommodation and services in full accordance with the law'.
Similar statements were issued by other charities, including Solace Women's Aid, which runs 22 shelters in London and has 'an inclusive definition of women, including trans women', and Springfield, which operates Cumbria's only dedicated women's refuge.
The apparent defiance has deepened an ongoing row over the future of single-sex services.
Over the past decade, national organisations such as Women's Aid Federation and Rape Crisis, which co-ordinate services, have redefined 'women's spaces' to include trans women.
Women's Aid Federation England, which oversees more than 500 refuges, blamed the shift on 'gender-neutral commissioning' leading to cuts for woman-led, single-sex services.
It also cited broader disputes 'on the inclusion of trans women in single sex spaces' within feminism, commissioning bodies and society at large.
Last week, Rape Crisis England and Wales clarified that centres must maintain 'women-only spaces' for accreditation, but can define individually whether and how this includes trans and non-binary individuals.
The absence of a sector-wide standard has fuelled controversy and, in some cases, harmed vulnerable women.
In 2021, Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman controversially appointed as the chief executive of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, told The Guilty Feminist podcast that gender-critical survivors should 'reframe their trauma,' stating 'sexual violence happens to bigoted people, too.'
Wadhwa resigned in November after a review found that the crisis centre had failed to offer women-only spaces for 16 months, with evidence that staff had 'caused damage to some survivors'.
In Brighton, a rape survivor left group therapy after encountering a biologically male trans woman 'with no obvious female attributes.'
Sarah Summers (not her real name) turned to Survivors' Network for help with rape and childhood abuse.
She told The Mail: 'When I was sexually abused as a child, I was tricked into it by a man. Then I was raped as an adult by a man and felt tricked into it, so I don't always trust men.'
She alleged that the charity told her it would not 'police gender'. She is crowdfunding to sue, with a hearing set for September.
On Monday, two campaigners, Karen Ingala Smith and Shonagh Dillon, claimed that it was 'not lawful' to admit trans women to female domestic violence services.
Ms Smith, whose Counting Dead Women project underpins the annual list read in Parliament by Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, and Ms Dillon, have spent decades supporting abused women.
In a letter to organisations, seen by The Telegraph, they accused sector leaders of failing female survivors by not defending single-sex spaces, writing: 'You have failed to require such service providers to make clear whether they include men in services that they claim are women only... In this, we believe that you have failed to act in the best interests of your and our primary beneficiaries.
'We understand since the ruling, some member organisations have reaffirmed their intention to continue to provide mixed-sex support presented as women-only in the name of transgender inclusion. This is not lawful.'
They warned that continuing to present mixed-sex services as women-only could trigger sex discrimination claims, as well as breach charities' legal obligations, urging the sector to prioritise and guarantee women-only spaces.
Meanwhile, smaller providers said that they had been left in an impossible position.
Abby Traynor, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland, said a LinkedIn post confirming her service's continued trans inclusion unexpectedly went viral.
She stressed that it could still offer single-sex counselling and group therapy, but criticised the lack of guidance for smaller services.
She said: 'If even the Government hasn't worked out what this means, there shouldn't be pressure on us not to do things because nobody has said we can't yet.'
Calling for a short grace period, she added: 'It's quite frustrating that for years, we were told to say trans women are women. Now we're told we can't say that. Which is fine – we'll say trans women are trans women. But just give us a couple of weeks to change our literature, to be more explicit about everything.'
A spokesman for Solace said that the charity was reviewing the Supreme Court ruling and 'awaiting the revised code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to understand how it will impact our services'.
Women's Aid said that it would be seeking to engage with the equalities watchdog over its forthcoming guidance and this 'may impact on various aspects of our work including the general guidance we provide to members and on our national standards frameworks'.