Rape crisis centre chief quits after review found lack of women-only spaces
Mridul Wadhwa left her role at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre after a report said she had failed to set professional standards of behaviour.
The chief executive of a support service for victims of sexual violence has stepped down after a review found it had failed to protect women-only spaces.
Mridul Wadhwa, who was appointed chief executive (CEO) of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) in 2021, resigned after a report commissioned by Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) found she had failed to set professional standards of behaviour.
The review, commissioned in the wake of legal action brought by a former employee of ERCC, also found the former CEO “did not understand the limits on her role’s authority, (or) when to refer decisions to trustees”.
In a statement, the board of ERCC said: “Mridul Wadhwa and the board have decided that the time is right for a change of leadership in at ERCC.
“Mridul has stood down from her role as CEO of ERCC. Recruitment of a new CEO will happen in due course.”
In a statement following the publication of the report, RCS described ERCC’s failure to provide women-only spaces as “a significant breach” of the national service standards that all Rape Crisis Centres have to follow.
It added that it had paused referrals to the centre.
The charity’s statement said: “We are extremely concerned that for around 16 months, ERCC did not provide dedicated women-only spaces, as required by the national service standards, while declaring to RCS that they were adhering to the standards.
“This is a significant breach. We have asked ERCC to produce an action plan, with clear timescales, to implement the review’s recommendations.
“We have also requested that ERCC conducts an urgent review of its data protection and safeguarding policies and procedures, and they have confirmed that this work is under way.
“In the meantime, we have paused referrals to ERCC.
“The needs of survivors should be listened to and respected when they come to any Rape Crisis Centre.
“It is important that survivors can make informed choices about the services they access at Rape Crisis Centres, and we recognise that for some survivors this includes the choice of a single- sex service.”
ERCC said it was in “daily communication” with RCS and was in the process of implementing the report’s recommendations.
“We are committed to delivering excellence while taking on board the recommendations from the independent review to ensure we place survivors’ voices at the heart of our strategy,” it said.
“We are in daily communication with Rape Crisis Scotland, have met their urgent demands, and are currently implementing the recommendations in the report.
“We will continue to work alongside RCS to ensure our services not only meet but exceed the national service standards.”
The review was triggered after an employment tribunal found former ERCC employee Roz Adams had been constructively dismissed over her “gender critical beliefs”.
The tribunal heard it appeared Ms Wadhwa – a trans woman – had formed the view that Ms Adams was transphobic, which led to a “completely spurious and mishandled” disciplinary process that left Ms Adams with no choice but to resign.
In his ruling, Judge McFatridge said ERCC had “wished to make an example” of Ms Adams because of her gender critical beliefs.
“It appeared to be the view of (ERCC’s) senior management that (Ms Adams) 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.”
