The Sunday Mail disclosed that Rape Crisis Scotland Chief Executive Sandy Brindley proposed to provide the contact information of rape survivors willing to support her when approached by women’s groups urging her resignation.
The Sunday Mail interviewed author and co-founder of the law reform organisation Justice for Women, Julie Bindel, who expressed her dismay regarding the issue surrounding the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) and the conduct of Rape Crisis Scotland charity director Sandy Brindley.
Prominent feminist advocate Julie states: As an individual who has advocated for victims of male abuse for decades, I am dismayed by the persistent controversy surrounding the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC). I am appalled that the Chief Executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, Sandy Brindley, has opted to utilise rape victims to advocate for her position, despite her fervent support for the appointment of a trans-identified individual as CEO of a women-exclusive rape crisis service.
Sandy Brindley, a self-professed feminist, held a senior position in relation to Mridul Wadhwa and included oversight of the rape crisis centre in question. But she took no action when he stated on a podcast that rape victims who do not accept that trans women are women should be called out on their bigotry and “reframe their trauma”.
Wadhwa managed to secure a job advertised as open to women only, without disclosing that he is male. And Sandy Brindley left a man who caused trauma to rape victims in charge of ERCC. At that time, Sandy Brindley defended Wadhwa against criticism – calling him a ‘sister’, a ‘mother’, and a ‘warrior for women’s rights’.
She defended Wadhwa again when he was under scrutiny at the employment tribunal brought by Roz Adams – a staff member who had made careful enquiries about disclosing to rape survivors the biological sex of those they would be in contact with at the centre. The review into the service after that was damning.
It found that “putting women in the position of having to discuss whether the service they receive will be provided by someone who was born and continues to identify as female has caused damage and does not amount to the provision of protected ‘women only’ spaces.”
Sandy Brindley, who oversaw ERCC as a previously safe, women-only space for female victims (including girls as young as 12), has been aware of concerns about ERCC for a number of years.
The service was opened up to men as service users – one of whom is former SNP equalities officer Cameron Downing, now serving time in prison for horrific crimes against women.
When an employment tribunal found that Roz Adams had been harassed and discriminated against by the “invisible hand” of Wadhwa, it would have been reasonable to expect that he would be sacked and that Sandy Brindley would resign. Neither happened.
Concerns about Wadhwa raised with Sandy Brindley since his appointment in 2021 have been dismissed with accusations of “misinformation” and “harassment”. She even threatened to report anyone referring to Wadhwa as a man despite the fact that he does not have a gender recognition certificate and is both biologically and legally male.
Two days ago, Sandy Brindley apologised to survivors telling the BBC that she had only become aware of the problems at ERCC in October 2023. I can only conclude that she must have had her fingers in her ears if she didn’t hear survivors at a meeting she was at in 2019 organised by then MSP Joan McAlpine.
And now this. Amidst calls for her resignation, Sandy Brindley urged the Sunday Mail to talk to users of the service who would, she said, support her. She even offered up their telephone numbers. The paper then received a set of glowing email testimonials.
So it’s okay to ignore one group of survivors but use another group as a smokescreen? Sandy Brindley has stooped to using rape survivors as human shields. She should go.
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