Ms Roz Adams, a counsellor who was fired from her job at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre because of her gender critical views was awarded almost £69,000. The amount was nearly double her anticipated amount.

She won her case in Scotland against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre in May 2024 after a tribunal ruled that she had been constructively dismissed due to her gender critical views.

The judge ruled that Ms Adams had been the victim of a ‘heresy hunt’ against her which had led to her suffering discrimination and harassment.

The centre must now issue a public apology on their website and also refer sexual assault victims to the women's refuge, Beira’s Place, where Ms Adams now works.

Beira’s Place is a support centre for female victims of sexual violence, which was set up by the author JK Rowling.

Working for the ERCC from 2021 to 2023, Ms Adams believes that the people who made use of the centre should be able to decide who they receive help from based on gender. She also believes that sex is binary.

The tribunal heard that Ms Adams had spoken to colleagues after a rape victim had asked her if her counsellor would be a woman or a man because she would feel uncomfortable talking to a man.

Ms Adam’s managers insisted that it was not company policy to disclose the sex of any worker to a service user, although they could be told that no men were on the staff or volunteer team.

Her views clashed with those of Mridul Wadhwa, the chief executive at the centre. Ms Wadhwa was a trans woman who has since stepped down from her role.

The tribunal found that there was ample evidence that Ms Wadhwa had formed the view that Ms Adams was transphobic. This belief had led to a ‘completely spurious and mishandled disciplinary process.’

Ms Adams was subjected to an internal disciplinary process ‘reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka’ after she questioned rules about trans female counsellors working with female survivors of sexual abuse.

After consulting with a non binary colleague, Ms Adams was accused of being transphobic on how to reassure a client that they were not a man. Subsequently an internal investigation was launched, which the tribunal ruled had been ‘deeply flawed.’

The ERCC wrote to Ms Adams apologising for the discrimination she faced while working at the centre, and for the stressful process she had been through. Ms Adams rejected the apology because the letter did not publicly name her and also because of the language used. The tribunal agreed with her that the apology was ‘defective.’

After then tribunal ruling Ms Adams described her win as a victory for all people who had been subjected to sexual violence and who then needed a choice of worker and support group on the basis of sex so that they would feel safe.

Ms Adams said that the ruling ‘validated and made worthwhile the three years of struggle.’

The ERCC spokesperson commented that the centre is striving to improve, and that they had already taken action on the recommendations which had been outlined in a recent report.

The spokesperson commented that they recognised that during the tribunal they had not acted in the right way.

ERCC understands that Ms Adams’ actions were not motivated by transphobia, but rather by a genuine wish to act in the best interests of the service users.

ERCC admitted that they should have listened to Ms Adams’ concerns and should never have pursued a disciplinary line of action, and for that they were sorry.

1

Go Back to Previous Page