Revealed: The damning findings that show Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre caused 'damage' to survivors

A rape crisis support service caused damage to survivors of sexual violence and presided over many “serious failings”, according to a damning new report.

A review of the services provided by Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) has found its strategy did not “put survivors first”, and failed to protect women-only spaces, with the organisation also falling short of professional standards of behaviour. 

The report, commissioned by Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), the lead national organisation in Scotland working to support survivors and end sexual violence, also concluded the centre’s chief executive officer, who is a trans woman, did not understand the limits on her role’s authority. 

A review into the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre has been damning | AungMyo - stock.adobe.com

In the wake of the independent review, RCS, which sets standards for member centres, has decided to pause new referrals to ERCC. It described the findings as “challenging”, and said it was “extremely concerned” that over a 16-month period, the centre did not provide dedicated women-only spaces, despite claiming it was adhering to national standards which require them.

The review was launched after an employment tribunal concluded Roz Adams, a former ERCC employee, had been unfairly dismissed from her role after expressing gender-critical views. Ms Adams believed those using the service should be able to know the sex of the staff that deal with their case.

The tribunal, which found Ms Adams had suffered harassment and discrimination, also concluded that under the leadership of its CEO, Mridul Wadhwa, the centre had overseen a “deeply flawed” investigation it described as  “somewhat reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka”. Ms Adams has since gone on to secure employment with Beira's Place, a women-only support service for victims of sexual violence, partly funded by JK Rowling.

The review carried out by Vicky Ling, a trustee of four legal and advice charities for over 30 years, said the ERCC had been plagued by basic systems that were not robust. Its recommendations include ensuring that women-only spaces and times “must be protected and clearly publicised”, and taking advice from RCS on the definition of “woman”. However, it added that in spite of its failings, the centre “still manages to deliver high-quality services to a significant number of people”.

In a statement, RCS said it has asked ERCC to produce an action plan with clear timescales to implement the review’s recommendations. It has also requested an “urgent review” of data protection and safeguarding, and said the centre had confirmed this work was “underway”. It added: “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, and we recognise that for some survivors this includes the choice of a single sex service.”

Writing on X, Joanne Cherry KC called for further action following the review. “The CEO should resign or be dismissed without further delay,” she said. 

An employment tribunal found that Roz Adams had been unfairly dismissed by Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Photo: BBC

In a statement, the board of the ERCC said it was “sorry” and recognised it “got things wrong”.

The board said it had reinstated women-only spaces in February 2024, and that all its staff had “up-to-date safeguarding training”. It said its safeguarding policy had been reviewed, with staff attending refresher training on data protection. The board added that work was underway on the wider recommendations.