women’s shelter

I run a small women's shelter that's been receiving requests to open itself to transgender-identified males. Seeing what women at the shelter go through in their own lives and the efforts they put to improve their circumstances has made me acutely aware that women need a space to grow and develop at a pace and in an environment away from men. I do not feel the calls for this inclusion are being made by "transgender women" who care about women or their circumstances. I feel this is cruel, inconsiderate virtue-signaling from individuals who have never gotten close to experiencing homelessness. Even those using the shelter oppose it, but forces outside the shelter make it seem impossible to remain female-only for much longer.

#unitedstates #womensshelter #homelessness

gym changing rooms

I was changing in my gym's changing room (ladies' one) and saw what looked like a woman with short hair coming out of a cubicle. I was in a state of nearly full undress . S/he turned and it was actually a man--probably a trans person, but male-bodied nonetheless. I froze on the spot, he smiled, but then realised I was quite shocked... so turned and left. I am no pushover and am quite used to communal spaces, but not with males... and felt immensely distressed and intimidated by this episode... The second time this happened (with a different individual) I was pregnant and I was feeling even more exposed. About 2 years later, same changing room... this time the person in question was quite young and dressed in a feminine way though still male bodied and male-looking... and was accompanied by a female friend who seemed to stare around the room, to other users... just in case we objected? Which nobody did. It was really intimidating, and as I said, my state might have compounded this feeling.

#unitedkingdom #gym #changingrooms

rape crisis centre

The CEO of Rape Crisis Scotland disagreed with the amendment in the Forensic Medical Bill in the Scottish parliament. This amendment was to allow women and girls who had been raped or sexually assaulted to choose the sex of their rape examiner rather than the gender. This was despite the fact that a survivor group of women explicitly stated they wanted to choose the sex of their examiner. Fortunately a debate was had and sex was used in place of gender. As a woman rape survivor it is my legal right to access single sex spaces for services like this. I do not give consent for a biological male to hear my story or counsel me. I phoned my elected representative and a young man answered the phone and kept repeating the ideological mantra Trans women are women. I didn’t feel comfortable discussing my concerns. I will not use any Rape Crisis service due to this.

#scotland #rapecrisisscotland #sexnotgender #survivors