Elizabeth is instructed by Sarah Surviving (SS) in her claims against The Survivor Network (SN), a rape crisis centre in Brighton. SS is pursuing claims for harassment and indirect discrimination against SN following her attendance at a group counselling session where a transwoman was in attendance. SS had sought the use of the service to get support for sexual abuse trauma she has experienced and had considered the service to be single sex, i.e. only available to biological women. SS asserts that she was subjected to further trauma and exacerbation of existing trauma when attending a session and being asked to vocalise her experiences, in front of a biological man.
The claim is on-going and is yet to be listed for trial. The claims are very much a hot topic in the discrimination arena with a focus on the provision of single services under the Equality Act 2010 exceptions. If SS is successful it will highlight the intrinsic need for single sex services in specific circumstances (e.g. sexual abuse survivors, prisons, hospitals) and will provide necessary guidance and support for service providers in this minefield.
