A group of women held a vigil outside Hove Town Hall before a full council meeting to highlight the lack of single-sex trauma support services in Brighton and Hove.
The gathering this afternoon (Thursday 24 October) was led by campaigner Allison Hooper, wearing a scold’s bridle – an old-fashioned instrument of punishment – to highlight how she felt silenced by Brighton and Hove City Council.
Ms Hooper applied three times to address the council’s cabinet about the lack of services for survivors of male violence against women and girls despite the Equality Act allowing for them.
Last week, she finally addressed cabinet members, telling them that rape survivors were “self-excluding” from support services because providers could not guarantee that a man would not be present.
At a “Re-imagine” event in February, Ms Hooper’s supporters shared leaflets explaining how she was waiting for help from the Survivors Network and had approached Brighton Women’s Centre.
But she was told that a man identifying as a woman could be present or even be provided as a counsellor.
A colleague, Lesley Hammond, said: “Allison has been trying to get help for her PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) – her trauma caused by rape – for many years.
“And there is not a single place in Brighton where she can guarantee that there won’t be a man present.
“We’re bringing it to people’s attention. We’ve got a lot of visuals to put out on social media. We’re not expecting the council to respond in any way because they just won’t. They never do.
“People have been taking our leaflets. I had someone from a building site come over and have a chat. He was fully supportive.
“Many of the councillors might think we’re transphobic. We’re not transphobic. We just need spaces for women so they can get the help they need.
“We could use female rape crisis for trans women as well but it needs to be separate.
“Someone like Ally needs to know when she goes there that she will not be talking one-to-one to a counsellor who is a man or a group session where there is a man because she has rape trauma.”
Last week, the council’s cabinet member for children, families, youth services and for ending violence against women and girls councillor Emma Daniel responded to Ms Hooper.
At the cabinet meeting, Councillor Daniel said that the council was looking to improve how it delivered its new violence against women and girls strategy by using user experience in the process.
Councillor Daniel said: “We intend to commission national women’s sector specialists, such as Women’s Aid, to support our commissioning and procurement of services run for survivors.
“The council would like to reaffirm its commitment to supporting those affected by sexual violence as well as all forms of violence against women and girls.
“We can continue to support and have confidence in charities in the city that have been set up by and led by women and we are confident that they have the expertise to make safe decisions about their services.
“These organisations include RISE, who have operated in our city for 30 years, the Women’s Centre, who recently celebrated their 50th year in the city, and Survivors Network, which has been in operation for 34 years.
“We acknowledge there are many other fantastic community groups supporting women more generally like the Network of International Women, Mothers Uncovered and the Hangleton and Knoll Multicultural Women’s Group.
“We do believe the organisations named in the deputation behave safely and in a trauma-informed way.”
The following is from the flyer we made for the vigil. ~WallOfSilencingBrighton
“Brighton & Hove City Council have spent two years ignoring the egregious
safeguarding harms of basing policies on ‘gender identity’ instead of the
protected characteristic of sex.
Women & girls have no access to single-sex trauma counselling in
Brighton & Hove. When women survivors tried to discuss this failing in
Cllr Bella Sankey’s public engagement event (29/01/24) council officials
intimidated them and snatched leaflets from the women’s hands, claiming
they felt “unsafe” because of their “offensive” views.
This echoes the treatment of parents, whose concerns at the teaching of
gender ideology were branded “baseless smears” by Cllr Sankey (20/07/23),
with one woman being physically ejected from the chamber for raising the
issue.
This is not democracy. This is silencing”.
“Councillor Daniel said: “We intend to commission national women’s sector specialists, such as Women’s Aid, to support our commissioning and procurement of services run for survivors”.
Lets hope Women’s Aid hold a definition of ‘woman’ that does not include males (unlike BHCC)
#WallOfSilencingBrighton
Women should be able to access a women’s only service after rape or sexual assault. Demanding a woman speak to a man, just because they identify as a woman, in order to access essential sex based services is bullying women into complying with an ideology that distorts reality and is causing women and girls harm. It is nothing less than gaslighting, and cannot claim to be trauma informed care. The council is responsible for equality and safeguarding yet it consistently sacrifices women and girls health, wellbeing, and rights in the name of the trans ideology it seems to promote above all else. It’s time BHCC start acting in line with biological facts, evidence, its responsibilities to the whole population including protecting and safeguarding women and girls who spend on their services.