JK Rowling has hailed a tribunal’s decision to pay nearly £70,000 to a rape crisis worker after she was unfairly dismissed over her gender-critical views.

Roz Adams, who now works for a service founded by the author, won a claim of constructive dismissal against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) in May, after the tribunal judge found she had suffered harassment and discrimination.

She also received a public apology from ERCC on Wednesday night, which acknowledged that ‘Roz’s actions were not motivated by transphobia, but by a genuine wish to act in the best interests of service users.’

The support worker was deemed to be ‘transphobic’ by Mridul Wadhwa, the former chief executive of the ERCC, who is also a transwoman.

Wadhwa, who took office in 2021 and resigned in September, pursued this claim and brought about a ‘completely spurious and mishandled’ disciplinary process in June 2022 that forced Ms Adams to resign the following spring.

Ms Adams told the tribunal that she had at first welcomed the centre’s trans-inclusionary policies, believing that all victims of sexual assault are ‘entitled to support’, but became concerned when advocating for a victim who only wanted to talk to a female member of staff.

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Rape crisis worker Roz Adams has been awarded nearly £70,000 after she was unfairly dismissed over her gender-critical views

According to the judgment, in December 2020 Ms Adams went for a walk with the centre’s then-Chief Operating Officer, MSP Maggie Chapman, who voiced the ‘mantra’ that trans women are women.

Ms Adams reportedly found the lack of a ‘definition or clarification’ around the phrase ‘odd’, before beginning her employment and finding ‘issues regarding the way that gender issues were dealt with’.

Matters came to a head after Ms Adams spoke to another colleague about a rape victim who had said she would feel ‘uncomfortable talking to a man’ about her experiences.

Ms Adams subsequently found herself at the centre of an internal investigation.

On Wednesday, Ms Adams thanked supporters after ERCC was ordered to pay her £68,989.71.

Ms Adams now works for Beira’s Place, a support service founded by Ms Rowling, and said she planned to study non-violent communication skills.

Following the tribunal’s decision to award Ms Adams nearly £70,000, Ms Rowling took to X to announce the news to her 14million followers.

Quoting an article about the story, she followed her statement with a series of hand clap emojis.

She then followed up with a second tweet quoting from the article directly.

Ms Rowling wrote: ‘Ian McFatridge, the judge, ordered the centre to publish a statement and to refer survivors of sexual assault to Beira’s Place, the women’s refuge established by the author JK Rowling as an alternative source of support for female victims of sexual violence.’

‘At last’, she added in reaction to the statement.

JK Rowling has hailed a tribunal’s decision to pay out nearly £70,000 to Ms Adams

In a second tweet, Ms Rowling wrote ‘at last’ in reaction to the tribunal decision today

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Ms Adams now works for Beira’s Place, a support service founded by author JK Rowling

In a ruling in May, Judge Ian McFatridge said ERCC ‘wished to make an example’ of Ms Adams’ beliefs and it appeared to be the view of senior management that she was ‘guilty of a heresy’ in that she did not fully subscribe to the gender ideology  they wished to promote.

It deemed: ‘This was an act of harassment on the basis of her belief’.

The judge also said the investigation ‘was clearly motivated by a strong belief among senior management and some of the claimant’s colleagues that the claimant’s views were inherently hateful’ and was ‘unfortunately a classic of its kind, somewhat reminiscent of the work of Franz Kafka’.

Ms Adams, who was employed at ERCC from 2021 until 2023, said she was ‘grateful’ and that her priority was ‘to take some time to rest’.

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The tribunal found Mridul Wadhwa, the former chief executive of the ERCC, who is also a transwoman, deemed Ms Adams to be ‘transphobic’

She called for a public apology and for ‘meaningful change’ from the Scottish Government, ERCC and Rape Crisis Scotland.

In a statement, she said: ‘My priority remains that all victim-survivors of sexual violence can make a genuinely informed choice about the service they seek and have confidence in who will support them.

‘To restore that confidence, I urge these organisations to give a clear definition of ‘woman’.’

Ms Adams called for unity after the ‘harms and hurt felt by many’, and said she was ‘delighted’ that representatives of ERCC visited Beira’s Place, where she now works, last week for a ‘productive’ meeting.

She added: ‘Whilst I do not underestimate the harms and hurt felt by many, or the enormity of the task, I hope this suggests seedlings of change and the start of bridges being built.

‘I urge everyone to put their focus on nurturing these seedlings, to allow people space and support to step back, rethink and repair.’

A ruling published following an Employment Tribunal ‘remedy hearing’ in October said Ms Adams was concerned that service users were not being directed to Beira’s Place, including by a hotline operated by Rape Crisis Scotland, that she felt an apology was for language rather than the situation, and that she felt the Equality Act 2010 was ‘misquoted and abused’.

It said that in June 2023, shortly after Ms Adams launched legal action, ERCC tried to obtain a Restricted Reporting Order on the basis that what the claimant was alleged to have done should be classed as sexual misconduct.

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Judge Ian McFatridge said ERCC ‘wished to make an example’ of Ms Adams’ beliefs and that she was ‘guilty of a heresy’ in that she did not fully subscribe to the gender ideology which they wished to promote. Pictured: The offices of ERCC in Edinburgh

The ruling said: ‘The claimant found the idea that someone in her sector be accused of sexual misconduct to be absolutely horrifying.’

It also said she was concerned about the legacy of being branded transphobic.

Ms Adams said in a statement: ‘The public apology, clearing my name fully, will also be welcome.

‘It is more important to me that there is now meaningful change at ERCC, as well as at Rape Crisis Scotland and the Scottish Government. ‘

Tory MSP Sue Webber said: ‘She should never have been persecuted for doing the right thing in standing up for rape victims who wanted counselling from a woman. A culture change is desperately needed, and this should start from the top at Rape Crisis Scotland.’

ERCC was ordered to make a public apology.

The ruling from Judge McFatridge said it was a fact that ‘that nothing the claimant did constituted bullying or harassment or that the claimant was not transphobic’, and seemed ‘extraordinary that the respondents are not prepared to send referrals to Beira’s Place’.

A statement from the board of ERCC said: ‘This week the employment tribunal with Roz Adams concluded.

‘It was a challenging and complex case, and we have learnt a lot during this process.

‘We are striving to improve the services and the support we provide to service users, staff and volunteers.

‘We are committed to balancing the views, needs and wants of all our service users, staff and volunteers.

‘It’s important that we do this in a thoughtful and respectful way, reflecting our values and in line with the national service standards set by Rape Crisis Scotland.

‘We recognise that during the employment tribunal with Roz Adams we did not act in the right way.

‘We want to publicly apologise and we understand that Roz’s actions were not motivated by transphobia, but by a genuine wish to act in the best interests of service users.

‘We should have listened more to Roz’s concerns and never pursued disciplinary action, and for that we are sorry.

‘Steps have already been taken to address the outcomes of both the tribunal and recommendations provided by Rape Crisis Scotland.

‘Our focus for the future is ensuring we can provide survivors with the best possible service and support they need to aid their recovery.

‘We are committed to ensuring that ERCC is a safe, accessible and inclusive service for all. We have information on our services, including our women-only services, on our website.

‘We want to reassure all survivors who are currently accessing our services and anyone seeking support that we are here for you, and you matter to us.’

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘The Scottish Government cannot comment on individual employment tribunal decisions.

‘The Scottish Government is clear that the needs and safety of survivors of rape and sexual assault must be the utmost priority of support services, including ensuring access to women-only spaces.’

Rape Crisis Scotland has been contacted for comment.

Centre may cut charity links

A rape support centre is ‘reassessing’ its ties with a national charity amid a row over gender.

Lanarkshire Rape Crisis said it was looking again at the ‘benefits’ of remaining part of the Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) network.

Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis (GCRC) severed links with umbrella charity RCS last month because it wanted to provide a single-sex service staffed by an ‘all-female workforce’.

It said this was ‘at odds’ with the policy of RCS, whose chief executive Sandy Brindley apologised after another centre in Edinburgh failed to provide single-sex spaces for 16 months.

Tory equalities spokesman Tess White said: ‘Survivors of rape and sexual assault will be heartened that the service in Lanarkshire is also considering its national membership after the principled stance from the centre in Glasgow.’

A spokesman for Lanarkshire Rape Crisis told the Mail the centre ‘will be reassessing the benefit to our service users of remaining as a member centre’.

RCS was contacted for comment.