The Women Only Fight

An interview series documenting women's experience of protecting female only spaces in the men's violence against women sector

(Photo credit - me)

Since 2016, the UK has become the centre of virulent and polarising debates taking place around the world regarding the clash between gender identity ideology and women’s sex-based rights. Domestic abuse refuges and rape crisis centres are frequently used as an example of the importance of maintaining single-sex spaces by those seeking to defend them, whilst those in favour of self-identification of sex insist that allowing men into women’s spaces will have no impact on the provision of services for female victims of male violence. Few know what is like to work in these spaces.

In recent months the toxicity within the sector has begun to be revealed, not least in the case of Roz Adams, who won her tribunal against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre in May 2024 after being subjected to a heresy hunt for her gender critical views.

In 2021 I successfully defended my doctoral thesis #TERFBigotTransphobe – We found the witch, burn her – researching the silencing of feminist discourse on the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the impact on female only spaces for victims of men’s violence. Alongside my research Dr Karen Ingala Smith’s excellent book Defending Women’s Spaces details the many reasons why sex rather than gender identity must take priority in policy and law, especially for women who have been subjected to men’s violence.

Other organisations have tirelessly begun to reveal extent of the problem in the male violence against women movement:

• In January Sex Matters undertook important research into the silencing in the women’s sector - the fact that my doctoral research was published in 2021 and Sex Matters published there’s in 2024 is a story in itself about the culture of silencing in the sector.

• Fair Play for Women have been sending evidence to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), since July 2021, showing the improper use of the Equality Act from some organisations in the MVAWG sector when they are advertising ‘women only’ jobs and including trans identified men in their definition. In March 2024 Fair Play succeeded in getting EHRC to issue guidance to organisations.

• In more recent months the fallout of the aforementioned case against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre saw the publication of an independent review which reveals the extent to which the MVAWG has damaged its core values by the simple fact that so many still won’t define ‘woman’ without including men in that definition. For Women Scotland have been digging into the meaning behind the definitions of ‘women only’ in the rape crisis sector in Scotland and their research has only thrown up more questions and less reassurance for female victims.

But behind all of this there are the stories of women inside the movement. If you don’t work in the sector it is hard to understand just how difficult the “debate” can get, and because we live in a social media world it is easy to forget that the majority of feminist activism doesn’t happen online, it happens on the ground. I know many women within the movement who have taken on the ‘women only fight’, and I wanted to document their tenacious activism.

During 2022/23 I interviewed 22 women in the men’s violence against women (MVAWG) sector, 18 from the UK, 1 from Australia, and 3 from Canada. My plan was to write a book; however, I have been unsuccessful in securing a publisher and my failure in that regard should not prevent their stories being told. Recently I went back to the women and asked for permission to publish their interviews on Substack and 15 women have consented. Some women declined because of the fear that still plagues them in telling their stories, and you will notice only a few of the interviewees have chosen to be named, with the rest remaining anonymous. Regardless of whether I publish their stories on here or not, I want to thank every woman I spoke to, listening to them open up was a humbling experience.

The interviews I will publish* reveal insider insights into how the movement to end men’s violence against women and girls has become a battleground in the sex/gender identity wars. The women’s stories go beyond official statements and glossy corporate images and reveal parts of the sector that are torn apart by ideological differences, financial constraints, and political calculations. The interviews show how “inclusivity” has been weaponised against women with the aim of getting them to give up single sex spaces, and explores how some women within the sector have sought to resist the dominant shift towards self-identification while others have readily welcomed it. Alongside the sometimes shocking details within their interviews each of the women provide inspiration and a roadmap for the way forward, fuelled by a positive feminist resurgence.

As someone who has worked in the men’s violence against women movement for thirty years I feel strongly that these women’s stories need to be told. It is a matter for future feminist historians to know what happened to the MVAWG sector and where it faltered on its promise to women. Only then can the movement begin to rebuild and repair and ensure women are always placed at the centre of their own services again.

Dr Shonagh Dillon

You can follow/subscribe to my Substack or follow me on twitter to get notifications of when I publish each interview.

*I will aim to publish the stories as regularly as possible but if there are a few weeks where I don’t manage to post please bear with me, I am doing this around life, work and my addiction to reality TV.

I am not monetising this series but I have linked a donation tab for Aurora New Dawn, the organisation I work for, at the end of each page. I will also link to other donation pages. All the organisations I have chosen operate single sex policies.

If you feel able to donate click on the link here