Especially for You: Letter to trans people

To all the trans-masc, trans-femme, non-binary, a-gender, non-conforming, fluid, questioning, queer, and ‘prefer not to say’ survivors.

A moment like trans awareness week can be tough. While it puts a spotlight on the tenacity, creativity and survival of trans and gender non-conforming people, it also magnifies the dangers and struggles of living in a world that fails to offer the safety all trans people deserve.

Gender based violence services have been part of that failure. We know that many services still hold transphobic attitudes and policies. We also know that there is a devastating lack of specialist services for survivors who are trans men, trans-masculine and non-binary people and for gay and queer men. Many of you will have discovered this in moments when you really needed help, support and care.

Because of our work to make Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre more trans inclusive, the transphobia directed at our centre has been very loud lately. Though the threats are mainly online, the impact has been felt by both our staff and our clients. Sadly, we’re hearing from some of you that you’re afraid to come to the centre in person. We’re also hearing that you’re afraid of being judged or questioned by our workers. So we want to be clear about our commitment to you.

Maybe you’re receiving support at our centre already or have done in the past. Maybe you had an appointment, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to come. Maybe you’ve been thinking about picking up the phone for months. Maybe you’re scared about what it might be like if you do.

We want you to know that you matter to us. Your safety matters to us. We’ll work with you to make this a place you feel welcome and comfortable in. You have choices: in who you work with, in how and where you receive support and in how much information you share about yourself. We’re not going to let transphobia stop us from providing the best support to you we can.

We provide support to survivors with learning disabilities, neurodivergent survivors, migrant survivors, with survivors aged 12-18 and with survivors navigating the criminal justice process. All our services are available to you.

We want you to know that every part of you is welcome here. In a trans-prejudiced world, we know that many of you are not safe and able to express your gender how you’d like. Whatever your gender expression and however you present, you’ll never be asked to disclose your gender history, or to justify your right to our support. We’re here for you.

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Support

You can find out more about accessing support at ERCC here.

Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline 08088 01 03 02 (5pm - midnight every night) offers free and confidential support and information. They offer support to anyone aged 13 and over, of any gender, affected by any form of sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened.

They support survivors, as well as family, friends, and supporters. They can arrange for free language interpreters, including British Sign Language, to access support if your first language is not English.