A woman is suing rape crisis charity Survivors' Network for letting a transgender woman sit in meetings

A woman is suing a rape crisis charity for allowing a transgender woman to sit in sessions.The lady, who is in her 20s and being named as 'Sarah', revealed to the BBC that she felt uncomfortable opening up about her past in meetings.Sarah said: "I think women have sex-based rights and protections and these are under threat at the moment from trans activism.

"She also revealed that she was sexually abused as a child, as well as in her 20s by a man she knew. However, she didn't report it to the police.While the charity, Survivors' Network, state that transgender women" are welcome into all of our women-only spaces", Sarah's lawyers argue that including transgender women in meetings fails to meet the needs of women who are born female and are victims of sexual violence.

Sarah decided to join Survivors' Network after she was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks about coming into contact with her attacker.Speaking about the group, she said: "We had either been abused as children or had experiences as women. It was a very safe space to speak about the feelings we had been through."

She continued: "We spoke a lot about how we were manipulated and coerced by men. I can't tell you how much it helped me mentally."

However after the transgender woman joined, Sarah stopped speaking in meetings.

"I was a bit taken aback. I decided I wasn't going to speak that week because I wasn't comfortable." she said. "I don't trust men because I have been raped by a man.

"I've been sexually abused by men. And I just don't necessarily trust that men are always who they say they are."