A Leeds women's group has today (November 16) been outside the Civic Hall on Millenium Square protesting what they say is a safeguarding failure. The Leeds Resisters were in the city protesting and handing letters to councillors ahead of their monthly meeting in a bid to highlight safeguarding practices.
The Resisters say that the practices have become dismantled and are failing to protect vulnerable women and children. The protest comes after it was revealed that a trans woman had entered a refuge for Leeds Women's Aid with a different name and stayed for 71 days, the group are now asking the council why this was allowed.
Katie Dolatowski, 22, committed the offences in 2018, admitting to sexually assaulting one child and filming another young girl in a supermarket toilet in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermaline, Scotland.
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Emma, a member of the Leeds Resisters said: "We're here to raise awareness about a massive safeguarding failure in Leeds.
"A convicted paedophile was housed in a women's refuge for 71 days, until it was discovered that they had used false documentation to be allowed in there.
"We are saying that, although everyone deserves these services when they require them, they should be segregated on the basis of sex because otherwise vulnerable women and children are put at risk.
The group are calling for action from Leeds councillors and are asking them to create a third space for transgender people.
A letter sent to the council read: "We are writing to register our horror at the revelation that a biological male and convicted paedophile, ‘Katie’ Dolatowski was housed in a refuge operated by Leeds Women’s Aid.
"For seventy- one days Dolatowski lived alongside vulnerable women and children. This was despite being a male- bodied sex offender and not, as claimed, the female victim of domestic abuse. The hostel was originally created as a single sex facility, but now allows anyone who identifies as a woman to use the same building.
"This is not an isolated incident. As Gender Critical women we are often told that there is no risk associated with males who identify as women. However, there are many instances of single sex spaces being abused by those who identify into womanhood. The website transcrimeuk.com, is a useful record of such crimes.
"Dolatowski was given a three-year community payback order for sexual assaults on girls of 12 and 10 years old. This resulted in Dolatowski’s entry on the Sex Offenders Register and a ban from deleting mobile phone information. Dolatowski was evicted from a hostel for female offenders in Fife after these crimes came to light. Such persistent patterns of changing identity and hiding previous crimes demonstrates someone who is a danger to women.
"It seems that in Leeds, Dolatowski, an imposing figure at 6’5” – used a false identity. What processes are in place to check the identity of people entering the refuge? Who are we safeguarding? Why is this predator given so many second chances without any regard for potential victims?"
A statement from Leeds Women's Aid reads: "On 9th September 2022, a resident at the Leeds Domestic Violence Service (LDVS) refuge run by Leeds Women’s Aid (LWA) was taken into police custody. The individual had used an identity, and related official documents in the same name, to access the refuge, and in doing so they concealed their previous convictions for child sex offences.
"Once the person’s true identity and crimes were revealed, we alerted the police and the individual was taken into custody. At no time were we aware of their previous identity or crimes.
"LWA is taking this extremely seriously and we are undertaking a thorough investigation. We have not found evidence of any crimes having been committed during the period when the person was resident with us.
"LWA has been an established and highly regarded service for the last 50 years. The safety of service users and staff is paramount and the appropriate support is being put in place. LWA’s priority remains victims-survivors, and we want all survivors to be able to access the support they need when accessing domestic abuse services.
Nik Peasgood, Chief Executive of LWA, said, “We are appalled that someone with such crimes could come to a women’s refuge using a different identity. We are aware that a criminal using authenticated identification could access any housing provider’s services, and we are not unique in being manipulated in this way.
"We have informed children’s services and are working with our closest stakeholders, including Leeds City Council and Women’s Aid Federation England, and will share any learning with our sector in order to improve safety of victims-survivors.”
Data supplied from 26 police forces across England and Wales showed that the victim was female in 73% of domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police in the year ending March 2021. Domestic abuse-related sexual offences had the largest proportion of female victims by offence group 93%.
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