Domestic abuse survivor is ‘terrified’ after a man dressed as a woman is allowed to stay in a female-only dorm and is seen by occupants sprawled out half-naked on a bed
- Sue Boardman, 55, of Shropshire, suffered 23 years of awful domestic abuse
A man dressed as a woman was allowed to stay in a female-only dorm by a hostel which forced a ‘terrified’ domestic abuse survivor to find alternative accommodation late at night.
The man, who booked a room in a female-only dorm at the Astor Victoria Hostel in Pimlico under the name Alisson, was seen by female occupants sprawled out half-naked on his bed displaying his male genitalia.
Sue Boardman, who suffered 23 years of horrendous domestic abuse, spoke of her horror after discovering the female-only dorm she checked into was occupied by a man.
The 55-year-old from Shropshire had travelled to London for two nights on 28 May for the Let Women Speak event which covered the importance of safe spaces for females.
She told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘I was just about to go to bed when one of the other women informed me that they had discovered a man dressed as a woman sprawled out on the bed, with his male genitalia on display.
A man dressed as a woman was allowed to stay in a female-only dorm by a hostel which forced a ‘terrified’ domestic abuse survivor to find alternative accommodation late at night (File image)
‘They said they had complained and the hostel had agreed to move him but he had gone out for the night and his stuff was still there.
‘So I was terrified he might come back at any time.
‘The whole point of me booking a women-only room was for safety and security from any men.
‘I wasn’t sure whether it was a mistake or whether it was the policy of the hostel to allow men who identify as women to stay in female dorms.
She added: ‘I had a panic attack and got out of there as quickly as possible.’
Ms Boardman was forced to spend hundreds of pounds finding alternative accommodation late at night.
Astor Hotels offered Ms Boardman a 50 per cent refund as a gesture of goodwill after she lodged a complaint but this left her feeling insulted.
Sue Boardman from Shropshire had travelled to London for two nights on 28 May for the Let Women Speak event (pictured) which covered the importance of safe spaces for females (File image)
Ms Boardman said: ‘I am really fearful that the safety of women and girls everywhere is being put at risk by men who are not truly trans but are deliberately invading female-only spaces.
‘It is ironic that I was in London to attend the Let Women Speak event where we were discussing safe spaces and then I experienced exactly the sort of thing so many women are worried about.’
The peaceful women’s rights event, which was hosted last month, was disrupted by violent masked trans protesters carrying banners reading ‘arm trans kids’.
According to a spokesman from Astor Hotels, an error at reception led the man to be checked into the wrong room.
The spokesman said: ‘As soon as our staff became aware of this issue, the guest in question was moved to a mixed dorm.
‘Our policy for female-only dormitories is that only those that are legally recognised as female are permitted to stay in them.’
