Karen Danson, a childhood sexual abuse survivor, endured six years of horrific assaults by her father beginning at age six—trauma that haunted her for decades and shaped her response to a workplace conflict that would later trigger national controversy in the UK.
While working as a nurse at Darlington Memorial Hospital, she suffered a panic attack after being confronted in a women’s changing room by a biologically male colleague, “Rose” Henderson, who identifies as female.
The incident triggered distressing memories of her abuse, leading to nightmares and anxiety that severely impacted her mental health and ability to work. Despite multiple complaints from staff, the NHS Trust defended “Rose’s” right to use the women’s facilities, dismissed the nurses’ concerns as “transphobic”, and suggested they undergo “re-education.”
Karen’s reaction to the changing room encounter became the catalyst for legal action by a group now known as the “Darlington Nurses,” who are fighting for single-sex spaces in line with UK law.
Karen remained anonymous until this week when she appeared in an interview with the UK Daily Mail, and was driven to speak publicly to help protect other biological women.
Her trauma was further compounded when the Trust initially scheduled “Rose” to be part of her surgical team for a gynaecological procedure.
Only after legal pressure did the Trust remove “Rose” from the operation.
Karen accuses NHS leaders of putting gender ideology above patient safety and staff wellbeing, and she now calls on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to enforce the Supreme Court ruling that confirms biological males have no legal right to access female-only spaces.
(1) MAJOR BREAKING STORY ON THE DARLINGTON NURSES
This is why it is untenable for men to have access to female changing rooms in the NHS.
Karen Danson, a Darlington nurse, anonymous until now, has gone public on her chilling story on how, after saying that she has experienced… pic.twitter.com/FqkOaBemRH
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) May 11, 2025
Absolutely disgusting generalized male abuse. Because it is abuse to push women that far and going AGAINST any common sense. A Trump said, and it should NEVER have needed to be said, there are only TWO gender. Male and female.
Disgusting. This perverted nonsense needs to end. Either that or these revolting politicians, who condone this behaviour be removed from office and jailed by the people, along with their enforcers, the “morality police”.
This poor woman’s experience encapsulates everything that’s wrong with woke western democracies today. All power to her.