Author J.K. Rowling has voiced intense anger after Amnesty International included her women's charity, Beira's Place, on a list of organizations it claims are hindering the progress of LGBT and women's rights.
Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series, founded Beira's Place in 2022. The Edinburgh-based charity offers support, advocacy, and information for women who have experienced sexual violence in a women-only environment. Rowling, a vocal advocate for women's rights with a focus on single-sex spaces, stated she was "burning with fury" over Amnesty's inclusion of her charity alongside 176 other organizations.
Also named in Amnesty's report were Sex Matters, a group supporting legal efforts to protect single-sex spaces, and For Women Scotland, a campaign group involved in a legal case that determined the term 'women' in equality law refers to biological females, thus excluding trans women.
In social media posts, Rowling criticized Amnesty International, asserting it has shifted from defending freedom of speech to becoming a "self-appointed, vainglorious policeman of wrongthink." She accused the organization of demonizing those who hold differing views and of intervening in legal cases on the side of individuals seeking to maintain access for trans women in women's prisons and rape crisis centers.
"You cannot be simultaneously an impartial defender of freedom and speech and a wealthy international witch hunter that publicly vilifies and intimidates small campaigning groups with whom you disagree," Rowling wrote. She added that she wished for Amnesty to explain why it was using its influence to target organizations with legally protected beliefs.
Amnesty International UK's report, titled 'Like a snowball: the growth and impact of the gender critical movement in the UK,' was published in May. It stated that the rise of the gender-critical movement, which posits that gender is determined by biology, is a cause for concern and has been normalized by media coverage. The report also urged journalists to qualify the term "gender-critical" and explain it as an ideological stance that seeks to restrict transgender rights.
The report led to calls for Kerry Moscogiuri, head of Amnesty International UK, to resign. Beira's Place stated that the briefing had caused "extremely serious" damage, leading to threats and abuse against the service, its staff, and the women it supports.
Following the backlash, Amnesty International removed the report from its website and apologized, stating it had not undergone established internal review processes. The organization has since referred itself to the Charity Commission watchdog.
Chiara Capraro, Amnesty UK's gender justice spokeswoman, stated in a video posted in June that research indicated a rise in "anti-trans organizations" in the UK, from three in 2017 to 51. She claimed these groups are part of a global network and that Amnesty's work aims to expose them.
The Charity Commission confirmed it is assessing complaints against Amnesty International to determine its regulatory role. Rowling had previously threatened legal action over the report, a move that prompted Amnesty to remove it.