JK Rowling defends ban on trans women at her Edinburgh rape crisis centre

JK Rowling has defended a ban on trans women accessing services or being hired at her Edinburgh-based rape crisis centre.

The Harry Potter author was accused of opening Beira’s Place “purely to ban women who are trans.”

In response, JK Rowling said: “Trans-identified men in Edinburgh were better served than women when it came to accessing support after rape or sexual assault.”

JK Rowling made the comments in a reply to trans broadcaster India Willoughby on X, formerly Twitter. She said: “The female-led, female-centred model of support is provably preferred by most female survivors.”

It seems literally impossible for certain trans activists to grasp that not everything is about them.

The only rape crisis centre in Edinburgh prior to the opening of Beira’s Place was run by a trans-identified man who publicly told potential service-users they would be… pic.twitter.com/EvPKTIWkAJ

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 26, 2025

Beira’s Place, founded by JK Rowling in 2022, describes itself as a women-only service, exclusively hiring and supporting biologically female survivors.

The post comes after the UK Supreme Court ruled that trans women are not legally women under the Equality Act, determining that the term ‘women’ applies only to biological females. The case was brought by sex-based rights campaigners For Women Scotland, to which JK Rowling donated £70,000.

JK Rowling’s position on transgender issues has drawn widespread criticism since she first spoke out in December 2019, writing an essay on her reasons for speaking out in June 2020. Others have defended JK Rowling and cited the importance of same-sex spaces.

JK Rowling declined to comment further.

Featured image via YouTube