The move by Police Scotland to record criminals who are biologically male as females if they identify as such has sparked a massive public outcry. Among those especially upset are women’s rights activists – and now they have yet another supporter.
J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, has reignited the debate over transgender rights, this time by condemning the Scottish police decision to abide by rapists’ self-identification and potentially log them as women, allowing them access to women-only spaces in custody.
Rowling cited literature to express her thoughts on the decision and its possible outcomes.
“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength”, she quoted the famous words from George Orwell’s novel “1984”. “The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman”.
Police received a massive backlash after announcing that criminals (including rapists) will be registered as females if they identify as such, even if they do not have a medical diagnosis or are gender transitioning.
Rowling, for her part, is no stranger to criticism, though she has been attempting to defend herself against accusations of transphobia since mocking the use of the term “people who menstruate” rather than “women” Many people were outraged by this point of view, and some even called for a boycott of the author and her globally renowned Harry Potter saga.
Rowling’s new statement has, predictably, inspired a new around criticism.
Others, on the other hand, chose to side with her, claiming that it was a violation of women’s rights and condemning the Scottish police’s decision.
Rowling previously revealed in November that she had received so many death threats from trans rights activists that she could “paper the house with them” claiming that her home address had been posted on social media. Her allegations have been investigated by Police Scotland.