Amnesty 'regrets' report calling JK Rowling's rape support centre 'anti-rights'
Beira's Place was listed as an ‘anti-rights group’ by the charity alongside other ‘gender-critical organisations’
A leading human rights charity has said it regrets publishing a report that labelled a sexual assault support centre founded by JK Rowling an “anti-rights group”.
Amnesty International UK said the document was uploaded to its website “without going through the established internal review processes”.
It follows a growing backlash, with several organisations demanding apologies from the charity and indicating they would be prepared to take legal action.
The report had listed a number of “gender-critical organisations”, including Beira’s Place and the campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), as “anti-rights”.
Beira’s Place, which was founded by Ms Rowling in Edinburgh in 2022 to provide a women-only support service for victims of sexual violence, said the characterisation was “inexplicable” and “deeply offensive” to its staff.
In a statement, Lesley Johnston, its chief executive, said: “Beira’s Place was established in 2022 to address an unmet need for a single-sex support service for female survivors of male violence.
“We are proud of our work and we know how much our service means to the women who have used it. It is inexplicable that Beira’s Place has been listed as an ‘anti-rights organisation’ in a report published last week by Amnesty International.
“This is deeply offensive to Beira’s Place staff who work day in day out to support survivors, and to the women who need and use our service.”
When the centre was founded, Ms Rowling said it would address an "unmet need".
Rape Crisis Scotland said support should also be available to transgender and non-binary people.
Amnesty’s report on the “anti-rights movement in the UK” - which was removed from its website over the weekend - argued there has been a significant decline in protections for LGBT+ rights.
“Key factors contributing to this decline include the failure to reform the legal gender recognition framework, the absence of a ban on conversion practices, the treatment of LGBT+ asylum seekers, and the implications of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Minister[s],” it added.
The latter referred to the landmark court ruling last year that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law.
FWS previously said it was “a sad state of affairs that Amnesty has sunk so low as to defame prominent women's organisations, including a rape crisis centre and support networks for abused wives and children”.
A spokesperson for Amnesty International UK said: "We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes that are in place to ensure consistency, accuracy and alignment with Amnesty International UK's positions.
“Its use of language does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK which is why it was promptly removed.
“We remain committed to defending human rights, including both the rights of women and the rights of trans people.
“Human rights protections are strongest when they apply equally to everyone, and no community should be singled out for unfair treatment or denied their dignity and rights."
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