JK Rowling Criticises New Bill That Changes How Trans People’s Gender Is Recognised

JK Rowling has criticised a bill that proposes to simplify how trans people apply to have their gender officially recognised.

The Harry Potter author recently criticised potential amendments to the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in Scotland.

Rowling's comments come as the writer faced backlash last December for 'attacking trans women' in a tweet.

Rowling's latest tweets relate to a potential amendment to the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which has been in place since 2004.

The new amendment to the bill, if passed, will mean that trans people no longer have to show medical and psychiatric reports to have their gender recognised in Scotland, as per the Independent.

According to the official website for the bill: 'Applicants will be required to live in their acquired gender for a minimum of three months, with a reflection period of a further three months before a certificate is granted.'

The change will allow trans people to self identify their gender, a process that is in place in other countries, including Norway, Belgium and Ireland, as per the Independent.

However, in a tweet on Saturday, March 5, Rowling took issue with the bill amendment, retweeting an unverified claim by an an Australian resident that 'men are self identifying in to female sexual assault recovery services' and that this would lead to 'no more services for vulnerable women'.

The author commented: 'Exactly this. The law @NicolaSturgeon's trying to pass in Scotland will harm the most vulnerable women in society: those seeking help after male violence/rape and incarcerated women.

'Statistics show that imprisoned women are already far more likely to have been previously abused'.

Understandably, this tweet received backlash, with TV personality India Willoughby weighing in on the discussion.

Willoughby wrote: 'Why do you keep suggesting trans people are predators / a danger to society @jk_rowling ? Twenty countries now have Self ID – not ONE has seen an epidemic of attacks by ‘men dressed as women'.

This isn't the first time that Rowling has been criticised for her tweets aimed at trans people.

On December 12, 2021, Rowling took to Twitter to comment on an article in The Times that concerned the ‘absurdity of police logging rapists as women’.

Referencing George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, Rowling responded on Twitter, writing: 'War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.'

The tweet led people to speak out against Rowling with one user noting that the author's 'latest tweet attacking trans women' had gotten her some controversial fans including Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open 8pm–midnight Mondays and Fridays and is run by trans volunteers