A SEXUAL violence support centre founded by JK Rowling has been branded an “anti-rights” group by Amnesty International.
Beira’s Place – which was founded by the gender-critical campaigner and author in 2022 – provides support to what it describes as “women-only” survivors of sexual abuse and assault. The centre does not hire or provide services to transgender women.
Now, a new report from the human rights organisation Amnesty has been published which looks into the “rise of an anti-rights movement targeting the rights of women and LGBT+ people in the UK”.
Amnesty has added 51 gender-critical groups to the report since last year – among them Beira’s Place, campaign group For Women Scotland, and policy group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie.
The LGB Alliance, the Seen Network, ADF International, Turning Point UK, and Labour Women's Declaration are also listed.
The organisation said this was because they “visibly oppose the rights” of LGBT+ people.
“Human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. When the rights of one group are restricted, protections for others can also be weakened, even where the effects are not immediately visible,” the report stated.
“Anti-rights actors seek a society in which women and men have fixed and distinct roles, based on what they view as ‘natural’ and ‘traditional’.
"These actors perceive the idea that gender is socially constructed as a threat because it suggests that gender roles can, and do, change across societies and over time.
"In fact, progress in the rights of women and LGBT+ people has been underpinned by changing understandings of gender and social roles.”
Amnesty also warned that the UK had now fallen from first to 22nd place in the ILGA-Europe (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association).
The report went on: “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 Ministers.”
The Supreme Court ruling said that sex as defined in the Equality Act related to a person's biology and not their acquired gender, regardless of whether a trans person possesses a Gender Recognition Certificate.
The ruling overturned how the law had been understood and has led to controversial new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Beira’s Place has been approached for comment.
