Amnesty Removes Anti-Rights Report After Backlash From JK Rowling And Gender-Critical Groups

Amnesty International UK has removed a report examining the UK’s anti-rights movement after criticism from organisations included in the document, including a trans-exclusive women’s support service founded by author JK Rowling.

The report, A Growing Threat: The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK, identified several organisations and campaigns that Amnesty said were working against the rights of marginalised communities, including LGBTQIA+ people.

Among those named was Beira’s Place, a women’s support centre established in Edinburgh in 2022 that provides services for select survivors of sexual violence. The organisation was founded with support from JK Rowling.

“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.”

Beira’s Place is proudly exclusionary to trans women seeking support after experiencing sexual violence, with the website proclaiming “Beira’s Place is a service for women only, in accordance with the Equality Act (2010) which permits the provision of single sex services for biological women as defined and clarified by the Supreme Court judgment in April 2025. All support will be provided by women to women as based on biological sex at birth.”

Research has proved that trans and gender-diverse people experience higher rates of sexual violence and coercion than their cisgender counterparts.

After the report’s publication, Beira’s Place and other groups objected to being included, arguing that the description did not reflect their work or aims. The backlash led Amnesty International UK to remove the report from its website.

Amnesty International UK said the removal was linked to concerns about the report’s internal review process. The organisation said it remained committed to defending human rights and tackling discrimination.

JK Rowling criticised Amnesty’s decision to include Beira’s Place in the report, writing that the organisation’s position suggested that some groups “don’t deserve rights”.

Amnesty International UK has not announced when the review will be completed or whether an updated version of the report will be released.