Joanne Rowling, known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
The Balmoral Hotel is a hotel and landmark in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the heart of the city at the east end of Princes Street, the main shopping street beneath the Edinburgh Castle rock, and the southern edge of the New Town.
Rape crisis centers in the United States, usually capitalized as Rape Crisis Center and often abbreviated as RCC, are community-based organizations affiliated with the anti-rape movement in the U.S. Rape crisis centers in other countries offer similar services, but have different histories and vary in their organizational structure.
A rape crisis centre, also known as a sexual assault crisis centre or sexual assault referral centre (SARC), is a specialised centre to support victims of rape or other sexual assault, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in the months and sometimes years following the attack. They are usually situated in a secure location and employ a multidisciplinary team of practitioners to provide medical, psychological, and practical support to the victim.
The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. Police statistics of reported rapes as a per capita figure has been dropping in recent years, although the reasons for the drop has not been analysed and it is not known how many rapes go unreported. More women are attacked than men, and children have also been targeted, partly owing to a myth that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV/AIDS. Rape victims are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS owing to the high prevalence of the disease in South Africa. "Corrective rape" is also perpetrated against LGBT men and women.
Edinburgh BioQuarter is an initiative in the development of Scotland's life sciences industry, which, as of August 2020, employs more than 39,000 people in over 750 organisations.
Rape Crisis England and Wales is the national umbrella organisation for non-profit rape crisis centres across England and Wales. As a registered charity, Rape Crisis also works to raise awareness of sexual violence and campaign for change. The rape crisis centres it represents are distinct from sexual assault referral centres, or SARCs, which are run by the NHS.
British author J. K. Rowling, writer of Harry Potter and other Wizarding World works, has garnered attention for her support of the Labour Party under Gordon Brown and her criticism of the party under Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, as well as her opposition to the American Republican Party under Donald Trump. She opposed Scottish independence in a 2014 referendum and Brexit during the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.
Transgender rights in the United Kingdom have varied significantly over time.
Magdalen Berns was a British YouTuber. Berns, a lesbian radical feminist, became known for her series of YouTube vlogs in the late 2010s concerning topics such as women's rights and gender identity. She co-founded the non-profit organisation For Women Scotland, which campaigns against possible changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, among other things. Some transgender rights activists characterised her vlogs as being transphobic and Berns as a TERF.
The My Body Back Project was set up in London by Pavan Amara in August 2014. First intended as a website and support network for survivors of sexual assault, it has expanded its scope into first a sexual health clinic and then other projects such as a maternity clinic, a photography project and various workshops.
Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) is a charity which provides a national rape crisis helpline and email support for anyone affected by sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened. There are 17 independent local centres in Scotland that are members of RCS.
Kaukab Stewart is a Pakistani-born Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Equalities since May 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Kelvin since May 2021.
For Women Scotland (FWS) is a Scottish campaign group that opposes proposed reforms allowing individuals to change their recorded sex in legal documents by means of self-declaration. The group campaigns against changes to transgender rights and has been described as anti-trans, as trans-exclusionary radical feminist, and as a "gender-critical feminist group".
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
Mridul Machindra Wadhwa is an Indian-born Scottish women's rights, trans rights, anti-domestic violence campaigner. She is a Director and co-founder of data company Vahanomy. She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. She was formerly active in the Scottish National Party, a candidate for the party in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, before moving to the Scottish Green Party. Wadhwa has been the subject of harassment by anti-trans activists since 2019. She resigned from Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre in 2024 after criticism of her behaviour in a decision by an employment tribunal, and by a review commissioned by Rape Crisis Scotland.
Kellie-Jay Nyishie Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, is a British gender-critical and anti–transgender rights activist and the leader of the political party, Party of Women. She is the founder of the group Standing for Women and the former special advisor to the Women's Liberation Front (WoLF). Keen-Minshull has been described as a key figure opposing the United Kingdom's Gender Recognition Act of 2004. She has been credited for popularising the use of the term "adult human female" to define a woman; the term later became associated with gender-critical feminism. She launched a failed bid to become the MP for the constituency of Bristol Central in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, coming in last place with only 0.5% of the vote.
FiLiA is a British gender-critical feminist charity founded in 2015 that describes itself as part of the women's liberation movement. FiLiA organizes a conference, held first in 2008 as Feminism in London, in different cities, which it now describes as the "largest annual grassroots feminist conference in Europe". FiLiA is gender-critical, and states that it supports "sex-based rights" and opposes what they refer to as "gender ideology." It has lobbied against gender recognition reform and considers gender self-identification a threat to "women's protected rights." Critics describe it as anti-transgender and transphobic. FiLiA is critical of the sex industry and as a result, it considers pornography harmful. It has campaigned on behalf of women internationally, and has held campaigns in countries such as Iran, Cyprus, and Kenya. It has been described as one of "the most important 'gender critical' groups" alongside Women's Declaration International. FiLiA has faced protests and attempted cancellations, notably in 2023 when the venue Platform attempted to cancel the conference due to alleged transphobia. In 2024 FiLiA launched the book The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, on what the authors describe as a campaign for "sex-based rights" by J.K. Rowling and others.
Beira's Place is a Scotland-based private support service for female victims of sexual violence. Founded in 2022 by J. K. Rowling, the organisation describes itself as a "women-only service", and does not hire or provide services to transgender women.
The Trans Safety Network (TSN) is a transgender organisation based in the United Kingdom that aims to document and analyse information on organised anti-transgender movements.
