Amnesty International has offered a grovelling apology for condemning JK Rowling’s women’s abuse charity as “anti-rights”.
The NGO previously listed the author’s Beira’s Place support service on a “blacklist”, accusing it of harming the rights of gay people and women in Britain.
The blacklist including the names of 117 organisations, including For Women Scotland – whose action led to the historic Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman under the Equality Act is based on biological sex.
Another group mentioned in the list was Sex Matters – which campaigns for the protection of single-sex spaces.
Amnesty’s 22-page document – which has since been withdrawn – described Beira’s Place as part of an “organised anti-rights movement targeting the rights of women and LGBT+ people” in Britain.
It accused organisations such as Ms Rowling’s of “drawing on concerns about children’s safety and wellbeing, family life or social change to build support for their campaigns”.
After pulling the blacklist, Amnesty has since claimed it was published without the usual due diligence, and has said it has launched an internal review.
A spokesman for the organisation 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.
The human rights organisation previously listed the author’s Beira’s Place support service on a ‘blacklist’
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“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.”
The renowned author took to social media to suggest she would be open to funding legal action for any groups including in the human rights group’s blacklist.
She wrote: “Should any of the women’s organisations targeted by Amnesty UK’s recent ‘anti-rights’ blacklist wish to take legal action, applications can be made to the JK Rowling Women’s Fund.”
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Amnesty claimed it was published without the usual due diligence and has said it has launched an internal review
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The JK Rowling Women’s Fund offers “legal funding support to individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life, including the workplace, sports and clubs, and protected single-sex spaces”, according to its website.
Beira’s Place chief executive, Lesley Johnston, said it was “inexplicable” that the charity was mentioned on the list.
“Beira’s Place was established in 2022 to address an unmet need for a single-sex, support service for female survivors of male violence,” she said.
“We are proud of our work and we know how much our service means to the women who have used it.
Beira’s Place was set up in 2022 to help support survivors of sexual abuse in Edinburgh
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“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.”
For Women Scotland blasted their inclusion on the blacklist as a “malicious characterisation” that “defamed” them.
The campaign group penned a letter to senior Amnesty figures on Sunday, threatening to take “further measures” and demanding an apology.