JK Rowling’s women’s charity, Beira’s Place, has threatened legal action against Amnesty International following its inclusion on a list of organizations accused of undermining human rights for women and LGBTQ+ individuals in the United Kingdom. The Scottish support centre, which assists female survivors of sexual assault, was named alongside groups such as For Women Scotland and Sex Matters in a report Amnesty later withdrew, acknowledging the briefing had not undergone its usual internal review.

Amnesty International apologized for the error and has launched an internal investigation into the report’s publication. The charity stated that the language used did not reflect its official stance and reaffirmed its commitment to defending the rights of both women and transgender people.

Lawyers representing Beira’s Place have accused Amnesty of defamation, arguing that the report wrongly labelled the centre and its supporters as “anti-rights bigots” intent on weakening human rights. They said the statement has caused “deeply damaging” effects, including a surge of hostile and abusive communications to the Edinburgh-based organisation, as well as a significant increase in website traffic from individuals not seeking its services. The legal team also noted that the charity has had to implement additional staffing to manage the disruption and expressed concern that the incident might discourage some women from accessing support.

In a formal letter, Beira’s Place’s representatives demanded that Amnesty permanently withdraw the report, issue a public apology, and commission an independent review to determine how the briefing was published. They emphasized that the charity’s clients should not be characterised as opposing rights when they are seeking help to recover from trauma.

Separately, 24 groups named in the report sent a joint letter to Dame Julia Unwin, chair of the Charity Commission, urging clarification on the necessity for charities to comply with the Equality Act. They referenced a 2022 Supreme Court ruling affirming that, under equality law, “women” refers to biological females, a crucial interpretation for protecting the rights of women and gay and lesbian individuals. The letter raised concerns that some charities remain uncertain or fearful of repercussions, including blacklisting, should they explicitly acknowledge legal protections for single-sex spaces.

Amnesty’s original briefing had recommended that the Charity Commission review the status of the listed organizations. Since its withdrawal, the international NGO has acknowledged the report's shortcomings and reiterated its goal to support human rights fully, including those of women and transgender communities.

Lesley Johnston, chief executive of Beira’s Place, described the charity’s inclusion on the list as inexplicable. Amnesty was approached for comment regarding the legal threats but had not responded at the time of publication.