Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has reignited the debate about the rights of trans people, this time by condemning the Scottish police decision to abide by rapists' self-identification and potentially log them as women, thereby providing access to women-only spaces in custody.
Rowling used literature references to express her opinion on the decision and its possible outcomes.
"War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength", she quoted the famous words from George Orwell's novel "1984". "The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman".
Police saw massive backlash after it was announced that criminals (including rapists) will be registered as females if they identify as such, even without a medical diagnosis or gender transitioning.
Rowling, in her turn, is no stranger to backlash, although she has been fending off accusations of transphobia since mocking the usage of the term "people who menstruate" instead of "women". This was a take that did not sit well with a lot of people, who lashed out at the author and even called to boycott her and her globally renowned Harry Potter saga.
Rowling's new statement has predictably prompted a fresh wave of criticism.
However, others chose to side with her, crying out that it was a violation of women's rights and condemning the Scottish police's decision instead.
Earlier, in November, Rowling revealed that she had received so many death threats from trans rights activists that she could "paper the house with them", saying that her home address had been posted on social media. Police Scotland have launched an investigation into her allegations.