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Billionaire TERF influencer J.K. Rowling has announced that she will cover the legal costs of anti-trans groups named in a report by Amnesty International (UK), which called them “anti-rights.”
The report was retracted shortly after publication and replaced with a statement from the organization saying the report was uploaded “without going through the established internal review processes” and that its “language does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK, which is why it was promptly removed.”
But the withdrawal and public acknowledgement was not enough to sate the organizations that have fought tooth and nail to exclude and/or antagonize the transgender community in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is notoriously more perilous for free speech than the United States. For our neighbors across the pond, the burden of proof lies with the defendant to prove the statement is true; here in the United States, the burden of proof lies with the aggrieved to prove that a statement is categorically false, and published knowingly or at least recklessly regardless. The US also benefits from “anti-SLAPP” laws to prevent such frivolous lawsuits waged by wealthy individuals or powerful corporations against those who criticize them.
So Rowling capitalized on the spectacle to, in essence, help dozens of groups in what appears to be an attempt to sue Amnesty into oblivion.
CAPTION: Screenshot from Rowling’s Twitter, where she offers “women’s organizations” backing to sue Amnesty International (UK) through her own charitable fund. She quote tweets a group of people who self-identify as “trans widows”—referring to cisgender people whose spouses or ex-spouses came out as transgender.
The saga began earlier this month, when Amnesty International (UK) released a report titled “A growing threat: the anti-rights movement in the UK.” It released a similar report last year, but this year, it added a new category for what appears to be the anti-rights movement’s most rapidly growing sector: “Gender critical” groups, or groups that are antithetical to transgender rights and inclusion.
Rowling rushed to tweet about the situation.
CAPTION: Rowling tweets a group’s response to Amnesty International (UK)’s report on “anti-rights” groups.
She lauded “LGB” groups—another anti-trans buzzword, which, as the name suggests, describes groups that wish to erase transgender people from the queer liberation movement—like the Gay Men’s Network, an organization that has pushed for anti-trans policies. That group posted a public letter indicating it might sue Amnesty International for defamation. The Network demanded a retraction of the report and then claimed that Amnesty is guilty of “trying to control gay and lesbian free speech.”
In the day or so that followed, Rowling retweeted around a dozen similar letters. The posted letters include groups like Genspect, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group that threatened Amnesty International with legal action, as well as groups like LGB Alliance and Sex Matters.
Amnesty International (UK) did not formally reply to a request for comment for this piece.
Gender critical activists, often financed by Rowling, rely on legal “guerilla warfare” said one U.K.-based trans rights organizer, who could only speak to Erin in the Morning if granted anonymity. The tactic is familiar: Wear down non-profits and individuals who dare speak out against anti-trans and anti-rights groups. They don’t have to win a lawsuit; they can just file again, and again, and again, draining valuable time and resources.
“They have sued organizations into the ground,” the advocate said.
Some context for just a handful of these groups so up in arms about being labeled as hateful: Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy for Sex Matters, gave a speech at a Genspect conference (both are groups on the anti-rights list) about how “beauty” is “inimical to trans bullshit.
She also boasted about manufacturing a moral and medical panic about how, although only a “small” segment of trans kids are prescribed puberty blockers, it has been a strategic “rhetorical device” to erode the rights of transgender people more broadly.
Depending on who you ask, TERFs are considered either a self-branded liberal faction of gender critical ideology, or a different term for what is essentially the same movement. TERF stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist,” a term to describe self-proclaimed “feminists” who oppose giving transgender women and cisgender women equal rights.
Many of these TERF or “gender critical” groups have close ties to far-right Christian groups. DonorsTrust, the conservative donor behemoth and primary financier of initiatives like Project 2025, also forked over hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups like the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine and Thoughtful Therapists, both of whom made the “anti-rights” list because, as Amnesty International (UK) among many others have put it, they promote “conversion practices.”
One major point of contention was the inclusion of Rowling’s own organization, Beira’s Place. It does not primarily seem to function as any sort of advocacy organization. Rather, it’s a women’s shelter for those fleeing domestic violence, but it also has an explicit anti-trans policy, banning transgender women from accessing its services.
However, as the report explained, none of these groups exist in a vacuum. “These entities must be understood as an ecosystem sharing values, goals, strategy and tactics and, for some of them, formal collaboration,” it reads.
Amnesty isn’t the first or last institution or expert to call out gender critical ideology for being anti-rights. UN Women has published materials saying as much.
Meanwhile, University of Sheffield sociologist Dr. Sally Hines has called this framework “deeply conservative.” In the Journal for Gender Studies, she writes that “despite its origins within a branch of radical feminism, [gender-critical ideology] has a profoundly misogynist agenda that stands opposed to the rights of women.” It is a “key force within a current conservative pushback against the rights of women and minoritized sexual groups.”
Gender critical activists continue to use the language of oppression to characterize their plight. Many say “TERF” is a slur. Others believe criticizing a group because of its arguably regressive politics is grounds for a lawsuit.
Despite the fact that the report was pulled down, Erin in the Morning was able to retrieve a copy reposted by an anti-trans news outlet. You can read a full version of that archived version below.
Report A Growing Threat The Anti Rights Movement In The Uk July 2026
Trump’s decision to have his motorcade drive across the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during a high-profile inspection last month may have contributed to damage now plaguing the national landmark.www.newsweek.com/donald-trump…
Oil prices continued to climb on Tuesday, hitting their highest levels in a month, as an escalating pattern of strikes and counter strikes between the U.S. and Iran rattled markets.
Trump formally notified lawmakers this weekend that the nation is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military in the region without congressional approval.
So I was doing dishes as the call came in from the surgical center where I will be having my spine surgery. The woman was very indepth with my medications and past medical history. But then as we talked we got laughing about things and when she mentioned we were together 36 years I said they were wonderful years, and then Ron chimed in saying yes the years were great but the days were hell. The woman then opened up about how she couldn’t imagine the hell of two men living together. But before I could object she continued with how she has repeatedly told her husband that living with a man is horrible and as soon as he dies she will marry a woman. We went on to talk about how Ron had a gay bar and how grand the lesbians were.
Wow talk about how a conversation can flow and change. I thought she was about to go off on same sex marriage and then she went to how she was a lesbian struggling to deal with her male husband. The point is you never really know the issues others are dealing with unless they tell you. Hugs
I am sorry, I wanted to add so much more to this post. I have 65 websites I use to make this post. However I am very very tired. It is 4 pm here and I will struggle to make supper for Ron and me, and I doubt I will be able to even eat. As much as I love the blog and the people who come here who I adore, I love my husband the most. Two days ago when I fell because I grabbed a support that gave way, my 71 year old husband charged into the room and helped me back up. Both of my hands were very bruised and damaged. We help each other. So this is the post. After I schedule this, I will go make our supper. Sadly I simply have run out of time today to get to the wonderful comments. But the grand thing is everyone who comes here has a voice on what I post. But Ron has said that other than sharpening the knives he needs he really wants to leave me alone to reply to your comments. See Ron understands both how important this blog is for me and he agrees to the large cost each year, and he supports my being able to interact with each of you. However on my part I also know that making my husband of 36 years happy means a lot of nighttime hugs and some one who reaches out to comfort me when I am crying or sobbing at night.
I hope others can have the relationship Ron and I have. When he was sick or fearing he needed a new heart I was there for him in the room holding his hand. When I scream out at night remembering my abuse scaring the cat he is there to wake me, hold me, and force the hurt away from me by his very presence. Love and best wishes to everyone and hugs to those that want them. Scottie
Trump's planned 250-ft arch just cleared a key hurdle, getting preliminary OK from a federal panel.The panel heard nearly 3 hrs of public opposition from architects, veterans and others before voting to advance the project.“I think it’s long overdue," said Paul Ingrassia, a Trump appointee.
Palm Beach International is being renamed for Trump in a 4-3 county vote. His family company controls the merchandise, picks the vendors, keeps the profits, and the county has no way out.share.newsbreak.com/idhsqyjx?s=i16
The Trump administration plans to erect new fences on the ends of Pennsylvania Avenue NW outside the White House, the latest effort to boost presidential security, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The White House spent months looking for ways to bypass a federal election agency and use emergency powers to force changes to voting machines, before President Donald Trump ousted its leaders on Thursday, four people familiar with the matter said.
The September gathering in Dallas will choose neither a candidate nor a platform, but state parties are charging thousands for the privilege of a floor seat.
Wow. I just heard back from ICE on this. Here's their statement. No comment at all on the claim that the three witnesses in the van with the deceased man are being pressured to self-deport, and ICE refers further questions to the FBI:
Mexico plans to file criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody, Mexico's Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez said Thursday.www.axios.com/2026/07/09/m…
Habitat loss is the #1 reason species go extinct. But the Trump admin has finalized a rule under the Endangered Species Act that would allow the widespread destruction of endangered species' habitats. Earthjustice has protected endangered species for decades. We’ll see the Trump admin in court.
I’ve heard a number of commentators and politicians over the years. One of the striking things that rings in my ears is how some are interested in caring for others while others are interested in excusing the abuse of others; some are interested in caring for the hungry while others are bewailing the “cost” of feeding their neighbors; some are interested in the healthcare needs of our people and others are interested in the tax reductions of the uber-wealthy. I don’t know the political right or wrong of things, but I sure know what I value.
Only one student has registered for courses at West Virginia University’s new Washington Center, an academic program mandated by Republican lawmakers for the campus, reports @amelianews.bsky.social. Lawmakers have allocated around $3 million to the Washington Center in the last two years.
The U.S. used to send refugee officers around the world. Now, they're only going to South Africa, where the Trump administration has singularly focused U.S. refugee resettlement efforts on the country’s white population.www.notus.org/immigration/…
Scottie's Playtime 
