Harry Potter author JK Rowling invests £1.9million to set up a 'women-only' support service for victims of sexual violence
JK Rowling invested at least £1.9million of her fortune in opening a ‘women only’ support service for victims of sexual violence in Scotland, documents show.
The Harry Potter creator provided the substantial interest-free loan to set up Edinburgh-based Beria’s Place in protest against the city’s controversial rape crisis centre being run by Mridul Wadhwa, a biological man.
It is understood the money covered the purchase of the building and an extensive refurbishment.
The multi-millionaire author is also providing ‘continuing financial support’ to the service, which as of November last year employed 10 staff.
Ms Rowling, who is listed as one of its directors, has been outspoken about transgender ideology since making her views public in 2019 when she tweeted in support of Maya Forstater, a think-tank worker sacked for saying transgender people cannot change their biological sex.
JK Rowling invested at least £1.9million of her fortune in opening a ‘women only’ support service for victims of sexual violence in Scotland, documents show. The Harry Potter creator provided the substantial interest-free loan to set up Edinburgh-based Beria’s Place
A woman who is the victim of domestic abuse (stock image). Beira’s Place describes itself as a ‘new sexual violence support project based in Edinburgh but covering the whole Lothian region’
Documents lodged with Companies House, the UK register of businesses, revealed that Ms Rowling’s £1.9 million loan secured the building for the women only service
Beira’s Place describes itself as a ‘new sexual violence support project based in Edinburgh but covering the whole Lothian region’.
Among its staff is Roz Adams, who won a constructive dismissal case earlier this year against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) after she was subjected to a ‘heresy hunt’ disciplinary process for her gender critical beliefs.
The tribunal found that Ms Wadhwa wanted to ‘cleanse’ the organisation of those with gender critical beliefs and considered her to be the ‘invisible hand’ behind a campaign of discrimination and harassment against Ms Adams.
This led to Rape Crisis Scotland ordering an independent review of the centre, which has condemned it for insisting traumatised rape victims must specify if they do not want support from someone born a man.
And it recommends ERCC refer any concerned survivors to guaranteed women only services such as Beira’s Place.
Documents lodged with Companies House, the UK register of businesses, revealed that Ms Rowling’s £1.9 million loan secured the building for the women only service.
The interest-free loan, however, will ‘only be called for repayment on any future disposal of the said property’, the documents add.
The financial papers also state that the service is ‘dependent on its grantor for continuing financial support’.
Beira’s Place website states it was set up ‘by women, for women’ in response to ‘demand from female survivors for a women-only service’.
