Joanne Kathleen Rowling — famously known by her pen name J.K. Rowling — has slammed South Australia’s approval of using preferred gender pronouns in the courtroom and if you’re wondering why an author based in the UK cares about what happens in a state on the other side of the world… uh, yeah, us too.
Last week, South Australia endorsed the use of preferred pronouns in courtrooms. According to an edict from SA Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, using preferred pronouns is both “a matter of respect” and “an important component of ensuring public confidence in the proper administration of justice”.
In other words, a lawyer can indicate a defendant uses they/them pronouns (for example), and everyone present in the court must use those pronouns. Pretty simple stuff.
The Harry Potter author took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to lash out at SA’s decision, claiming it could “further traumatise” female victims of male violence.
“Asking a woman to refer to her male rapist or violent assaulter as ‘she’ in court is a form of state-sanctioned abuse,” the author wrote, alongside a screenshot of The Australian‘s article.
“Female victims of male violence are further traumatised by being forced to speak a lie.”
The author, who is known for creating one of the biggest fantasy franchises in history, has been embroiled in controversy ever since basically outed herself as a TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist).
Although it’s been reported that Rowling had made herself “TERF-adjacent” in previous years, most people would pinpoint June 2020 as the date where the author truly shared her views on trans people.
Ever since then, folks have called out the author for her views, including the Harry Potter golden trio: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
South Australia’s inclusive decision to use preferred pronouns in the courtroom has been put into effect since Wednesday, November 1.
Victoria and Queensland have also revealed similar edicts on preferred pronouns in court.
Image source: Getty Images / Stuart C. Wilson
