‘Transphobia!’ JK Rowling reveals sexual assault, domestic violence experiences

JK Rowling has revealed she was sexually assaulted in her 20s and told of her scars of domestic violence from her first marriage as she spoke out after being accused of transphobia.

The Harry Potter author appeared to confirm for the first time that she had suffered domestic abuse, describing her first marriage to Portuguese journalism student Jorge Arantas as ‘violent’.

Ms Rowling made her astonishing revelations, describing herself as ‘a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor’ in a 3,663 word essay posted on her personal website  on Wednesday.

She did not identify the person who had sexually assaulted her in her lengthy post, which was written in response to the on-going row about her recent comments over transgender people.

Rowling, 54, was hit by what she described as ‘relentless attacks’ after she took issue with an online article ‘people who menstruate’.

She tweeted to her 14.5m followers on Saturday: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’

Her remarks also led to a backlash from stars including Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise of the series, and Eddie Redmayne, who stars in Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts films.

Rowling finally answered her critics with her lengthy piece on her website under the headline: ‘J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues.’

She appeared mindful that her words might not be suitable for her younger fans by adding the sub-heading: ‘Warning: This piece contains inappropriate language for children. ‘

Rowling mentioned she was a victim of sexual assault towards the end of her essay without giving a clue about the identity of her attacker.

She wrote: ‘On Saturday morning, I read that the Scottish government is proceeding with its controversial gender recognition plans, which will in effect mean that all a man needs to “become a woman” is to say he’s one.

‘To use a very contemporary word, I was “triggered”.

‘Ground down by the relentless attacks from trans activists on social media, when I was only there to give children feedback about pictures they’d drawn for my book under lockdown, I spent much of Saturday in a very dark place inside my head, as memories of a serious sexual assault I suffered in my twenties recurred on a loop.

‘That assault happened at a time and in a space where I was vulnerable, and a man capitalised on an opportunity.

‘I couldn’t shut out those memories and I was finding it hard to contain my anger and disappointment about the way I believe my government is playing fast and loose with womens and girls’ safety.’

Radcliffe responded to Ms Rowling in an article for The Trevor Project,  a US-based organisation supporting focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth

Rowling also went on to describe her experience of domestic and sexual abuse.

 ‘I’ve been in the public eye now for over twenty years and have never talked publicly about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor,’ she wrote.

‘This isn’t because I’m ashamed those things happened to me, but because they’re traumatic to revisit and remember. I also feel protective of my daughter from my first marriage.’

The author had one child, daughter Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes, 26, with her Portuguese ex-husband. They were married for just 13 months.

Former drug addict Arantes admitted in 2000 that he had once slapped her ‘very hard’ early in the morning of November 17, 1993 and thrown her out of the house in Porto, Portugal.

Rowling returned the following day with a policeman to retrieve their four-month-old daughter Jessica and stayed in hiding with friends for two weeks before returning to the UK.

In her post, Ms Rowling said she did not want to ‘claim ownership’ of a story which also belongs to her daughter.

‘I didn’t want to claim sole ownership of a story that belongs to her, too. However, a short while ago, I asked her how she’d feel if I were publicly honest about that part of my life, and she encouraged me to go ahead,’ she added.

‘I’m mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces.

‘I managed to escape my first violent marriage with some difficulty, but I’m now married to a truly good and principled man, safe and secure in ways I never in a million years expected to be.

‘However, the scars left by violence and sexual assault don’t disappear, no matter how loved you are, and no matter how much money you’ve made.

‘My perennial jumpiness is a family joke – and even I know it’s funny – but I pray my daughters never have the same reasons I do for hating sudden loud noises, or finding people behind me when I haven’t heard them approaching.’