Labor to meet JK Rowling and offer ‘assurances’ on women’s rights

Labor will meet JK Rowling in a bid to offer her ‘assurances’ on protecting women’s spaces.

Rachel Reeves made the offer to the Harry Potter author after suggesting she would not vote for Labor after it “abandoned” her and other women’s rights campaigners.

Rowling was a member of the Labor Party and had also made donations in the past, but said she would “find it difficult to support them” in next week’s general election.

She has been a vocal advocate for the rights of biological women after criticizing Scottish Government proposals to introduce self-identification for transgender people.

LEARN MORE: JK Rowling accuses Labor of ‘abandoning’ women over transgender rights

The reforms were passed at Holyrood, but they were blocked by the UK government, meaning the gender recognition legislation was never implemented.

Reports now suggest a Labor government could make it easier for people to legally transition by removing the requirement to prove they have lived as their preferred gender for two years.

The Times newspaper reported that the measure would be replaced by a two-year “cooling off period”, with the party also set to reduce from two to one the number of doctors needed to approve a person’s gender recognition certificate – who recognizes her in her preferred gender. .

Ms Reeves insisted, however, that the protection of single-sex spaces for women would “absolutely remain”.

Speaking during her campaign in Scotland, Ms Reeves said: “We are not going to change anything when it comes to biological sex. Thus, the Equality Act is maintained and the protection of single-sex spaces, based on biological sex, will absolutely remain.

“Labor brought forward the Equality Act, it’s very important to us and this protection of single-sex spaces.”

Regarding Rowling’s comments, the shadow chancellor added: “We’re really happy to speak to JK Rowling to give her some reassurance on this.”

Ms Reeves insisted: “For me, these protections, whether it’s prisons, whether it’s refuges, whether it’s refuges, whether it’s change spaces, it’s really important to me, it’s really important to the Labor Party that these single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected.

“And nothing in our plans goes against that, nothing at all.”

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted Labor’s proposals could create “loopholes that would be exploited by bad faith actors”.

Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh, he said: “What I have seen from the Labor Party is that they are going to reverse all the progress that we have made on this issue, undermine the protections that we have put in place for women. rights and their safety and security.

His comments came as he insisted Labor had never “properly concerned or understood this issue”, while Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Rowling’s reaction showed “how out of touch Labor is on this issue”.