Another section from JK Rowlingâs essay:
âIf you could come inside my head and understand what I feel when I read about a trans woman dying at the hands of a violent man, youâd find solidarity and kinship. I have a visceral sense of the terror in which those trans women will have spent their last seconds on earth, because I too have known moments of blind fear when I realised that the only thing keeping me alive was the shaky self-restraint of my attacker.
I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable for all the reasons Iâve outlined. Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, theyâre most likely to be killed by sexual partners. Trans women who work in the sex industry, particularly trans women of colour, are at particular risk. Like every other domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I know, I feel nothing but empathy and solidarity with trans women whoâve been abused by men.
So I want trans women to be safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels heâs a woman â and, as Iâve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones â then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.â
