JK Rowling has offered to help a female prisoner who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a transgender inmate in a women-only wing of a Scottish prison.
The Harry Potter author, who has become known in recent years for her gender-critical views, has spoken out after the attack at HMP Greenock in Inverclyde.
Alexandra Stewart, previously known as Alan Baker, is alleged to have ambushed a fellow convict in a hairdressing salon in the female-only area of the jail.
Police confirmed a 38-year-old has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
It is understood the accused changed gender after they were convicted, having been born a man, according to the Daily Record.
The facility in west central Scotland, which has a capacity of around 220 inmates, holds men and women on both long and short sentences.
Rowling has now extended an offer of assistance to the victim from a legal aid fund she runs to support ‘women protecting their sex-based rights’.
She said in a statement shared on social media platform X: ‘The Scottish government is responsible for this sexual assault.
JK Rowling (pictured), who has become known in recent years for her gender-critical views, has spoken out after the attack at HMP Greenock in Inverclyde
The Harry Potter author has now extended an offer of assistance (pictured) to the victim from a legal aid fund she runs to support ‘women protecting their sex-based rights’
The jail (pictured, file photo) in west central Scotland, which has a capacity of around 220 inmates, holds men and women on both long and short sentences
‘The Supreme Court has confirmed women’s right to single sex spaces, a ruling the SNP continues to flout.
‘If the victim wishes to sue, jkrwf.org [The J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund] can assist with all costs.’
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ‘A 38-year-old prisoner has been arrested and charged in connection with a sexual assault within HMP Greenock.
‘A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.’
It is understood the Crown Office has not yet received a report from police in relation to the incident.
A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokesperson said: ‘As this matter is subject to proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘Any attacks on prisoners or prison staff are completely unacceptable and incidents involving alleged criminality are reported to Police Scotland. We do not comment on individuals or live cases.’
Stewart changed gender after being jailed for life in 2013 for fatally stabbing father-of-two John Weir 16 times at his home in Bonhill, West Dunbartonshire, after the pair met online.
The prisoner has been held at HMP Greenock as a woman since 2016 – which a source said has been ‘a sickener for most women’ held in the jail.
Stewart is said to have been segregated from other inmates after the SPS notified police of allegations against the prisoner.
The convict is said to have received ‘tracheal shave’ surgery, which reduces the size of the Adam’s apple, while behind bars.
Susan Smith, a director of sex-based rights campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), has also spoken out in the wake of the incident.
She said she hoped it would see prison bosses and the government ‘wake up’ and end their ‘dangerous and stupid experiment’ with allowing jails to be mixed sex.
Ms Smith the move has had a ‘severe impact’ on female prisoners’ rights – and has posed ‘a clear and constant risk of state-sanctioned sexual assault’.
Meanwhile, Zack Polanski, Green Party leader in England and Wales, has argued transgender inmates born as men should be allowed to be held in women’s prisons.
Speaking on a visit to Glasgow on the campaign ahead of Scottish Parliament elections in May, he suggested the focus should be shifted from ‘very niche cases’.
Susan Smith, a director of sex-based rights campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), has also spoken out in the wake of the incident. Pictured: Ms Smith, left, celebrating last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman in equalities law with FWS co-director Marion Calder, right
Zack Polanski, Green Party leader in England and Wales, has argued transgender inmates born as men should be allowed to be held in women’s prisons. Pictured: Mr Polanski with Scottish Green leaders in Glasgow on Friday
This latest incident comes after a public outcry in 2023 when transgender double rapist Isla Bryson (pictured, outside court) was at first sent to a female prison
Mr Polanski said the attention should instead be on simply assessing inmates on a case-by-case basis.
He urged Rowling to have more compassion, adding transgender people ‘just want to pee in peace’.
FWS, which the author has previously spoken out in support of, won a landmark case about the definition of a woman in equalities law at the Supreme Court last year.
Judges concluded at the hearing in April last year that when the term ‘woman’ is used in the Equality Act, it means a biological woman, and ‘sex’ means biological sex.
The legal battle saw the Scottish government’s previous approach to gender labelled ‘unworkable’.
Ministers said they respected the ruling – but argued it did not override protections set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Under current guidance, a transgender women in Scotland can be held in a female jail.
But it is only allowed if the inmate has not hurt or threatened women or girls and there is no basis to suppose the prisoner poses an unacceptable risk.
The SPS uses individual risk assessments to make these decisions with the aim of keeping anyone posing a danger to women out of the female prison estate.
This policy is currently being challenged at court by FWS, which argues current prisons guidance is incompatible with the Supreme Court ruling.
The campaign group has applied for a judicial review of the policy, which the SNP government challenged at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in February.
Ministers argued biological sex is an ‘artificial parameter’ in prisons – but the court is yet to issue its final ruling.
The lawsuit follows a public outcry in 2023 after transgender double rapist Isla Bryson was at first sent to a female prison.
Another inmate, Paris Green, was similarly thrown out of the female estate last month, when the killer was moved from the women’s wing to the men’s at HMP Polmont.
The SPS has said inmates identifying as transgender, non-binary or gender-fluid make up less than one per cent of the Scottish prison population.
There were only some 19 transgender prisoners in Scotland’s jails at the end of June last year, according to the latest figures.
It is believed Stewart is one of only two transgender inmates legally classed as male to be left in the female estate.
Rowling was first criticised for her gender-critical views in 2018 when she liked a post on social media platform X describing trans women as ‘men in dresses’.
Her spokesperson at the time described the ‘like’ as a ‘mistake’, calling it a ‘clumsy middle-aged moment’.
But the author has since embarked on a campaign seeking to protect what she describes as women’s rights, fuelled by her own experiences of domestic abuse.
That campaign has seen her oppose legislation in Scotland which sought to make it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender.
The writer has also provided financial support to those fighting court cases challenging the legal status of transgender people.
