JK Rowling has offered to fund legal action after a 13-year-old orphaned girl was housed alongside older teenage boys, some of them young offenders, at a secure unit in Scotland. The girl, who was the only female resident, said she felt "unsafe" and asked to be moved to an empty houseblock, but her request was denied. The case matters because it has become a focal point in the wider debate over single-sex spaces and the protection of vulnerable young people.

The girl, described as an English female orphan, had been transferred to St Mary's Kenmure in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, where she lived among 11 boys aged between 15 and 17. Her situation was documented in a report published this month by the Council of Europe's committee for the prevention of torture, following an inspection of the unit in June the previous year. Rowling, known for her gender-critical views, responded on X and directed the girl or anyone acting on her behalf to her JK Rowling Women's Fund, which supports legal cases concerning sex-based rights and single-sex spaces.