JK Rowling offers to fund legal action after a 13-year-old girl was housed alongside older teenage criminal boys in a secure unit

By MATT STRUDWICK, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:59, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 10:13, 7 July 2026 JK Rowling has offered to fund legal action after an orphaned teenage girl was housed alongside older teenage criminal boys in a secure unit.  The vulnerable 13-year-old had her request denied to move to an empty houseblock at St Mary's Kenmure at Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, after saying she felt 'unsafe' being with young offender adolescent boys. The English female orphan had been transferred to the unit and was the only girl there alongside 11 other boys aged between 15 and 17.  Her case was documented in a report published this month by the Council of Europe's committee for the prevention of torture after inspectors visited the unit in June last year.      It prompted the Harry Potter author, who has become known in recent years for her gender-critical views, to offer to fund any potential legal action.  She wrote on X: '"Who does it hurt if we make every space mixed-sex?" This is who it hurts: the most vulnerable, those without power and influence, the invisible people politicians don't bother to consider when chasing likes and photo ops.' Rowling then posted a link to her JK Rowling Women's Fund and added: 'If this girl or an adult acting on her behalf wants to take legal action, contact jkrwf.org.'  According to its website, the fund offers 'legal funding support to individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life including the workplace, sports and clubs, and protected single-sex spaces'. JK Rowling has offered to fund legal action against a secure unit that placed an orphaned teenage girl alongside older criminal boys  The vulnerable 13-year-old had her request denied to move to an empty houseblock at St Mary's Kenmure at Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, after saying she felt 'unsafe' being with young offender adolescent boys 'It provides women with the means and confidence to bring to justice strategic cases that make legal precedents, enforce existing equality law, and make positive contributions to women’s and girls' lives,' the website reads. Inspectors found at the time they visited St Mary's that English social services had sent the orphaned girl there due to a lack of provision.  The report read: 'To avoid isolating her, she was held with sentenced and remanded boys aged between 15 and 17 years old.  'She had officially complained about being held with young offender adolescent boys and "not feeling safe, due to past bad experiences" and had requested transfer to the empty houseblock. The request had been denied.'   Stephen Kerr, justice spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, described the decision as dangerous and illegal.  He told The Times: 'It should never be the case that a vulnerable 13-year-old girl is put at severe risk by being placed in a secure unit with male teenagers much older than herself. 'It is time that the SNP stopped wasting taxpayers’ money arguing men belong in women’s prisons, and finally ensured the law is being followed.' The report also found that one case where a staff member injured a child when they threw chairs at the youth in an attempt to restrain them. Restraints were also 'disproportionately' used 'on the few girls' held at St Mary's in 2024, inspectors found.  The report stated: 'Over a four-month period (April to July 2024), there had been a total of 152 incidents of restraint used on the 16 children held there at that time.  'Of those 152 incidents, 127 applied to the only two girls in the centre. Out of the 152 incidents, the children involved had been recorded as being injured eight times (and staff 12 times).' In another incident, one member of staff was suspended and a report was made to police after there was an allegation made of sexual abuse.     Inspectors also found that two staff members had been sacked for inappropriate restraint in the six months before the visit.   In October 2024, the Care Inspectorate stopped St Mary's from accepting new admissions due to 'a serious risk' to the life of residents there.  A report gave the unit the lowest possible rating and found that 'young people were subject to or witnessed unnecessarily high levels of physical restraint and restrictive practice'. St Mary's said at the time it would take 'all steps necessary' to act on the findings.   A spokesman for St Mary’s Kenmure said: 'While we do not comment on the circumstances of individual children, the safety, wellbeing and protection of every child in our care is our first and immediate priority. 'All placements are subject to careful assessment and matching processes involving the placing authority and our own multidisciplinary teams.'