J.K. Rowling's claim that South Australian rape victims could be forced to address their male attackers with female pronouns are unfounded, the state's legal fraternity says.
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The Harry Potter author sparked a social media furore with her response to a note issued to SA legal practitioners by Chief Justice Chris Kourakis about the pronunciation of names and gender pronouns.
The practice note outlined the methods in which a legal practitioner could let the court know how a participant would like their name to be pronounced or what pronouns they prefer.
"Asking a woman to refer to her male rapist or violent assaulter as 'she' in court is a form of state-sanctioned abuse," Rowling wrote in a post sharing the note to her 14 million followers on Twitter, formerly X.
"Female victims of male violence are further traumatised by being forced to speak a lie."
Following Rowling's post, which garnered over 68,000 likes, Justice Kourakis released a statement claiming the best-selling author misunderstood the protocol.
"It does no more than allow lawyers and others to inform the court of the correct pronunciation of their name and their preferred gender pronoun so that proceedings are conducted respectfully," he said.
"However, the presiding judicial officer retains control over all forms of address used in court.
"A victim of crime would never be asked to address an accused person in a way which caused the victim distress.
"I would prefer that social media commentators took the time to properly inform themselves before pressing the send button, but my only concern is to assure the South Australian public that Ms Rowling's anxiety is completely unfounded."
Rowling hit back on X, claiming the protocol implied a female victim would be guilty of disrespect if they chose not to address their attacker by their preferred pronoun.
"Respect, it seems, goes only one way," she wrote on Monday.
The Law Society of South Australia said the protocol aimed to ensure everyone involved in a court matter was treated with respect and was not a departure from existing expectations.
"There is nothing in the protocol that could be understood to oblige a female complainant of rape to refer to an alleged male rapist by 'she'," Law Society president James Marsh said in a statement.
"The Law Society does not expect the practice note to cause any confusion."
Rowling has been criticised for her outspoken views on transgender issues, including suggestions previously mooted gender recognition plans in her native Scotland threatened the safety of women.
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