Anti-domestic violence campaigners, MPs and many prominent figures have spoken out in protest and led a wave of criticism over the front page of Friday’s Sun.
The paper features an interview with JK Rowling’s first husband under the headline ‘I slapped JK and I’m not sorry’.
The disturbing front cover also features a roundel with the words:
‘Sick taunt of Rowling’s violent ex’.
It’s no surprise that the hashtag #dontbuythesun has been trending on Twitter in the UK and a number of profile figures have stepped in to defend survivors of domestic abuse, condemning the newspapers for giving a platform for abusers to tell their ‘side of the story’.
Gillian Martin, a member of the Scottish parliament, said on Twitter that the article would be ‘beyond triggering for many abuse survivors, and enabling to abusers’.
She continued: ‘It is irresponsible and dangerous. I could weep for the way women are treated by the tabloid press – still – in 2020.’
Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasey tweeted:
‘The decision of the Sun to put an abusers ‘side of the story’ reflects how violence against women so often gets dismissed ‘as a domestic’ and so debate focuses on ‘reasons it happens’ rather than how to stop it.
‘Heads should roll for doing this, not newspaper presses…’
The newspaper’s interview with JK’s first husband, Jorge Arantes, comes after a contentious week for the Harry Potter author.
She has been heavily criticised for her comments on transgender issue and her wish to maintain single-sex spaces for ‘biologically-born’ women.
The 54-year-old has previously stated that ‘when you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman … then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside’.
In response to the criticism, she shared that she’d suffered abuse in her first marriage, although she did not name Jorge.
She said:
‘I’m mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces’.
We have chosen not to picture The Sun’s front page as we don’t wish to publicise the cover further.
Netmums has put an end to its social story sharing relationships with The Sun as a result of this front page.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic abuse we have a dedicated drop-in clinic on our forum (see link below) where Netmums Parent Supporters and a representative of Women’s Aid are able to answer queries on domestic abuse.
No Visible Bruises: what we don’t know about domestic violence can kill us by Rachel Louise Snyder is a powerful exploration of domestic abuse and how and why it happens. See more details here at Amazon.
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