JK Rowling: ‘I was stigmatised as a single mum on benefits’

JK Rowling has hit out against the stigma she faced as a single mother on benefits.

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by Abi Hooper |
Published on

The famous author, renowned for writing the bestselling Harry Potter novels in cafes around Edinburgh on napkins because she could not afford paper, revealed the ‘slowly evaporating sense of self-esteem’ she felt while writing the first book.

I was defined, in the eyes of many, by something I had never chosen, I was a single parent and a single parent on benefits to boot

Writing for the Gingerbread advice and support group for single mothers, of which she is president, Rowling told how the break-up of her marriage shortly after the birth of her first child nearly 20 years ago left her on benefits, taking odd jobs in a local church.

The 48 year-old recalled: ‘My overriding memory of that time is the slowly evaporating sense of self-esteem, not because I was filing or typing - there was dignity in earning money, however I was doing it – but because it was slowly dawning on me that I was now defined, in the eyes of many, by something I had never chosen,

'I was a single parent and a single parent on benefits to boot.’

She added: ‘Patronage was almost as hard to bear as stigmatisation. I remember the woman who visited the church one day when I was working there who kept referring to me, in my hearing, as the unmarried mother.’

JK Rowling pictured in 1998
JK Rowling pictured in 1998

Rowling said that the constant bombardment with words like ‘scrounger’ has a harming effect.

‘I find the language of “skivers versus strivers” particularly offensive when it comes to single parents, who are already working around the clock to care for their children,’ she said.

‘Such rhetoric drains confidence and self-esteem from those who desperately want, as I did, to get back into the job market.’

The Harry Potter creator also declared she was prouder of her time bringing up her daughter on her own than any of her other achievements, as she called on the Government to end its focus on austerity and work instead to improve job prospects for single parents.

Rowling argued affordable childcare, better training and pay, and more flexible hours would all help parents back into employment and stop them relying on the state.

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