“Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible,” the British writer wrote.

In a long thread of tweets, she thanked social media users who had reported the photo to the Twitter support team and expressed her gratitude to Police Scotland “for their support and assistance in this matter.”

The accounts of the individuals mentioned by Rowling appear to be blocked.

Rowling also called on those who had retweeted the image to delete it as soon as possible.

“I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out,” Rowling underlined.

She listed names of other women – lawyers, feminists, human rights activists – who had also become targets of “campaigns of intimidation,” adding that many others who do not have public profiles and protection have been bullied “for no other reason than that they refuse to uncritically accept that the socio-political concept of gender identity should replace that of sex.”

Rowling has been widely criticised by various LGBT groups for her refusal to adopt gender-neutral language that, in her opinion, undermines the very concept of sex and womanhood.

The author’s comments were met with mixed reaction on Twitter. While the majority of commentators deplored the publication of the photo, others claimed that they were not surprised by the incident and called on Rowling to engage with the dialogue on gender-related issues and to listen to those who might feel offended by her remarks on the matter.

The Free Speech Union expressed its support for Rowling and other women facing abuse and harassment.

“We urgently need to rebuild a culture of open debate and dialogue. Threats cannot be allowed to silence dissent,” – the organisation said.

“I find it very hard to keep my temper reading about the way you are harassed and treated by these people. Huge respect and solidarity as always and I hope the police deal with this matter decisively. Much love,” said one of the Twitter users.

“Take a few minutes to Google ‘JK Rowling transphobic comments’ or ‘JK Rowling terf’ and you’ll get your answer,” – another one claimed.