J.K. Rowling has made a £1m coronavirus charity donation on the anniversary of a memorable event from her Harry Potter series.
The author marked the 22nd anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, which took place in the early hours of 2nd May 1998, by giving £500,000 apiece to domestic violence charity Refuge and homelessness charity Crisis.
She told her Twitter followers that it felt "inappropriate" to talk about fictional deaths in her novels when "too many people are losing loved ones in the real world".
She continued: "So on this anniversary of a great wizarding victory, I’m thinking of the people who’re out there doing their jobs to protect us and our way of life. I have three key workers in my immediate family, and like all such relatives, I’m torn between pride and anxiety."
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She then revealed she would be donating to both Refuge and Crisis.
As ever in a crisis of this sort, the poorest and most vulnerable are hit hardest, so in honour of the Battle of Hogwarts, I'll be making a donation of £1m, half of which will go to https://t.co/Lul8tbTzeI, who're helping the homeless during the pandemic
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2020
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Rowling's donation to Refuge comes at a time when the charity's work is more vital than ever. It recently reported a 700% increase in calls to its National Domestic Violence Helpline in a single day.
"We know that abusive partners often use isolation as a tool of abuse, and that while the lockdown is not causing abuse, it can aggravate pre-existing behaviours in abusive men," the charity's chief executive Sandra Horley said earlier this month.
Refuge has also partnered with the government for an online campaign, #YouAreNotAlone, spreading awareness of the services it provides for domestic abuse survivors.
Earlier this month Rowling launched harrypotterathome.com, a website offering free Harry Potter content to help keep kids entertained while they're social distancing.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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