JK Rowling says she is survivor of sexual assault

"Harry Potter" author JK Rowling revealed on Wednesday she has been a victim of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

The celebrated British author said in a blog post that she was disclosing the information to give context to her controversial past comments about transgender people.

"I've been in the public eye now for over twenty years and have never talked publicly about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor," Rowling wrote.

"This isn't because I'm ashamed those things happened to me, but because they're traumatic to revisit and remember.

Rowling sparked controversy with a Twitter post last weekend about "people who menstruate".

"I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

The post forced "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe to apologise to trans women who may have been offended by Rowling's remark.

"Transgender women are women," Radcliffe wrote in a post for The Trevor Project website.

The feud dated back to comments from December in which Rowling expressed support for a woman who lost her job over what her employer deemed to be "transphobic" tweets.

Rowling said on Wednesday that "accusations and threats from trans activists have been bubbling in my Twitter timeline" since that incident.

"Huge numbers of women are justifiably terrified by the trans activists; I know this because so many have got in touch with me to tell their stories," she wrote.

Rowling ended her 3,695-word post by affirming that she was "a survivor (and certainly) not a victim".

"I haven't written this essay in the hope that anybody will get out a violin for me, not even a teeny-weeny one

"I've only mentioned my past because, like every other human being on this planet, I have a complex backstory, which shapes my fears, my interests and my opinions."