Consultation on draft regulations.
Women and girls will have greater protection against hate crimes
under plans being consulted upon by the Scottish Government.
Draft regulations have been laid in Parliament to add ‘sex' as a
characteristic to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act
2021.
If agreed, the regulations will make it a criminal offence to
stir up hatred against women and girls, as well as men and boys,
because of their sex, which is defined as biological
sex. The regulations will also enable courts to treat crimes
motivated by hatred of someone's sex as aggravated offences,
which are considered more serious.
This would mean women and girls have the same legal safeguards
available under the Act to groups targeted by hate crime because
of their age, disability, religion, sexual orientation,
transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.
Freedom of expression is built into the Act, which was passed by
the Scottish Parliament in March 2021.
A consultation paper seeking views on the plans, which were
announced in May, has been published. It will remain open until
10 October and responses will inform consideration of the final
regulations to be laid in Parliament.
Justice Secretary said:
“We must send a strong message to victims, perpetrators,
communities and wider society that offences motivated by
prejudice and hatred against women and girls will not be
tolerated.
“Adding the characteristic of sex to the Hate Crime Act will
ensure that women and girls have the same protections as victims
who are targeted because of a specific characteristic, such as
age, religion or disability. Men and boys will also be protected,
however, we know that women and girls suffer significantly more
from threats, abuse and harassment based on their sex, so they
are likely to benefit most from these new legal protections.
“This will add to a range of general laws that can be used to
prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse. However,
criminal law reform alone cannot eliminate abuse against women
and girls, or the attitudes which perpetuate it; men must play an
active role in identifying, challenging and changing the
misogynistic and negative attitudes and behaviours that underpin
the abuse of, and violence against, women and girls.”
Background
Draft SSI
Consultation
As required by law, the draft Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI)
to enact the change has to be laid in Parliament for at least 40
days for views to be offered. The responses to the public
consultation will help inform consideration of the final SSI to
be laid in Parliament for approval.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act was passed by
Parliament in 2021 and implemented on 1 April 2024. It introduced
new offences for threatening and/or abusive behaviour which is
intended to stir up hatred against a group of people who possess,
or appear to possess, characteristics including age, disability,
religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations
in sex characteristics. These new offences have a higher
threshold for a crime to be committed than the long-standing
offence of stirring up racial hatred, which has been in place
since 1986.
There are protections in the Act for individuals' rights in
respect to freedom of expression for the new stirring up hatred
offences. Hate crime is behaviour that is both criminal and
rooted in prejudice and can be verbal, physical, online or
face-to-face.
Hate crime statistics –
Police Scotland management information
Reporting hate crime -
Police Scotland
