Greater protections for victims and communities coming into
force.
New laws to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice come
into force next month.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will provide
greater protection for victims and communities from 1 April.
It creates new stirring up of hatred offences for protected
characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual
orientation, and transgender identity. These extra provisions
will add to the long-standing stirring up racial hatred offences,
which have been in place since 1986.
Recent statistics show that 5,738 charges of hate crime were
reported in Scotland in 2022-23. However, we know not all crimes
will be reported.
A new Scottish Government public awareness raising campaign
supported by Police Scotland has been launched today. The Hate
Hurts campaign shows the impact of hate crime and encourages
those who have witnessed or experienced a hate crime to come
forward.
Minister for Victims & Community Safety said:
“For those impacted by hatred and prejudice, the results can be
traumatic and life changing. While we respect everyone’s right to
freedom of expression, nobody in our society should live in fear
or be made to feel like they don’t belong, and the Scottish
Government is committed to building safer communities that live
free from hatred and prejudice.
“Hate crime is behaviour that is both criminal and rooted in
prejudice. It can be verbal, physical, online or face-to-face.
The new law will give greater protections to those who need it
and helps to form the basis of understanding about the type of
behaviour that is not acceptable in our society.
“We must do all we can to give victims and witnesses the
confidence to report instances of hate crime, which is why we
have launched a new campaign, ‘Hate Hurts’. The campaign is
informed by lived experience, and explains what a hate crime is,
the impact it has on victims and how to report it.”
Changing Faces Campaigner, Atholl said:
“I was born with a condition called Cystic Hygroma which causes
cysts to form where you have lymph nodes and I’ve experienced
quite a lot of online trolling. In the darker periods I’ve had
people threaten to kill me just because of the way I look.
“There are times when I have cried about what people have said
about me. Words can hurt and can have a detrimental effect on how
someone feels about themselves, and my best advice is to report
it.”
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain, hate crime prevention lead,
Police Scotland, said:
“Hate crime is vile and wrong. To target a person, a group or a
community because of who they are, how they look, or how they
choose to live their lives, undermines freedoms and rights we are
entitled to enjoy as human beings.
“We know it can be hard for people to report a hate crime, and in
some cases to even recognise or acknowledge that they have been a
victim.
"We want everyone targeted by hate crime, or those who witness
it, to have confidence to come forward. They can be assured they
will be treated with dignity and respect and that the
circumstances they report will be fully investigated.”
Background
The Hate Hurts campaign runs 11-31
March across Scottish Government social media channels, video on
demand and outdoor billboards.
The law currently recognises hate crime based on prejudice
towards disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and
transgender identity.
Hate Crime in Scotland
2022-23 statistics.
Hate Crime Strategy
and Delivery Plan sets out
our strategic priorities for tackling hate crime in Scotland.
