Consultation on plans to protect women and girls from hate crime
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 October 10 and responses will inform consideration of the final regulations to be laid in Parliament.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance 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.”
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.