Scotland’s controversial hate crime law to comes into force on 1 April

Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Act is set to come into force 1 April, sparking controversy.

The Act is intended to modernise existing hate crime legislation in Scotland.

It will criminalise abusive and threatening behaviour which is used to “stir up hatred” against someone who possesses, or appears to possess, certain characteristics.

All of Scotland’s hate crime laws will be located within the Act.

The characteristics that will be protected include age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, and variations in sex characteristics.

Stirring up racial hatred by using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour was already illegal under the Public Order Act 1986.

The new law also abolishes the offence of blasphemy which has not been prosecuted in Scotland for more than 175 years.

The characteristics protected in the act do not include sex itself.

This omission has been criticised by some feminist groups.

The Scottish National Party MP Joanna Cherry KC told the BBC:

“This new law leaves women unprotected from hate crime.”

Cheery predicted the law will be “weaponised by trans rights activists to try to silence, and worse still, criminalise women who do not share their beliefs.”

“There is no right not to be offended.”

The leader of Scottish conservatives Douglas Ross said: 

“People like JK Rowling could have the police at her door every day for making perfectly reasonable statements.”

Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland, has tried to quell fears of a crackdown on free speech by explaining the high threshold needed for prosecution.

Even Elon Musk, businessman and entrepreneur, waded into the debate, describing the law as an “example of why it is so important to preserve freedom of speech.”

The true effect of the new law will only be known when it starts to be enforced on 1 April.

However, Police Scotland, has committed to investigating every single hate complaint it receives.

This is despite significant funding restrictions and a strategy has moved away from targeting minor crime.

The law change has been advertised by the widely ridiculed ‘hate monster’.

On Police Scotland’s website, it says:

“The Hate Monster represents that feeling some people get when they are frustrated and angry and take it out on others, because they feel like they need to show they are better than them.”

In an informational video, Police Scotland use the phrase: 

“Be good to yourself.

“Don’t feed the hate monster.”

“Be Kind. Let’s Look Out For each Other – Poster Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sheffield, UK” by Tim Dennell is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.