A hate crime law was meant to protect against prejudice. It ended up sowing further division | CNN
A hate crime law was meant to protect against prejudice. It ended up sowing further division CNN
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Edinburgh sees clash over new hate crime law
A ferocious debate that has raged across social media, legal chambers, police stations and Scottish politics also played out on the streets of Edinburgh this weekend.
Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into force last week, a contentious law that expands existing legislation to include transgender identity as a protected characteristic from hate crimes.
“We must remember why this Bill is so necessary, every day in Scotland around 18 hate crimes are committed,” Scottish First Minister – then Justice Secretary – Humza Yousaf said when the act was passed back in 2021, citing the government’s estimated figures at the time.
“Through the passing of this landmark Bill, Parliament has sent a strong and clear message to victims, perpetrators, communities and to wider society that offences motivated by prejudice will be treated seriously and will not be tolerated,” he said.
Supporters of the law believe it will provide much-needed protection for the marginalized and regularly vilified transgender community, while critics say it will stifle free speech and even threaten hard-won women’s rights. The two sides are at loggerheads, online and offline.
In the first week of the law’s enactment, a feminist group, “Let Women Speak,” organized a rally against the legislation in Scotland’s capital on Saturday. It was met by a counterprotest from a small band of transgender rights campaigners, Reuters video showed. The two sides were kept apart by metal barriers as they traded noisy insults, amid a heavy police presence.
Yet the bill has come into force as issues around transgender rights, and how they intersect with women’s rights, are creating a complex set of problems for lawmakers, sports regulators and employers, among others.
As the confrontation simmers, the debate has become intensely polarized and drawn in public figures such as JK Rowling, Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, none of whom are strangers to weighing in on culture war touchpoints.
‘Stirring up hatred’
Before Scottish lawmakers passed the bill, laws already existed across the United Kingdom to criminalize “stirring up hatred” against racial identity. This new legislation introduces offenses for hate crimes against more characteristics, including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.
Biological sex, however, is not included. The government says this is because it intends to put a separate bill criminalizing misogyny before the Scottish parliament at a later date.
Online arena
Complicating the implementation of the law, Siobhan Brown, Scotland’s Minister for Victims and Community Safety, sparked confusion about whether or not the act would make misgendering someone online a crime.
It was at this juncture that Rowling – the Harry Potter author turned strident gender-critical commentator – deliberately misgendered several trans women online and dared police to arrest her.
Police Scotland later confirmed it would not be investigating Rowling’s posts as a criminal offense.
First Minister Yousaf told the BBC last Wednesday he was not “surprised” that officers decided not to charge Rowling, despite her comments being “offensive, upsetting and insulting to trans people.”
‘Vexatious’ claims and misinformation
The Scottish Police Federation has repeatedly raised concerns about the capacity of officers to deal with a potential surge in hate crime complaints, suggesting on X Sunday that they had been “swamped.”
Police Scotland received 7,152 complaints under the new legislation in its first week of operation, the UK’s PA Media news agency reported on Wednesday. The force announced it had officially recorded complaints of 240 hate crimes and 30 non-hate crime incidents.
In a Saturday op-ed for Scottish newspaper The Courier, Yousaf wrote that, “critics of this law shouldn’t exaggerate its impact with false fears.” Later that day he told PA Media that “deliberate misinformation” is being “peddled by some bad actors.”
Escalating an already volatile debate, Scotland’s new law has become an obvious flashpoint in online culture wars, with global public figures drawing attention to it on their platforms.
Last month, Police Scotland were forced to release a statement denying that officers had been instructed under the Act “to target actors, comedians, or any other people or groups,” after such claims were spearheaded by influential US podcast host Joe Rogan and billionaire X CEO Elon Musk.
Musk reposted it on X, calling it “an example of why it is so important to preserve freedom of speech.” In its statement, however, Police Scotland addressed this as “inaccurate media reporting and commentary.”
Among those actually affected by Scotland’s new law, such as Lucy, not everyone is willing to be as vocal – despite being on the frontlines of this confrontation.
“I feel pretty hopeless at the way gender is debated in society, I don’t take part in it anymore,” she told CNN. “I know a lot of trans people who feel the same. We just want to get on with our lives.”
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
- Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome
- Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law
- SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
- Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
- Indicator 16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual violence in the previous 12 months
- Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
- Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
- Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
- Indicator 16.10.2: Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory, and/or policy guarantees for public access to information
Analysis
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are:
– Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome
– Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
– Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
– Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
Yes, there are indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These indicators include:
– Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law
– Indicator 16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual violence in the previous 12 months
– Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
– Indicator 16.10.2: Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory, and/or policy guarantees for public access to information
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities | Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome | Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law |
| SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions | Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere | Indicator 16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual violence in the previous 12 months |
| Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all | Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms | |
| Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements | Indicator 16.10.2: Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory, and/or policy guarantees for public access to information |
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Source: cnn.com
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